Song: We Shall Be Known

Music by: Karisha Longaker of MaMuse

Notes: I could not be more delighted than to bring you this beloved song in a real-life song-sharing situation. My Flow Singing folk were singing "We Shall Be Known" for the third week -- so we simply recorded! You'll sing with them as they review the main melody, learn the upper harmony for the first time -- and then I inserted a quick teach of the low harmony -- and then we get to sing "in the room" with the Flow Singers, who were leaning into the song in such a beautiful way. I feel so lucky with the company I get to keep... and next week, I find myself in a Zoom room with Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting themselves, talking about the "insanely fun, incredibly connected" first years, and what it means in practical terms to "believe in kindness as our common wealth."

Songwriter Info: MaMuse (“Ma” as in Mamma; “Muse” as in the one who inspires) was born out of a collaboration between songwriters Karisha Longaker and Sorah Nutting. 2008 was a year of great alchemy. Fires erupted in Northern California, a great wind of inspiration blew through, catalyzing a series of songs written from the soil and rivers, ash and heat of Chico where these two musicians met.

In the early days these troubadours toted instruments around town by bicycle and shared their songs at farmers markets, community gatherings, small cafes and festivals. Not too long after, these two voices became iconic to the Chico community, representing idyllic values of friendship, community, love for nature and care for Self and World. The love spread, sisterhood held strong through two decades of LIFE: children, relationships arriving and dissolving, making home in many new places.

MaMuse songs such as “We Shall Be Known” and “Hallelujah” have sprouted wings and are now sung at the bed sides of birthing mothers, round campfires, at weddings and funerals... All places where people are gathered to celebrate and to mourn. These are songs born of the Folk lineage; songs for all of us.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Karisha and Sorah always welcome financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Melody: 00:04:20

High harmony: 00:07:16

Low harmony: 00:11:34

Whole song: 00:15:05

Links:

Show info, bookings and newsletter signup: www.mamuse.org

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mamusemusic

Patreon: www.patreon.com/mamuse

Download and contribute to recorded music funds: mamuse.bandcamp.com

Lisa Littlebird's page for We Shall Be Known: thebirdsings.com/we-shall-be-known/

Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, 3-part harmony

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Estrellitas

Music by: Ana Lucia Divins

Notes: Singing this song of grief and the lifting of grief connected deeply with my heart this week. No matter what grief is in my heart at the moment, the wordless "O", followed by the shaping of Spanish words for sorrow, doubt, and fear as well as let go and little stars -- letting all the grief light the fire and then the sparks carry it away -- oh, it felt good to sing this. Soft and strong, velvet and spark, ache and motion. I'm grateful Ana Lucia gifted us this song to sing, and excited that once you've learned the core of the song with me, you get to sing all of it with her if you follow the Bandcamp link!

Songwriter Info: Music has been a lifelong companion for Ana Lucia Divins, who has witnessed its healing power and the strength of community connections. This journey led her to explore sound and therapeutic music studies. She is a Certified Music Practitioner by MHTP and a Holistic Voice Therapist with the British Academy of Sound Therapy. Since 2022, she has integrated healing music into her offerings, singing by patients’ bedsides and sharing therapeutic music in the community for restoration and relaxation. In 2023, she received the Arts and Science Council Creative Renewal Fellowship and in 2024, the Arts and Science Council Artist Support Grant, enabling her to delve deeper into music’s healing potential and produce new works. Ana Lucia’s exploration of her voice has taken her to national and international workshops and retreats in Greece, Spain, the UK, and Colombia.

In the summer of 2024, Ana Lucia and Carlos Crespo, an Ecuadorian guitarist, released their debut healing music album, “Emerging,” in collaboration with other talented musicians. Available on all digital platforms, "Emerging" offers a deeply relaxing and uplifting sound bath of original new-age world music. It is a sonic journey mirroring life’s ebb and flow, from dawn’s gentle awakening to night’s tranquil embrace, remembering the cycles of healing, new beginnings, and transformation.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Ana Lucia always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:02:39

Start time of reprise: 00:13:14

Links:

Ana Lucia's website: https://www.adivins.com

Divins Music Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/divinsmusic/

Azul Healing website: https://www.azulhealing.com

Azul Healing Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/azulhealing/

Emerging album on Bandcamp: https://divins.bandcamp.com/album/emerging

Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, minor, unison

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

The Sunday after this episode is released, October 12th, 2025, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

Lyrics ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.

28. Drifting Dark

by Patricia Norton

Drifting dark, cold and spark,

floating dream, holiday scene.

I know this world keeps on turning,

spinning songs of hearts in yearning.

Dark. Spark.

Dream. Scene.

World. Turning.

Spinning candescent, spinning candescent,

spinning hearts in yearning.

199. The Turtle Remembers

by Becky Reardon

The Turtle remembers

a dream in December,

alone with God.

Alone with songs of the whales,

returning, returning.

189. Hearth

by Yuri Woodstock

Fire at the center in my heart

Rise of the night spark fly away

Smoke twines together in the sky

Oh how the dark times light my way

Fire in my heart

Praise be to the dark

Dreaming in an endless night

Living in an endless dream

120. Alchemy

by Te Martin

Everything is helping you

grow and thrive;

know what you need to know.

It is not too late,

it is not too late to follow

(3x)

your dreams.

Dream!

62. Let Me Be The Love

by Karly Loveling

Doing my best to be the Love

my deepest heart is dreaming of.

With every breath I take,

Let me be the Love

Letting my cup overflow

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Breathe Easy

Music by: Karly Loveling

Notes: When I heard this song of Karly's, I couldn't wait to tease apart the harmonies -- and I find I sing it to myself at odd moments -- its kind, gentle advice lets me release into my own wisdom. What's funny is I came to record it in a bit of a rush, after a rather stressful day and knowing I'd be travelling in the morning, so I really had to get it done... and the breath of song did its thing. As I taught it, my heart eased, my breath deepened, I reconnected to my own wholeness -- and by the end of the episode, I was loathe to stop! I'll be curious to know if your body responds the same way?

Songwriter Info: Karly Loveling is a seasoned songleader, songwriter, and permissionary of heartfelt expression. For over two decades, she has been guiding voices and hearts through community singing, classes, and workshops in Eugene, Oregon and beyond.

Karly’s journey in Oregon began with a formative chapter at Lost Valley Educational Center, where she immersed herself in personal growth workshops and forged lasting connections. With a background in dance and a degree in the field, she co-founded Coalessence Dance, an ecstatic dance community that continues to thrive, with Becca Perry in 2006.

Karly’s love for community singing deepened through her many years at Singing Alive, where she led song circles and found inspiration among fellow songleaders from the gathering’s inception through 2023. In 2013, she founded the Hummingbirds Girls Choir, whose joyful harmonies became a beloved feature at the Eugene Saturday Market, Holiday Market, and the Oregon Country Fair. In 2015, Karly launched Singing Heart, a community singing group, which inspired her to complete the Community Choir Leadership Training in British Columbia the following year. Singing Heart is proud to be part of the Ubuntu Choirs Network, affirming the principle that everyone can sing and that singing builds connection.

Karly’s often playful, layered, and meaningful original songs are sung by songleaders from Appalachia to Ireland. She currently offers in-person and online classes, leads retreats, and shares her work at community singing gatherings across the country.

Sharing Info: This song is free to sing, but Karly always welcomes and appreciates financial and networking support.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:02:34

Start time of reprise: 00:14:16

Links:

Karly's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/KarlyLoveling

Karly's Bandcamp: https://karlyloveling.bandcamp.com/music

Singing Heart Harmonies: https://singingheartharmonies.com/

Karly's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karlyloveling

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, melody & 2 harmonies

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: May the Way Open Before You

Music by: Ana Hernández

Guest singers:​ Sadie Jones, AJ Banach, Cameron Brownell, Rebecca Csuy

Notes: Recording this was a complete treat, because I had four friends in the studio with me -- Rebecca Csuy, Cameron Brownell, AJ Banach, and Sadie Jones learned the song and loved it. AJ catches me when I make a note mistake in the harmony, which is fabulous -- friends who have your back! Next week, I have the privilege of talking with Ana and learning about her extensive background and why community singing matters to her... for now, please enjoy this, which she calls "a simple blessing," and her wish for everyone in the world.

Songwriter Info: Ana Hernández is a composer, recording artist, retreat leader, and activist song leader creating and collecting tunes to build living and just communities through skillful action. A theomusicologist with NYS Poor People’s Campaign, Ana is also the author of The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice (Skylight Paths/Turner Publishing).

Sharing Info: The song is free to share in public resistance actions and oral tradition groups. Please contact Ana for recording, streaming, or performing permission.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:02:29

Start time of reprise: 00:13:05

Links:

Ana's website: https://anahernandez.org

Ana's Patreon: www.patreon.com/anahernandez

Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/in/artist/ana-hernandez/214582777

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0NGPpe3jeQqHFeFArIqYEH

SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/anahermusic

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-p9kisJu1ISLW7w6Wy2lVA

Also look for HARC (with Ruth Cunningham): https://anahernandez.org/album/inside-chants/

The Miserable Offenders: https://anahernandez.org/album/keepin-the-baby-awake-music-for-advent-and-christmas/

Eternal Spirit (w/ Sr. Helena Marie, CHS): https://anahernandez.org/album/eternal-spirit/

Banquet of Love (w/ Ike Sturm and so many friends!): https://anahernandez.org/album/banquet-of-love/

Nuts & Bolts: 6:8, major, 2-part harmony

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Towo Kalona

Music by: Alix Thorpe

Notes: I did something a little different in the way I shared this -- I took time with the proto-Celtic, so you could be comfortable singing in a Bronze-Era language... and then there's the usual looped section, with a harmony above and below -- but then at the reprise, I sing just the melody with piano, and then just the piano so you can sing the melody yourself, and allow me to accompany you. I find this song of Alix Thorpe's beautifully addictive, and there's something about singing in a bone language that feels like healing perspective to me. After you are snagged by the melody and parts on the podcast, buy it from her on Bandcamp, where you can hear the full English lyrics!

Songwriter Info: Alix is a mother, a birth doula and a shiatsu practitioner who lives in Devon in England. She found her voice and began writing songs only a few years ago. Song for Alix is a way of prayer and an expression of soul. She has written several songs in proto-Celtic; a kind of "spirit language" and ancestral mother tongue made of the earliest traceable fragments of the Celtic languages, dating back around 4000 years. Dreaming with proto-Celtic has been a powerful vehicle for kindling connection with her ancestral roots. Alix's songs are particularly inspired by whales, the spirit of the rose, Buddhism and honouring sacred rites of passage.

Sharing Info: The song is free to share but Alix always welcomes financial and/or networking support if/when folks are so moved.

Song Learning Time Stamps:

Start time of teaching: 00:03:01

First full singing: 00:10:40

Start time of reprise: 00:20:16

Just piano: 00:21:20

Links:

Alix's Bandcamp: https://alixthorpe.bandcamp.com/track/towo-kalona

Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, melody with 2 harmonies

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

The Sunday after this episode is released, August 31st, 2025, at 4 p.m. Eastern time, there will be an online gathering of folk who use song to help navigate life -- and we'll sing through this Ribbon of Songs with live-looping! To learn more, click here, or sign up right now to join us!

Lyrics ​& Links to the original episodes for the songs in this ribbon.

110. The Crow Calls

by Maggie Wheeler

1. The crow calls,

the sun falls;

they know the rhythm,

the rhythm of it all.

(2x)

2. We are the only ones

who have forgotten

how to listen,

we’re the only ones

who have forgotten

how to listen.

We are the only ones

who have forgotten

how to listen,

the earth

is calling us to

open up our ears.

3. Put your hands in the dirt,

let’s heal the hurt.

The earth is waiting

for us to do the work,

do the work!

(2x)

22. When the Water Is Glass Calm

by Paul Barton

1. When the water is glass calm,

the stillness cradles life.

2. The sun rises slowly,

pealing through the trees,

bringing colour to the sky.

3. Listen, listen,

to the small sounds

of this new day.

194. Hildegard's Song

by Barbara McAfee

based on words of Hildegard of Bingen

There is music

in, in all things;

but we can't hear it

​until we sing.

118. Listen In

by Jennie Pearl Listen in

​Here I am

this is my center

What is mine, What is mine?

We're learning how to reach for each other

may we reach

may we teach

Through the blurred lines,

The pain and confusion,

may we reach

may we teach

60. Just As You Are

by Lea Morris Just as you are, without changing a thing.

Just as you are, I accept you.

I see you, I hear you, I

welcome you in; just as you are.

Just as you are.

191. Another World

Patricia Norton

text from My Seditious Heart, p.204

by Arundhati Roy

Another world

is not only possible,

she is on her way.

On a quiet day,

I can hear her breathing.

Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share

Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html