Pretty Wings :: Maxwell

It's true, I'm a recent Maxwell convert, thanks in no small part to my dear colleague and friend, Paula-Raye. My god, this man just has the sweetest voice.

After an 8 year break, Maxwell dropped "Pretty Wings" in late April 2009 in preparation for his July 4th album release: BLACKsummer'snight (pre-Order here).

The song "sings"--if you will--for itself, telling the story of the purest form of innocent love in spite of life's reality. It's refreshing against today's pop, auto-tuned contrivances a la T-Pain. And even more so, the lyrics carry a narrative in the way only a neo-soul artist can tell. Maxwell reminds me of the time when talent mattered. Not to mention the fact that the music video was so well-done.

The man has me hooked. Hope you enjoy it!



Lyrics:
Time will bring the real end of our trial
One day there'll be no remnants
No trace no residual feelings within ya
one day you won't remember me

Your face will be the reason I smile
But I will not see what I can not have forever
I'll always love ya I hope u feel the same

Oh you played me dirty your game was so bad
You toyed with my affliction had to fill out my prescription
Found the remedy I had to set u free

Away from me
To see clearly the way that love can be
When you are not with me
I had to leave, I have to live
I had to lead, I had to live

Chorus
If I cant have you let love set you free
To fly your pretty wings around
pretty wings your pretty wings
your pretty wings your pretty wings around

I came wrong You were right
Transformed your love into a lie
Baby believe me I'm sorry I told you lies
I turned day into night
Sleepless, I died a thousand times
I should've chose you
Better nights Better times Better Days
I miss you more and more

Repeat Chorus

Pretty Wings Pretty Wings
Pretty Wings Pretty Wings
Pretty Wings Pretty Wings
Pretty Wings Pretty Wings

From a Distance :: Bette Midler

i totally forgot to post yesterday. crap! but hopefully this post will do one of two things (hopefully simultaneously): make you laugh; creep you out.

so i started a new job at a private, catholic 4 year university. and on many an occasion, this song has popped up in my head, or has been brought to my attention via kelsey - specifically the following lyrics:

god is watching us god is watching us god is watching us...from a distance

i really do love my job, and working at this institution has proved to be fulfilling and challenging...but this song totally creeps me out.

so, to celebrate the season of being creeped out, i thought i'd celebrate october 1st by creeping the rest of you out.



From a Distance :: Bette Midler

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
And the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.
Its the voice of hope, its the voice of peace,
Its the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
And no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
No hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
Theyre the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
Even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting is for.

From a distance there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.
And its the hope of hopes, its the love of loves,
Its the heart of every man.

Its the hope of hopes, its the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.
God is watching us from a distance.

Alla This :: Ani DiFranco

so...we haven't had an Ani DiFranco post since we started this blog back in Nov/Dec of 2007. it is about time we get a little more of her!

i started running *GASP* this week, and so far things are going really well. and during my runs, i select a random cd and just run to that. sometimes i get caught off guard by a song and i get fixated on it for the rest of my run. this particular song did just that to me. i was first introduced to Ani during my first year of college (i know....really late) and quickly joined the Church of DiFranco. besides her amazing guitar skills and unique voice, Ani's lyrics are what get me every time. she is not just a musician, she is a poet. and her lyrics speak to my activist heart.

this particular song is rockin because it's one of the more poignant political songs that Ani has done (in my opinion) in quite some time. it's right up there with Your Next Bold Move for me... so hopefully it will ring true for some of y'all.

the end.
love,
meggo.

Alla This :: Ani DiFranco


Alla This :: Ani DiFranco

i will not stand immersed,
in this ultra violent curse
i won't let you make a tool of me
i will keep my mind and body free
bye bye minutiae
of the day to day drama,
i'm expanding exponentially,
i am consciousness without identity

i am many things,
made of everything,
but i will not be your bank roll
i won't idle in your drive-thru,
i won't watch your electric sideshow
i got way
better places to go

i will maintain the truth
i knew naturally as a child
i won't forfeit my creativity,
to a world that's all laid out for me
i will look at everything around me
and i will vow to bear in mind
that all of this was just someone's idea
it could just as well be mine

i won't rent you my time
i won't sell you my brain
i won't pray to a male god
cuz that would be insane

and i can't support the troops,
cuz every last one of them's being duped,
and i will not rest a wink
until the women have regrouped

i am many things,
made of everything,
but i will not be your bank roll
i won't idle in your drive-thru
i won't watch your electric sideshow
i got way
better places to go

Bonus Song!!! This one is about DiFranco's baby daddy...it's not often we hear happy love songs from Ani, so enjoy!



Way Tight :: Ani DiFranco

i tell you what - there is plenty wrong with me,
but i fixed up a few old buildings...
and i planted a few trees.
children seem to like me,
and animals, too -
like the birds and the bees...

and eating a sandwich,
standing over the kitchen counter
with only the sound of chewing in the room -
i can see you as a challenge,
that i will eagerly meet...
'cuz you are way way way way sweet.

it’s just that kind of evening -
that cracks open like a half shaken beer,
cool and refreshing, running down your arm,
baby, there’s no other place i’d rather be...
than here, parting my periodic alarm.

you are ever true, ever new in love...
and i mean that in the best and worst way.
i don’t really know what i was so mad about,
but the full moon is about a week away.

i tell you what - there is plenty wrong with you,
stuff you’d sooner fight for than cop to
i think it’s just more reason why we are meant to be;
people say i look like you and you look like me...
a crazy combination of everything and nothing right...
we are way way way way way way way way way tight,
yes, we are way way way way way way way way way tight,
we are way way way way way way way way way tight.

Beloved One :: Ben Harper

sometimes you don't even need to explain why some songs are worth listening to...

sorry for the late post y'all...but here's my song of the day.

i've been listening to a lot of new music thanks to pandora.com! but when this one came on, it grabbed my attention fully...its simplicity, its lyrics...just a voice and a guitar and sincere feelings...all of these things are what make this song beautiful.

hopefully you'll agree!
the end.
love,
meggo




Beloved One :: Ben Harper
We have both been here before
Knockin upon loves door
Begging for someone to let us in
Knowing this we can agree to keep each other company
Never to go down that road again

My beloved one, my beloved one

Your eyes shine through me
You are so divine to me
Your heart has a home in mine
We wont have to say a word
With a touch all shall be heard
When I search my heart its you I find

My beloved one, my beloved one, my beloved one

You were meant for me,
I believe you were sent to me from a dream straight into
To my arms
Hold your body close to me
You mean the most to me
We will keep each other safe from harm

My beloved one, my beloved one, my beloved one

I Want You To Be My Love :: Over The Rhine

Again, apologies for a missed week last week and for a short posting this week. I'm a graduate student. It's the end of the quarter. I feel like tearing my hair out. And then taking a nice nap.

At any rate, my song for the day is a beautiful, simple song called "I Want You To Be My Love" by a band called Over the Rhine. They're actually originally from Ohio, my current state of residence, which is where I first heard them, as the opening act for the Ani DiFranco concert I attended last fall. They're a simple three-piece band - a keyboardist, bassist and lead singer Karin Bergquist, who has a stunning voice and who also occasionally plays guitar. They had fantastic stage presence at the concert I attended and all of their songs were excellent, so if you ever have a chance to see them live, jump on it!

For now, enjoy this little song.



With peace,
sumner.

I Can Breathe Underwater :: Fitzgerald

I have wanted to blog about these guys for a while now, but I haven't been able to find the time, or a video on YouTube/Myspace/what have you. So, if you want to hear, "I Can Breathe Underwater" from their Raised by Wolves Album, you'll have to go to their MYSPACE page. Huge hassle, I know... :) Otherwise, you can hear some of their other great songs by clicking on the videos below.

My best friend Jess originally introduced me to Fitzgerald when I first moved up here to Minnesota a few years ago. They have been with me through many road trips, cold winter days, and lazy weekend afternoons. The band consists primarily of the most adorable husband and wife duo, EVER, and they alternately perform alone and with other members of the Minneapolis musical community. I have now attempted to see them live like 3 times, and by insane acts of habeas corpus, I have not successfully been able to, but their stuff rocks!
The song I chose particularly resonates with me because of its content and the way it radiates peace. It's really hard to find good love songs that aren't cheesy or about a love that's more like infatuation, but "I Can Breathe Underwater" is about a love that's comfortable and deep. It's about being with someone that you feel safe with, close with, and someone that you love to sleep next to, just to feel them breathe. To dream next to someone is wonderful, but to be able to exist in that dream with them, in a place of bodily suspension, a space where the wounds inflicted by the world can be healed, and tangled limbs and hair can be be discerned through the ripples on the surface, is to experience great love. :)

Unfortunately, Fitzgerald is no longer, but they have a new band, with a very similar sound, called Ghost in the Water. Their stuff is great as well and you can find their page HERE.

I Can Breathe Underwater::Fitzgerald
I can breathe underwater
I can breathe underwater
I can breath underwater
Breathing all by myself

At night, when you are sleeping
I'll be under the river
Looking at the stones and
Breathing all by myself

So break my
Break my fall with kisses
Don't wake me
Wake me with a sigh
The truth is
Tangled up in this soul
Now my lungs are soaking
And they're wet

I can breathe underwater
I can breathe underwater
I can breathe underwater
Breathing all by myself

Don't worry I'm not drowning
Starting soft and awfully soothing
I'll come up when I'm ready
Breathing all by myself

So break my
Break my fall with
Kisses
Don't wake me
Don't wake me with a sigh
The truth is
Tangled up in this soul
Now my lungs are soaking
And they're wet

The ripples are surfacing
The bubbles are breaking
There's hair floating up from the
Head that's submerged
One hand guides the stone
One sits left and it's skipping
Thumbs take on water and then
Breathing returns

I remember when we were children
I remember everything
What we lost when we were swimming
Always submerged
Always breathing

How Far North - Fitzgerald


Dirt - Fitzgerald

Shine::Dolly Parton

I chose this song because I think we need some country on here! I'll be honest in that country is not my favorite genre of music, but I did grow up with it, so I have a certain amount of nostalgia for artists like Dolly Parton. I grew up resenting country music because it was "hick" and represented the ignorance I saw all around me. However, now I've softened myself to it quite a bit.

I have two reasons I understand for this softening. One is that country music is all about loss and yearning and hope. Just think about it- country artists had to leave everything they knew just to pursue their art. I can certainly identify with that. When I hear country music, I think about my childhood on a farm and think about all the things I had to give up just to be the awesome person that I am today. Another thing is that country music is probably the most accesible kind of music in our society. (I owe that realization to Chuck Klosterman from "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs." Good book. You should read it.) The three-chord progession, the twangy vocals in vernacular, the middle-of-the-road subject matter, basically everything country music is derided for, also makes it incredibly catchy and easy to understand. Sometimes I catch myself singing along to a country song I've only heard once before or haven't heard in 15 years. It's that easy to learn!

Dolly Parton's version of "Shine" is a great example of how country music makes a song accesible. Probably you've heard the original version of "Shine" by Collective Soul, but did you understand all the lyrics? Dolly completely transformed that song for me. I liked it before, but now I understand it. She turned it into a great song for me.


Teach me how to speak
Teach me how to share
Tell me where to go,
and tell me
Will love be there?
Will love be there?

Love, in all its forms, is a precious commodity in our day and age...

Give me a word
Give me a sign
Show me where to look
Tell what will I find ( will I find )
Lay me on the ground
Fly me in the sky
Show me where to look
Tell me what will I find ( will I find )

Oh, heaven let your light shine down (x4)

Love is in the water
Love is in the air
Show me where to go
Tell me will love be there ( love be there )
Teach me how to speak
Teach me how to share
Teach me where to go
Tell me will love be there ( love be there )

Oh, heaven let your light shine down (x4)

Im going to let it shine (x2)
Heavens little light gonna shine on me
Yea yea heavens little light gonna shine on me
Its gonna shine, shine on me
Its gonna shine, come on in shine

Where Does My Heart Beat Now :: Celine Dion

not many people know this, but i have a secret love for Celine Dion...she is absolutely magical and sometimes, only Celine can move me to tears, not to mention...there are moments in my life that i have found to be unmistakably marked by her music. something terrible or wonderful (usually an extreme emotion attached to an event in time) will happen and a Celine song will pop into my head. today is one of those days...i started my daily routine of finding all my daily necessities...like my backpack, granola bars, books, computer, keys, ipod...wait. where is it? what the fuck did i do w/my ipod? it's not in it's usual space! ok...think, think, think...where did i last have it...i had it when i went to work sunday morning...then i took it off, wrapped the headphones around it, and put it in my bag and went to work. look in your work bag. it's gotta be in there! nope. not there. not. there. at. all. that was the last time i had it. that's the last time i saw my baby. my true love. my everything. [enter random Celine song...] this was the first song that came into my brain as i frantically searched my house to no avail. so, i share my loss with you all on this rainy, windy, cold ass day in the district of columbia...and i share my heartache with the sweet, velvety croonings of ms. dion [if you're nasty].



i've already decided that i must go in search of a much more different ipod, but i will take the day to mourn the loss of the one i shared a relationship with for the last year and a half...i started my graduate program with her and i am so sad she will not see me graduate, but maybe somewhere, somehow, she'll just know...and she'll play the right song for that day and that time and that mood...just for me...she will know what to do, just like celine knows the depths of my sorrow...the end. <3, meggo.







Where Does My Heart Beat Now::Celine Dion



So much to believe in - We were lost in time

Everything I needed

I feel in your eyes

Always tought of keepin-

Your heart next to mine

But now that seems so far away

Don't know how love could leave

Without a trace

Where do silent hearts go?



Where does my heart beat now

Where is the sound

That only echoes through the night

Where does my heart beat now

I can't live without

Without feeling it inside

Where do all the lonely hearts go



Candle in the water - Drifting helplessly

Hiding from the thunder-

Come and rescue me

Driven by hunger -

Of the endless dream



I'm searching for the hand that I can hold

I'm reaching for the arms that let me know

Where do silent hearts go?



Where does my heart beat now

Where is the sound

That only echoes through the night

Where does my heart beat now

I can't live without

Without feeling it inside

Where do all the lonely hearts go

Where do all the lonely hearts go



Then one touch overcomes the silence

Love still survives

Two hearts needing one another

Give me wings to fly



Where does my heart beat now

Where is the sound

That only echoes through the night

Where does my heart beat now

I can't live without

Without feeling it inside



I've got someone to give my heart to

Feel it getting stronger and stronger

And stronger

And I feel inside



Hearts are made to last

Till the end of time

Things the Grandchildren Should Know :: The Eels

This song is off of the Eels rather brilliant 2 disc CD, Blinking Lights and Other Revelations. It's the final track of the whole collection.

Sometimes I'm terrified that when I grow old I'll become an anti-social recluse. This song makes me feel a little better about growing old. Even if I do become a bit of a recluse, I think it'll be ok. The song also reminds me that I want to talk to my parents and grandparents, to talk to them about their lives, how they see their experiences. I would love to understand some of my parents decisions. I would also love to know how my parents really feel about me. I know that they love me, but sometimes I feel like I just confuse them. I'm quite impressed that the Eels are able to write such insightful (well, to me) music about growing older before they've reached old age.

I think my favorite lyrics from the song are "I knew true love and i knew passion and the difference between the two." I think people often confuse love with other emotions, like lust and passion. I also think that we equate love with sacrifice, sacrifice of dreams, friendships, independence, even the sacrifice of passion itself. I also think that we often forget that love can be passionate without being romantic or sexual. I'm not saying I know the difference yet between passion and love, but I'm learning and I'll get there one day.



I go to bed real early
Everybody thinks it's strange
I get up early in the morning
No matter how disappointed i was
With the day before
It feels new

I don't leave the house much
I don't like being around people
Makes me nervous and weird
I don't like going to shows either
It's better for me to stay home
Some might think it means i hate people
But that's not quite right

I do some stupid things
But my heart's in the right place
And this i know

I got a dog
I take him for a walk
And all the people like to say hello
I'm used to staring down at the sidewalk cracks
I'm learning how to say hello
Without too much trouble

I'm turning out just like my father
Though i swore i never would
Now i can say that i have a love for him
I never really understood
What it must have been like for him
Living inside his head

I feel like he's here with me now
Even though he's dead

It's not all good and it's not all bad
Don't believe everything you read
I'm the only one who knows what it's like
So i though i'd better tell you
Before i leave

So in the end i'd like to say
That i'm a very thankful man
I tried to make the most of my situations
And enjoy what i had
I knew true love and i knew passion
And the difference between the two
And i had some regrets
But if i had to do it all again
Well, it's something i'd like to do

Title of the Song :: Da Vinci's Notebook

i came across this song after about a 4 year hiatus this past weekend when i was road tripping to the shenandoah mountains in va for the weekend (to sit at her boss's condo and work on my thesis...lame!!!) before we left, i grabbed a bunch of old cds i had burned in college and popped one in.

when this song came on, i got super excited. my roommate, on the other hand, was not nearly as impressed w/it as i was....but whatever. i think this song is hilarious. basically, it's a bunch of dudes singing the formula to all boy-band pop songs. it is hilarious. i hope you all enjoy it. for anyone out there than enjoys nerdy music terminology, you will enjoy this song...especially my favorite part/line....which is bolded.



Title of the Song::Da Vinci's Notebook

Declaration of my feelings for you
Elaboration on those feelings
Description of how long these feelings have existed
Belief that no one else could feel the same as I
Reminiscence of the pleasant times we shared
And our relationship's perfection
Recounting of the steps that led to our love's dissolution
Mostly involving my unfaithfulness and lies
Penitent admission of wrongdoing
Discovery of the depth of my affection
Regret over the lateness of my epiphany

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Enumeration of my various transgressive actions
Of insufficient motivation
Realization that these actions led to your departure
And my resultant lack of sleep and appetite
Renunciation of my past insensitive behavior
Promise of my reformation
Reassurance that you still are foremost in my thoughts now
Need for instructions how to gain your trust again
Request for reconciliation
Listing of the numerous tasks that I'd perform
Of physical and emotional compensation

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Acknowledgment that I acted foolishly
Increasingly desperate pleas for your return
Sorrow for my infidelity
Vain hope that my sins are forgivable
Appeal for one more opportunity
Drop to my knees to elicit crowd response
Prayers to my chosen deity
Modulation and I hold a high note...

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Oh Heavenly Day :: Patty Griffin

there's just something simply wonderful about patty griffin's voice. she has the ability to make me stop whatever it is i am doing and listen. her voice is raw, passionate, sincere...basically i am in love with the way her voice makes me feel...regardless of whatever that emotion may be.

this song is legendary...it is probably even better than the scene in 'ghost' where 'unchained melody' comes on (i don't care if it's a het movie, that scene is still really amazingly beautiful)...at least in the fantasy of my mind, this song reaches those proportions...

in particular, it reminds me of what it feels like to have someone to love. specifically, what it's like to have someone that you'd like to lay around and cuddle with and listen to music all afternoon long...it's having that one someone that you are perfectly content with being in the same room and not having to say anything to know what the two of you feel for each other...when enough words to fill a million sociology textbook is expressed in a casual brushing of hands, or a glance across the room...

this song makes me want all of that. it makes me wanna dance around the room and be romantical. yes, i just said romantical. i'm an academic so i reserve the right to make up words.

anyway, this woman rocks my heartstrings. hopefully she will do the same for you.

word to your mother.
meggo



Oh Heavenly Day::Patty Griffin

All the clouds blew away
Got no trouble today
With anyone

The smile on your face
I live only to see
It's enough for me baby
It's enough for me
Oh heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day

Tomorrow may rain with sorrow
Here's a little time we can borrow
Forget all our troubles in these moments so few
Oh we can right now the only thing that all that we really have to do

Is have ourselves a heavenly day
Lay here and watch the trees sway
Oh can't see no other way
No way
No way
Heavenly day heavenly day heavenly day

No one on my shoulder
Bringing me fears
Got no clouds up above me
Bringing me tears
Got nothing to tell you
I got nothing much to say
Only I'm glad to be here with you
On this heavenly heavenly heavenly heavenly heavenly day
Oh all the troubles gone away
Oh for awhile anyway
For awhile anyway
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Heavenly day
Oh heavenly day

I Don't Know if She's Worth 900 Kronor :: Jens Lekman

I fell in love over the weekend. With Jens Lekman.

About a month ago, I was told I would love him and should check him out, and the circumstances of this conversation were such that I believed it. So, I had him on my "must check out" list. Then, as it happened, his music found me before I had the chance to find it. During a rollicking Jameson-soaked cribbage extravaganza that crept from Saturday into Sunday, Jens Lekman made himself known. In those early morning hours, Lake Calhoun was foggy, so was I, and I promptly turned over my heart to the songs of a Swedish crooner.

Jens, your music makes my heart ache, my eyes brighten, my spirit sparkle. Sigh.

His songs are pure, sweeping pop; romantic and nostalgic,bouncing from melancholy to joyous and back again. And his voice is like velvet. And he plays the ukelele! Jens is a little elusive; he doesn't have a myspace profile, and despite the fact that he has released mutliple albums and EPs, his music is not all over the internet. His website, however, has some for free download (check it!). While I've only heard a handful of his songs, almost every one I've heard I L-O-V-E. Where have I been? How did I overlook Jens Lekman all these years? WTF?!?!!! There is no going back now.

This song is called "I Don't Know if She's Worth 900 Kronor" and I've listened to it the most obsessively for the last 3 days. I can't find an MP3 to embed, nor is there any YouTube video, so follow this link and stream it: CLICK TO LISTEN!!!!!!!

Oh Jens. I look forward to our polyamorous romance, I know you have a lot of admirers, but that's okay. You have so much music I have yet to submerge myself in...how exciting.

LYRICS:
Well I know that I fall in love too easy,
I just sit back and pluck a little daisy.
Oh loves me, loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

I don't know if she's worth 900 Kronor,
'Cause that's a ticket from Gothenburg to Barcelona.
Oh loves me, loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

But there's a song on the radio
that lets me know that what I feel is a
No, no, no!
But hey let's go.
I'm not afraid to lend my heart out to a stranger:
Barcelona.

Oh please don't remind me of the little time i have known her.
She's probably happy,
In love with someone in Barcelona.
But no matter, if she loves me not,
I wanna fill her heart with forget-me-nots
So she'll think of me,
In Barcelona.

But there's a song on the radio
that lets me know that what I feel is a
No, no, no!
But hey let's go.
I'm not afraid to lend my heart out to a stranger:
Barcelona.
[I Don't Know If She's Worth 900 Kronor Lyrics on
http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

BONUS! Because I couldn't resist. This is "A Sweet Summer Night On Hammer Hill" and I love this song too.

One Voice :: The Wailin' Jennys

Friends, my apologies again for my late posting (though I doctored the posting date, so had I not openly confessed my tardiness, many of you unsuspecting readers would have been duped into thinking that I am in fact a timely person...)

The season-'O'-many-holidays-of-both-the-religious-and-secular-nature is upon us. Hanukkah, Christmas, the Solstice, the (Christian) New Year, Kwanzaa... This is the time of year when we sit around and eat a lot. I think this serves two purposes. The first, the more crude, physiological purpose (particularly for those of you in the upper Midwest) involves putting on some pounds to protect us from long months of bitterly cold winter days. Back in the day, before central heating, polar fleece and chai lattes, folks apparently did their best to feast in the weeks and months before winter really set in - to make sure their bodies had enough fat stored up to withstand what was to come. Which brings me to the second purpose that sitting around eating serves: togetherness. Few of us like to sit around alone in our apartments or houses and eat cookies by ourselves. Rather, we travel great distances to share a meal with those folks who are most important to us - whether they are the ones who harvested the grain or not, whether they hunted us a woolly mammoth or not, whether they baked us cookies or not. Each of the holidays we celebrate this month have specific religious or cultural meaning, but I think that at the core, each of them is a fundamental acknowledgement of something similar - a common human need to find companionship, express love and to have faith in something bigger than the individual - even if that something turns out to be each other.

On that (somewhat, but hopefully not outrageously cheesy) note, I offer this song, "One Voice" by the Wailin' Jennys, because it reminds me of all of the people I have been in communion with, whom I love, and in whom I have great faith.

May you be in peace with the people you love and make much harmony together.



This is the sound of one voice
One spirit, one voice
The sound of one who makes a choice
This is the sound of one voice

This is the sound of voices two
The sound of me singing with you
Helping each other to make it through
This is the sound of voices two

This is the sound of voices three
Singing together in harmony
Surrendering to the mystery
This is the sound of voices three

This is the sound of all of us
Singing with love and the will to trust
Leave the rest behind it will turn to dust
This is the sound of all of us

This is the sound of one voice
One people, one voice
A song for every one of us
This is the sound of one voice
This is the sound of one voice