Sacred Ground Lyrics

SACRED GROUND BY BARB TILSEN

DAUGHTERSONG (Molly’s Song) by Barb Tilsen
© 1985 Barbara Tilsen

Chorus:
You are a child of the river of people
Forging new paths, flowing through time
You are a child of the river of people
Forging new paths, flowing through time

Cookers and bakers, printers and painters
Farmers and menders, people’s defenders
Talkers and teachers, parents and preachers
Builders and makers, movers and shakers
Strong working hands shape swift flowing streams
Be borne on their strength, their courage and dreams. CHORUS

Toolers and binders, new path finders
Loggers and cleaners, jugglers and dreamers
Hunters and fishers, lovers and wishers
Poets and writers, singers and fighters
Through the rocks and the rapids,  they rode currents of change
Turned tides of destruction with great rising waves. CHORUS

Smithies and sailors, machine operators
Typists and sewers, millers and growers
Fixers and tinkerers, solvers and thinkers
Organizers, all survivors
One drop of water is one drop alone
A great flowing river can wear away stone. CHORUS

WATERS OF LIFE by Barb Tilsen
© 1982 Barbara S. Tilsen

CHORUS:
Waters of life, circle round the earth
Gentle flowing streams, wild pounding surf
Bright drops on morning leaves, deep winding rivers
Oh great waters, ancient life giver

I sit before the ocean, on fine white powdered sands
A million stars above me shine ‘cross the deep expanse
I watch with awe and wonder as waves keep steady beat
Silver moon’s strong rhythm, I feel in my feet
Waters inky black, rising waves with crests of white
I feel deep within me this force of nature’s might
But darker things than midnight change the water’s hue
Oil spills, methane plumes, drifting plastic stew
Coral reefs teeming with life, bleach and petrify
Death in wild and tossing seas is death for you and I

CHORUS:
Waters of life, circle round the earth
Gentle flowing streams, wild pounding surf
Bright drops on morning leaves, deep winding rivers
Oh great waters, ancient life giver

Minnesota’s northern shore, waves echo ocean’s sigh
Rugged beauty strikes a chord with haunting sea gulls’ cry
Land of streams, 10,000 lakes, primordial glacial gift
Symphony of land and sky, makes my spirits lift
But pipelines leaking oil threaten rivers, lakes and streams
Pesticides and fertilizer stain our hopes and dreams
Two paths we face, the time is now, one surely death will bring
The other—a living road—the first clean breath of spring
Two paths we face, the time is now, we must make a choice
So our children’s children can sing in one clear voice  CHORUS

MAY DAY by Barb Tilsen
© Barbara Tilsen

As the cold grip of winter loosens its hand
There’s folks hard at work in a cold northern land
Recycled papers, old paint, bits of string
Transform into images heralding spring
Herald spring, heralding spring
Transform into images heralding spring

A labor of love in papier-mâché
It’s all built by hand—wood, cardboard and clay
Children, grandparents, all ages between
Hammering, sculpting the shape of our dreams
Shape of dreams, shape of dreams
Hammering, sculpting the shape of our dreams

Each year the first Sunday of May they all come
Great Pageant of Life to the beat of the drum
Stilt-walkers, four-legged, the winged fly free
Like a river, winding its way to the sea
To the sea, to the sea
Like a river winding its way to the sea

The Elements Incarnate that day walk the earth
In transcending renewal and joyful rebirth
As 10,000 voices step outside of time
And their call for the Sun lifts the Tree of Life
Tree of Life, Tree of Life
Their call for the Sun lifts the Tree of Life

Hope over despair, life over death
The deep freeze of winter warms with spring’s breath
Peace over war, joy over strife
Sing the Song of the Earth, dance the Great Dance of Life
Dance of Life, Dance of Life
Sing the Song of the Earth, dance the Great Dance of Life

The Cabin Song by Isaac Russell-Hart
(last verse by Molly Tilsen)
© Isaac Russell-Hart

Hey Tree, How’d you get so tall?
Hey Tree, I hope that you don’t fall
Well it seems like yesterday
you were just a little seed
Now you’re standing there so big
watching over me

Hey Star, How’d you get so bright?
Hey Star, How’d you get so high?
Well it looks like you could fit
on my fingertip
And I know you’re old as time
but you seem to do just fine

CHORUS
I love you,  I love you two
I love you three, I love you four

Hey Stream, How’d you get so long?
Hey Stream, I can hear your song
You’ve been running, running wild
ever since I was a child
And I hope that you flow on
long after I am gone

Hey Sea, how’d you get so blue
Hey Sea, your pull is old and new
You’ve been holding strong and vast
even when you’re still as a glass
You grasp me with your surf
I can touch the ends of earth

CHORUS
I love you,  I love you two
I love you three, I love you four

SACRED GROUND by Barb Tilsen
©  Barbara Tilsen

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
lightest blue to deepest brown
you gaze upon sacred ground

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
sky-tinged blue looks back at you
raindrop fresh on hot, dry ground
sweet and ancient innocence
eggshell-blue with bursting life
indigo depths of sparkling ponds
embued with life’s mystery

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
sprouting green, all tones between
tender wild grass growing
new shoots reaching to the sun
myriad forest canopies
seeking roots and soaring leaves
connecting earth and sky

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
abundant brown, holy ground
rings out its sonorous hues
feathered wing, free flying mane
wild tree-bark timbre growing
tints of wisdom from the well
traces from beyond birth’s door

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
dark rich earth, mystery of birth
fertile promise of seed in loam
wobbly colt’s newborn sheen
deep like velvet, luminous night
melodic stars, galaxies
resound in celestial space

when you sing into a baby’s eyes
blessed color, vibrant hue
pure and sweet, gaze back at you
a hallowed trust unfolding
troth between tomorrow and today
whose rainbow tones fill out with sound
as you sing on sacred ground

Birth Song by Barb Tilsen
©  1980 Barbara S. Tilsen

Oh little child, sweet girl, sweet boy
When you began, was a moment of joy
Oh little child, sweet child of mine
Feel you growing so strong, deep inside

Feel you swimming and a-tumbling all around
Wiggle flowing tickle moving up and down
Oh little child
Leaping and a-touching and a-kicking me
Flicker ‘neath my skin wonder what I see
Oh little child
My belly rippling from side to side
Watch your dance of new life from the outside
Oh little child

Oh little child, sweet child of mine
Our work begins, at last the time
Oh little child, sweet little child
We’re pushing and a-moving, moving and a-pushing me
Opening me wider, wider than I think I can bear
Oh little child

Like the ebb and flow of waves to the moon’s steady beat
A force that can move mountains and it’s inside of me
Oh little child
Steady thrusting movement of emerging new life
Rhythms of the earth fill me deep inside
Oh little child

I feel open, opening me wide
Opening my heart, opening my mind
I feel you coming, the time is quick
What’s your hurry little one, slow down a bit

Flower bursting open through my body soil
Rhythms of eruption never knew such toil, oh little child
Life waters flow before you in a gushing cry
My legs and my bones and my tissues grow wide
Oh little child
Your emerging head, first breath of new life
Such a mystery, a wonder meeting for the first time
Oh little child

Oh little child, sweet little child
You give me life
You come where you belong
You give me life
And I give you this song

Two and a Half by Barb Tilsen
for Eddie
© 1984 Barbara S. Tilsen

CHORUS:
I can do it alone, I can do it myself
Curious fingers reach for the top shelf
Two and a half and feeling just fine
Full of mischief and monkeyshine

Rosy cheeks, and big blue eyes
The color of crisp, bright morning skies
Heart full of laughter, soul full of song
You dance through your days and your spirit’s strong

Two and a half you keep me on my toes
Drying your tears and wiping your nose
Falling down and bumping your head
Needs a few stitches so the doctor said  CHORUS

See you sit there so sweet, cuddling a doll
Singing and a-rocking, just having a ball
Next time I look it’s a doll with no legs
And you’re in the kitchen, cracking all the eggs

Magic marker on the walls and on the buffet
On your belly and your legs, oh what can I say
I think you’re really cute, think you’re heaven-sent
‘Til you pour your apple juice down the heating vent  CHORUS

See you walk out of my room with a funny kind of smile
The one that means cleanup’s gonna take a long while
With a sinking feeling down deep inside
I finally round the corner and begin to cry
‘Cause the Christmas before I got a calculator
And I find it all painted with some liquid paper
Soaking in a glass of coca-cola on the desk
Oh, two and a half what a terrible mess  CHORUS

Rosy cheeks and big blue eyes
The color of crisp, bright morning skies
Heart full of laughter, soul full of song
You dance through your days and your spirit’s strong

Two and a half, what’s in your mind?
Lots of mischief and monkeyshine
Two and a half, and feeling so strong
Heart full of laughter, soul full of song

CHANGES by Barbara Tilsen
© 1984 Barbara S. Tilsen

Oh mama, so many kids don’t know how I’ll remember
What if I forget all their names
Such a big building, do I have to start school
Maybe I should wait for this change

I’m kind of excited and full of worries
Will I find a new friend to play with me?

Well, you can trust in yourself
Just like you’ve always done
Take it a step at a time
Don’t be afraid to face the new
Listen to your feelings inside

As a tiny baby you’d move your hands
Weaving a magic dance of fun
Laughing and growing, seeking and knowing
You stood on your feet and danced in the sun

Just remember who you are
Growing strong, always reaching far

But mama, what if they ask me where do you live?
What if I forget my address
Will I have a place to keep all my stuff
What if I can’t find my desk
What if I get there and lose my way
What if I can’t find my room
What if I don’t know what bus to take
What if I can’t get home

If you’ve got a question or feel confused
Just say what need, someone will come help you

You can trust in yourself
Just like you’ve always done
Take it a step at a time
Don’t be afraid to face the new
Listen to your feelings inside

You’re a singer of songs, a spinner of tales
You love lots of treats and adventures so wild
Like your water colors you move and flow
Oh laughing dancing child

Just remember who you are
To me you shine bright like an evening star

You can trust in yourself
Just like you’ve always done
Take it a step at a time
Don’t be afraid to face the new
Listen to your feelings inside

Just remember who you are
To me you shine bright like an evening star

DANCING IN THE CIRCLE
a Bat Mitzvah song for Molly
by Barbara Tilsen,  December 28, 1995
© Barbara Tilsen

I place my feet inside the footprints
Of mothers throughout time
You place your feet in daughter’s footprints
That I have left behind
Step by step together
To an ancient rhythmic sound
In the heartbeat of the circle
We dance round and round

We are dancing in the Circle
That winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

In the Torah, you’ll find Deborah
Woman of the Flame
Warrior, judge and prophet
Poet of great fame
Like Deborah, you have wisdom
A brave, creative mind
May it guide you on your journey
As you seek and as you find

We are dancing Deborah’s Circle
It winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

In the Torah, you’ll find Miriam
Keeper of the Well
She sang up desert waters
The thirsty drank their fill
Like Miriam, you have music
Deep within your soul
May it bless you with pure harmony
Wherever you may go

We are dancing Miriam’s Circle
It winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

In the Torah, you’ll find Sarah
Ancient Matriarch
You’ll find her faith and passion
Deep in your own heart
And there you’ll find your grandmas
Rachel’s fire and strength,
May it help you go the distance
May it help you go the length
And there just like an angel
Pearl’s spirit shines
May it bless you and sustain you
Through joys and troubled times

We are dancing Sarah’s Circle
It winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

When you look inside your own heart
You’ll find what’s deep and true
The lovely shining light
Unique and special you
Your athlete’s endurance
Your caring sharing soul
You know how to see the pieces
You know how to see the whole
You try to fix what’s broken
You try to right what’s wrong
From the child – emerging woman
Singing your own song

We are dancing Molly’s Circle
It winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

I place my feet inside the footprints
Of mothers throughout time
You place your feet in daughter’s footprints
That I have left behind
Step by step together
To the ancient rhythmic sound
In the heartbeat of the circle
We dance round and round

We are dancing in the Circle
That winds thru love and time
Daughter of the Torah
Sweet daughter of mine

KIMBERLY ROSE by Barb Tilsen
©1987 Barbara S. Tilsen

With the Spirit of Kimberly Rose
Run for Freedom
With the Spirit of Kimberly Rose
Live for Freedom

Cross the rolling Dakota plains, 400 miles to Sioux Falls Prison
Lone runner against the sky, silhouette on sunset, on a new sun risen
Carrying a staff of prayers and strength, for loved ones locked away
Lakota daughters Lakota sons, sowing seeds of a brighter day

Kimberly Rose was 11 years, with shining eyes
Heart full of love & dreams, she touched the earth, touched the sky
Through the broken treaty lands, toward the rising sun
She ran in turn, carried the staff on a Freedom Run  CHO

Past golden buffalo grass, fields of corn and wheat
Prairie flowers scent the air, feet pounding steady as a heartbeat
Near a reservation border town, she got down on the road
A drunken driver out of control cut down Kimberly Rose

Land of Crazy Horse & Black Hills gold, mass graves at Wounded Knee
In justice South Dakota style, drunken driver walks away free
One who’s taken so young and brave bears a message if you will hear it
For life is measured not in years but in depth of spirit CHO

Run for Freedom, run for the land, for love locked away
All of tomorrow’s flowers lie, in the seeds of today
Kimberly Rose, seed to root to flowering ancient seed
Bringing through life’s harvests new flowers growing free  CHO

FREEDOM’S ROOTS (Marion’s Song)
By Barb Tilsen
© 1982 Barbara S. Tilsen

CHORUS:
Like a tree her roots went deep
Holding, seeking, nourishing
Like the spreading leaves she embraced the sky
Touching freedom

Silently she slipped away in the middle of a starry night
Shed the chains that bound her and began a freedom flight
For a Texas wife in 1910, life was slavery
The only law her husband’s word, woman his property
Wrapping midnight around her shoulders, three children in her hands
She was bound for Oklahoma, liberty’s promised land  CHORUS

Midwestern hearts, Midwestern homes, Midwestern fights for freedom
Marion LeSueur, one strong voice for equality and reason
She fought for public libraries, left a legacy
Organized a workers’ school so all could learn to read
Traveled on Chatauqua lines, oh eloquent prairie voice
Defied the law, taught birth control, so a woman might have a choice  CHORUS

**She was fierce as a bird is fierce
Flying the crags and lonely heights
She swooped like a hawk on all who’d rob
And steal hard-won rights
For all her heartache, all her lonely pain
All her sweetness hammered to pointed steel
So a new world might be gained
So you can walk with an air of easy grace and hold your head up high
Oh cherish her as you cherish the sea and mountains that climb the sky

FINAL CHORUS:
Like a tree let our roots go deep
Holding seeking, nourishing
Like the spreading leaves, let’s embrace the sky
Touching freedom

**adapted from “Lay a Flower Upon Her Sleeping Hair” Irene Paull poem written for Marion

GRANDMA’S BATTLE CRY
Words by Irene Paull, music by Barb Tilsen
© 1980 Irene Paull & Barbara Sandstrom Tilsen

It’s blowing in the wind again, it’s drifting in the rain
Before the dead have moldered yet or wounded healed their pain
I am so old my grandchildren, that I remember when
I marched to hail the armistice and I was barely ten
That was the war against all war, to save democracy
Praise God they said we’ve won the peace for all eternity

I marched again when some years passed and marched and marched and then
There was the war to end all war and so I marched again
I marched in Minneapolis, Chicago and Duluth
In San Francisco and New York, I marched to shout the truth
I marched in Hiroshima and knelt before a stash
Of tens of million bones of people atomized to ash
And with the distant rumble of new regiments of men
I read the warning on the tomb, “This must not be again”

Chorus:
I marched to staunch Korea’s blood, I marched for Vietnam
I marched to stop the napalm and I marched to stop the bomb
I’ve marched and marched and marched oh Lord, I’m sure I’ve done my due
I’ve marched since I was barely ten and now I’m seventy-two

I should be lying in the sun or dreaming in the grass
But how when generals everywhere are polishing their brass
Entranced with dreams of four star roles, so help me Lord they’re glad
It’s said that whom the gods destroy they first must render mad
Their burning eyes see No-Man’s Land and armies poised for action
And you my warm and loving ones, you’re merely an abstraction

It’s geo-politics again, and oh with what finesse
The players push their pawns about, these masterminds of chess
How cunningly they plot each move, how logically they spar
And checkmate one another like the masters that they are
How stimulating, how intense!  A world to lose or gain
Except for one dismaying fact, the players are insane
Composed dispassionate they play this game that madness spawns
And I can’t even look away, my children are the pawns  CHORUS

Some people keep on fighting when they’ve lost an arm or leg
Some still keep up the struggle when they’re fragile as an egg
I’ve heard men rasping I object with voices turned to gravel
I’ve seen a woman raise a fist who couldn’t lift a gavel
And even with a broken heart, one still can make a stand
So lead my children lead the way, reach back and take my hand
I’ll march again, confound them all, don’t quibble at my age
I’ll shield you with my brittle bones, I’ll nourish you with rage!  CHORUS

We’ll march again, confound them all, don’t quibble at my age
I’ll shield you with my brittle bones, I’ll nourish you with rage!

WE’VE GOT THE RIGHT by Barb Tilsen
© Barbara S. Tilsen

We’ve got the right (echo)
To organize
We’ve got the right (echo)
To protest lies
We’ve got the right (echo)
To survive
To make it right, we’ve got the right (2x)

From the start (echo)
Of our country
From the start (echo)
Fighting tyranny
From the start (echo)
The promise to be free
To make it right, we’ve got the right (2x)

We’ve organized (echo)
Down through the years
We’ve organized (echo)
Blood sweat and tears
We’ve organized (echo)
Freedoms we hold dear
To make it right, we’ve got the right (2x)

At the heart (echo)
Of democracy
At the heart (echo)
Responsibility
At the heart (echo)
It’s up to you and me
To make it right, we’ve got the right (2x)

We’ve got the right (echo)
To organize
We’ve got the right (echo)
To protest lies
We’ve got the right (echo)
Eyes on the prize
To make it right, we’ve got the right (2x)

EVEN A SINGLE LAMP by Barb Tilsen
©  Barbara S. Tilsen

Flash of mushroom clouds, napalm’s firey rain
Burning crosses of the Klan, are one kind of flame
Another stronger fire, glows from deep inside
Where spirit dwells, hope is born, where our courage lies
An ember holds within, heartbeats of the flame
Ready for the rising breath of life it will sustain
Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness
Tossing shadows up in flight
Spark of hope, flame of courage
Rising to illuminate the night

Candles on the altar, reflected in their eyes
In a southern Baptist church, they fought for civil rights
An early Sunday morn, September ’63
A firebomb exploded with hate and bigotry
In the fire and ruin, four young girls lost their lives
Four flames burning in our hearts, four flames in our eyes
Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness
Tossing shadows up in flight
Spark of hope, flame of courage
Rising to illuminate the night

In Auschwitz he survived, Filip Muller was his name
With numb despair he shoveled Nazi ovens’ charred remains
One day vans unloaded, Czech Jews proud and strong
Despite their fear and terror they raised their voice in song
He stepped in beside them, “Today with you I’ll die”
The women said, “No, live!  Witness and survive!”
Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness
Tossing shadows up in flight
Spark of hope, flame of courage
Rising to illuminate the night

There’s fire that consumes, fire that destroys
And there is the fire that burns within our eyes
Lupine flowers bloom on volcanic ashen slopes
Molten lava cools, and blossoms with new hope
Ancient gift of fire, rhythms of the earth
From the ashes of the old springs the promise of rebirth
Even a single lamp dispels the deepest darkness
Tossing shadows up in flight
Spark of hope, flame of courage
Rising to illuminate the night

COMMUNAL GLOBAL DAY
by Meridel LeSueur, musical adaptation by Barb Tilsen
©  Barbara S.Tilsen

We sing with you
In the village, in the root dark
In the germinal seed, in the harvest
In brotherhood and sisterhood
We sing with you

Let us seek each other in the villages of the earth,
In the root dark where we live in the dust,
Find us singing in the underground vein, the germinal seed,
in the returning sun,
And bring our goodness to enormous, fertile and perpetual harvest,
Toward zeniths of noon.
Toward total expansions in crops of brotherhood and sisterhood.

We sing with you
In the new year, from the loom
From the pollen, from the sunrise
In immense globular light
We sing with you

Let us await each other in the village field,
In the new year, risen in ancestral dust, from the furrow,
From the loom of the people where, amid lamentations
We have loomed our life in pollen;
Where the leaves forgive the root
and our children rise in perpetual sunrise, in immense globular light.
We await each other!

We sing with you
From the village, from the field
From the flesh, from solar light
In choruses of millions
We sing with you

The light returns on no enemy faces,
But upon the communal chorus,
Roused in villages of the earth, to cry salute and sing,
Shout in choruses of millions,
Rising toward communications, toward extremities of nadirs
Of total expansions, in the entire solar light, on all flesh,
On all fields and all villages
Roused from sleep, rouse us,
Let us seek each other and move from the violent, the broken, the predatory,
To the enormous and myriad fertile and impregnated harvest,
the global village
We sing with you in choruses of millions.

We sing with you
In choruses of millions, we sing with you