Couldn't Hear Nobody Pray
Traditional Spiritual arranged by
Maggie and Suzzy and Ysaye M. Barnwell
Jeremiah
call me Jeremiah
Jeremiah said the Lord
call me and I'll show you
great and mighty things you have not seen
words from Jeremiah 33:3
music by Maggie
Anyway
People are often unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, People may accuse you
of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some
false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone
could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis,
it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway
Author unknown
music by Maggie and Suzzy
Each Of Us Has A Name
Each of us has name
given by God
and given by our parents
Each of us has a name
given by our stature and our smile
and given by what we wear
Each of us has a name
given by the mountains
and given by our walls
Each of us has a name
given by the stars
and given by our neighbors
Each of us has a name
given by our sings
and given by our longing
Each of us has a name
given by our enemies
and given by our love
Each of us has a name
given by our celebrations
and given by our work
Each of us has a name
given by the seasons
and given by our blindness
Each of us has a name
given by the sea
and given by
our death
Poem by Zelda, translated from the Hebrew by Marcia Falk. Excerpted from The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival (Harper, 1996: Beacon, 1999). Copyright (c) Marcia Lee Falk. Used by permission.
music by Maggie
Why Am I Praying
Why am I praying
Who's gonna hear?
What I'm saying right now
is from fear
of nothingness
and of everything,
of not knowing enough
and of learning too much,
of being alone
and not having my space,
of being naked in a crowd
or being clothed in disgrace.
So this is what I pray:
To be OK,
to be with those I love
and to know what to say
when I see whatever's above.
words by Cromwell Schubarth
music by Suzzy
Teach Me O Lord
Teach me O Lord
The ways of thy statutes
And I shall keep them until the end
Just give me understanding
And I will keep thy laws
I shall observe them with my whole heart
Teach me O Lord
Teach me Jesus
Teach me how to love
Teach me Master
Teach me how to pray
Teach me how to walk every day
I shall observe them with my whole heart
Teach me O Lord
Teach me Jesus
Teach me how to love
Teach me Master
I wanna know how to get down on my knees and pray
Teach me how to walk every day
I shall observe them with my whole heart
Traditional hymn
Hallelujah
dear most merciful God
humbly I approach your throne
of grace and mercy
thank you
for putting your hand in the midst
of our trials and tribulations
cause you bless me
so many times in the hospital
when I was afraid
hallelujah
Father I am calling out to you
bless each patient name by name
these are your children
Lord bless their families
and those who do not know
you are in this
go in Lord and touch 'em
hallelujah
you are the healer
give to the doctor
a heart for compassion
an ear to listen
touch the nurse
may the strength of your hand be upon them
and Lord give 'em a kind word to say
cause you are the beginning of this
and you are gonna be the end
dear most merciful God
hallelujah
words by Frankie Harris
music by Suzzy
A Prayer
This is to the being I know as God
God please help me to be a better human being
As a young man, I killed a lot of people
for no good reason!
What became no good reason!
I would love to blame someone else, anyone
else for how I feel about what I did,
the killing.
What I thought I had to do to survive to be a
good American like my dad.
I must have had other choices.
I know I had other choices
Forgive me
I will try to do good things to my fellow human
beings like nursing,
Fighting fire and save lives. It's what I know.
Until you call for me, or whatever way you use
to make this pain end.
God; you can take me anytime!
Me
words by Bill Barbeau
music by Maggie
Praise Song For A New Day
Over the doors of day
Here by this windowsill
I watch the climbing light
As early footsteps steal
Enormous shadows away.
Tenderly from this height
I feel compassion come
As all the city stirs
And trembles in my room.
So from a stance of calm
A stepping out of sleep
My shadow once again
Disperses in the warm day
With its lives more deep
Than any pleasure or pain.
words by Cecile Mchardy
music by Suzzy
Sounds
They say the sounds we make
will travel through space
forever--
through our spinning solar system,
through the wheeling disc of our galaxy,
through what we imagine our universe to be,
we can't begin to imagine.
They say we cannot call a sound back,
cannot erase a sound,
can't catch it up and change it,
no matter how many hymns and prayers
we send chasing after it.
A sound goes on and on and on.
Can you imagine the sounds he made,
how they must have echoed in the clear
Wyoming air
Can you imagine the sounds they made,
pistol whipping, shattering his skull
Can you imagine the sounds he made
as he hung, tied to a fence, broken and bleeding,
through the bitter night, and the whole next day
Can you imagine the sounds she made
when she heard what they did to her child
These sounds
are streaking through space forever.
These sounds
are shattering stars.
These sounds
will shatter
brightness forever
we can't begin to imagine.
A sound goes on and on and on...
words by Karen Bashkirew
music by Suzzy
Allende
Tonight we cross the Jordan into Canaan
We leave behind this vale of tears
And we'll be born again
Born again
Allende el rio
Allende la mar
Allende la montana
Allende la ciudad
Allende el pantano
Allende el pinche pueblo
Allende el desierto
Allende el cielo
Allende rascacielo
Allende la jeringa...
Allende la policia
Allende el peso
Allende el desempleo
Allende el talado
Allende el talaneo
Allende esta cancion
Allende...
words and music by Ruben Martinez
This Gospel How Precious
this gospel how precious to my thirsty soul
o I drink at the river of life every day
for which I give thanks to my God I will pray
I know how to pray
I know how to be thankful
for God has blessed me with a broken heart
and true godly sorrow for sin
a Shaker hymn
New York City
here's a song for the heroes
who were braver than I could ever be
love for their families
who are grieving but not alone
new york city is crying
new york city is down on her knees
new york city is praying
together with you
here's a song for the missing
every loved one who still can't be found
love for their families
who in sorrow are not alone
new york city is standing by you
new york city is down on her knees
new york city is praying
together with you
may our voices rise to "split the sky...
and let the face of God shine through"*
can we push the clouds of fear apart
and rest our sadness on Thy heart
new york city is trying
new york city is down on her knees
new york city is praying
together with you
words and music by Suzzy
* from Edna St. Vincent Millay's Renascence
Aveenu Malcainu
Traditional
Together With You
Together with you
with three hes
with three shes
in a perfect embrace
with you wordlessly
you describe my freedom
after those moments
when the persecuted city trembles
you appear precisely when the arms of he
the arms of she let go
those piny ones
with a chorus of warrior wind
that assaults my childhood senses
that embrace that I need as much
as the one that leaves me in tears
before the empty hammock
where your ghost gently sways
the embrace of the grandfather
that faced dictatorial cells
embraces of decadent teeth that propelled me
toward your embrace that sings like she
like he sang to me
before you returned
before you left
in that moment without the three shes
the three hes
full of the desire of all
desiring all shes and all hes
there deeply fed by our chaos
is an I do love you
to bring together root and branch
dream and fact
to destroy myself well
this song
that springs from all of you
that live me that die me that sing me
that are me
words by Ruben Martinez
music by Suzzy
God Bless The Artists
God bless the artists and keep them safe,
Praise the creator and those who create,
Touch the senses, strike the chord
Sound the trumpet, praise the Lord.
Guide the potter's mystic touch
The painter's brush, the actor's heart,
"Dance the steps" to magic music
Grace the motion, move the spirit,
Guard the artists' cosmic gifts
May the proclaim
God's great creation.
God bless the artists and keep them safe
Praise the creator and those who create
Touch the senses, strike the chord,
Shout for joy and praise the Lord.
Amen, Amen
words by Priscilla Dewey Houghton
music by Suzzy
Musical Prayer By Francis Bok
We thank you Lord for having guarded and guided your people of southern Sudan from the suffering and torture in their country to a land of freedom. I thank you particularly for freeing me from the bondage of slavery, a condition I never thought I would survive. I have suffered greatly, but worse yet, I have seen people of all ages, children murdered right before my eyes. Thank you Lord for helping me to survive this nightmare. I may be free and happy now, but the fate of thousands back in Sudan is unknown. Let us all pray that we may finally live in harmony as one people of the same land.
words by Francis Bok
music by Suzzy
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