Breathe - Pink FLOYD arr. Dan WALKER    

Breathe, breathe in the air,
Don’t be afraid to care,
Leave, but don’t leave me,
Look around, choose your own ground.

Long you live and high you fly,
Smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry,
And all you touch and all you see,
Is all your life will ever be.
 
Run, rabbit run,
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
When at last the work is done,
Don’t sit down, it’s time to build another one.

Long you live and high you fly,
And only if you ride the tide,
Balanced on the biggest wave,
You race towards an early grave.

Sospirava – Carlo GESUALDO

My heart sighed
In order to escape from suffering,
A sigh that said “my soul expires!”
 
Then my Lady heaved more than one sigh,
She too, sighs that seemed to say:
“Do not die! Do not die!”

O ignis Spiritus paracliti – Hildegard von BINGEN

O fire of the Spirit and Defender,
the life of every life created:
Holy are you – giving life to every form. 

Holy are you – anointing the critically
broken. Holy are you – cleansing
the festering wounds. 

O breath of holiness,
O fire of love,
O taste so sweet within the breast,
that floods the heart with virtues’ fragrant good. 

O clearest fountain,  
in which is seen the mirrored work of God
to gather the estranged
and seek again the lost.

O living armour, hope that binds
the every limb,
O belt of honour: save the blessed.

Guard those enchained in evil’s prison,
and loose the bonds of those
whose saving freedom is the forceful will of God.

O mighty course that runs within and through
the all – up in the heights, upon the earth,
and in the every depth –  
you bind and gather all together.

From you the clouds flow forth, the wind takes flight
the stones their moisture hold,
the waters rivers spring,
and earth viridity exudes.

You are the teacher of the truly learned,
whose joy you grant
through Wisdom’s inspiration.

And so, may you be praised, who are the sound of praise,
the joy of life, the hope and the potent honour,
and the giver of the gifts of light.

Red Dirt Hymns: Isolation Hymn – Andrew FORD

Let the quaver in my heart
Raise a tremor in my song.
Let them know that I am trembling
Let them know that I’m alone.

Breath was all the air between us
Then they told us not to breathe,
It was too late for my neighbour
It was too late for my love.

Sing me higher, love, and hold me
As the water rises slowly
May our voices be a river
Ever flowing to the sea.

When we say that we’re together
Even though we lie apart,
When they say there’s hearts on fire
Spreading ashes in the dark,

Sing me higher, love, and hold me
As the water rises slowly
May our voices be a river
Ever flowing to the sea.

I’d have sung you back to courage
Life was knocking at our door,
But my voice was air and breathing
Wasn’t easy anymore.

Sing me higher, love, and hold me
As the water rises slowly
May our voices be a river
Ever flowing to the sea.

Let the quaver in my heart
Raise a tremor in my song.
Let them know that I am trembling
Let them know that I’m alone.

Motet no 2: De Souspirant/Tous corps qui de bien amer/Suspiro - Guillaume de MACHAUT

triplum
All those who would have a care
To their loving well
Must be reason tend to where -  
The right way I tell –  
Their heart would desire to dwell
If they’d in virtue excel.
This my heart would ensure,
By Nature formed, that would
Make obeisance as it should
To that same Nature  

And to the one who’s stung me
Like some ill creature,
Since she shows me no pity
For all I endure,
Which sets me to languishing
With desire, upon seeing
Every sweet feature
Of her truly gracious face,
At which my heart doth race,
and set it ablaze;  

And though Love has made me
Suffer the torture
of these great ills unfairly
Without sin or error,
I’ll not cease to seek for
Comfort for my pain
From my lady pure,
And mercy I’ll win by this
According to my service;
Of that I am sure,

And as they say, truthfully,
Better by pleading joy to see,
Than to lie in languishing
and long silence, and then die.

motetus
Of my sighing, grieving heart,
As I ought to, I complain,
For, when bravely I do start
To speak of my deep pain,
Silence it demands again.
Thus I am trapped in gazing,
And so, I fear their coming,
Refusal, no friend to me,
Resistance, my enemy,
So violent when attacking,
That from Love I can but flee:
Or mercy, swift advancing,
From my lady I might see,
Or die so, in languishing.
 
tenor
I sigh.

Sospiri miei d’ahimè dogliorirosi e senz’aita – Adrian WILLAERT

My sighs, sorrowful and lifeless
Oh, depart from me, leave this place,
I give it to you (it benefits you?), Doridon, to be so beautiful
Son fa ru ra ru rella, you love me.

Know who does not have good in his youth to love
Struggles in old age, to ri ron, bitterness
Son fa ru ra ru rella, you love me.

The Body Breaks - Devendra BANHART arr R PEELMAN

The body breaks
And the body is fine
I'm open to yours
And I'm open to mine
The body aches
And that ache takes it time
But you'll get over yours
And I'll get over mine
And the sun will shine
And the moon will rise up
The body calls
Yeah, the body, it calls out
It whispers at first
But it ends with a shout
The body burns
Yeah, the body burns strong

I Heard You Sing – Jess GREEN

I heard you sing to me
floating in my darkened sea
words hushed from worlds unknown
you said you’re not alone.
 
My blood made red by you
each breath you breathed for two
in exhale we did sigh
as you waited for my cry.

Our bodies spoke together in code
messages within a chemical ode
an ode to making new withing
a heart and mind and lungs and skin

Even in my sleep it seemed in unison
I dreamed my heartbeat tuned to you
electrically we synced us two.
 
Then my body grew and grew
time to leave the world I knew
a signal sent, you drew your breath
so hard and fast, you thought of death.
 
That moment came as does for all
the water world was left in squall
air like fire stung my skin
part of your body out from in
 
and then that day not like another
I too became a breathing mother
a breath I took from you, exhaled.
A new life passed through watery veil.
 
I heard you sing
you’re not alone.
 
I heard you sing to me
in my darkened world of sea
low tones from worlds unknown
you said you’re not alone.

 

Listen, are you Breathing Just a Little and Calling It a Life? - Dan WALKER

Breathe in
Breathe out

Listen

Is this life?

Red Dirt Hymns: Dark Cloud – Andrew FORD

dark cloud
over land, lake and sea
casting shadow over Country  
hear our plea
let us shelter our spirit and our history

dark cloud
over land, lake and sea
fire crawling up ev’ry tree
hear our plea
let us not lose our ceremony

dark cloud leave,
dark cloud leave
lift this heavy smoke and let us see

dark cloud leave,
dark cloud leave
lift this heavy smoke and let us breathe.

Dolcissimo sospiro – Carlo GESUALDO

Sweetest of sighs
that comes from that mouth
where Love’s sweetness flows.
Come and soften
the bitterness of my pain.

Look, I open my heart to you
Fool that I am, who do I tell my suffering?
To a wandering sigh,
which may fly to another lover.

many passes and yearnings – Connor D’NETTO

mirage of loneliness,
run down to the ground
weeds begin as flowers
again and again,

catch my breath
yearn my breath
you earn my breath  

when you stay the night
 
I pass the salt
again and again

is a family
just many

passes and yearnings

is a silent breath
the same as loud
 
can my ears decode the gentleness

can I possibly be who you love

no more cycles of violence
the good faith of your breath
could kill me

Yangga – Brenda GIFFORD

Sing
Beautiful country
Mother Earth

Words – Anders EDENROTH
 
Words, a letter and a letter on a string
will hold forever humanity spell bound
Words, possession of the beggar and the king
Everybody, every day, you and I, we all can say
words, regarded as a complicated tool
created by man implicated by mankind
Words, obsession of the genius and the fool
Everybody, every day, everywhere and every way
 
Oh words
 
Find them, you can use them
Say them, you can hear them
Write them, you can read them
Love them, fear them
 
Words, transmitted as we’re fitted from the start
received by all and we’re sentenced to a life with words,
impression of the stupid and the smart
Everybody, every day, you and I, we all can say
Words, inside your head can come alive as they’re said
softly, loudly, modestly and proudly
Words, expression by the living and the dead
Everybody, every day, everywhere and every way

Oh words
 
Find them, you can use them
Say them, you can hear them
Write them, you can read them
Love them, fear them
 
Words, a letter and a letter on a string.