Ta'Kaiya Blaney is a wonderful ten-year old singer of the Sliammon First Nations tribe who lives in Vancouver, Canada. She sang this song before the Gulf of Mexico spill to raise awareness about how we treat our oceans.
Shallow Waters
Lyrics:
In shallow waters, I can't see
Your clear waves lapping at my feet
The lifeless ocean, black not blue
I didn't help, but deep down I knew
In shallow waters I used to see
Dolphins playing in front of me
Seaweed swaying, keeping time
Tidal rhythms, laugh not cry
Oh! Oh! ... Why do tears fall from the sky?
Oh! Oh! ... Have we given up, please tell me why?
Remember the salty ocean breeze?
We used to build castles on the beach
Splashin' around in the summer heat,
But now it's just oil up to our knees
Bring back the days we used to care
When all of these troubles were not there
A cry for help, this is my song
If we do nothing, it will all be gone
In shallow waters I can't see
The wondrous life God created to be
But tankers and pipelines keep comin' through
I turned my head, and so did you
Oh! Oh! ... Why do tears fall from the sky?
Oh! Oh! ... Have we given up, please tell me why?
Remember the salty ocean breeze?
We used to build castles on the beach
Splashin' around in the summer heat,
But now it's just oil up to our knees
Bring back the days we used to care
When all of these troubles were not there
A cry for help, this is my song
If we do nothing, it will all be gone
Come with me to the emerald sea
Where black gold spills into my ocean dreams
Nothing to be found, no life is around
It's just the sound
Of mourning in the air
Silence everywhere
Oh! Oh! ... Why do tears fall from the sky?
Oh! Oh! ... Have we given up, please tell me why?
Remember the salty ocean breeze?
We used to build castles on the beach
Splashin' around in the summer heat,
But now it's just oil up to our knees
Bring back the days we used to care
When all of these troubles were not there
A cry for help, this is my song
If we do nothing, it will all be gone
If we do nothing, it will all be gone
In shallow waters, I can't see
Your clear waves lapping at my feet...
Love, light and blessings that we learn from the indigenous wisdoms of the world, and to the youth of the world who show us the way! This was shared originally on Buddhist Travellers in 2011.
Paintings by John William Waterhouse. Set to music by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek. Poem by Salvatore Quasimodo. Sung by April Armstrong. Video by Accabadora. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAyfpmo5Q18
Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968) — Tu Chiami Una Vita(You Invoke a Life)
Fatica d'amore, tristezza, Labour of love, sadness, tu chiami una vita You invoke a life che dentro, profonda, ha nomi That within, deep inside, has names di cieli e giardini. Of skies and gardens. E fosse mia carne And were it my flesh che il dono di male trasforma. Which the gift of sorrow transforms.
In the final few seconds she stands above the water (like the archetypal Fool at the edge of the unknown) but unlike in "Whenever, Wherever" in which she jumps into the abyss, this time she smiles and turns away. The "No" extends to encompass even the "No" itself! Brilliant!
Shakira — No lyrics in collaboration with Gustavo Cerati)
No, no intentes disculparte (No, don't try to excuse yourself) No juegues a insistir (Don't play at insisting)
Las excusas ya existían antes de ti (The excuses were already there before you) No, no me mires como antes (No, don't look at me like before,)
No hables en plural (Don't talk in the plural) La retórica es tu arma más letal (Rhetoric is your most lethal weapon)
Voy a pedirte que no vuelvas más ( I am going to ask you never to return) Siento que me dueles todavía aquí ( I feel that that you still hurt me here)
Adentro (Inside)
Y que a tu edad sepas bien lo que es (And that at your age you know well what it is )
Romperle el corazón a alguien así (To break the heart of someone else like this)
No se puede vivir con tanto veneno, (One cannot live with so much passion)
La esperanza que me da tu amor ( The hope your love gives me)
No me la dio más nadie (No one gave me more ever)
Te juro, no miento (I swear, I do not lie)
No se puede morir con tanto veneno (One cannot live with so much passion)
No se puede dedicar el alma ( One cannot devote one's soul)
A acumular intentos ( Attempting again and again) Pesa más la rabia que el cemento (Anger weighs heavier than cement ) Espero que no esperes que te espere (I hope you don't expect that I'll wait for you)
Después de mis 26 (After turning twenty-six)
La paciencia se me ha ido hasta los pies (Patience has sunk down to my feet) Y voy deshojando margaritas (And I go plucking daisy petals)
Y mirando sin mirar (And wondering without looking)
Para ver si así, te irritas y te vas ( To see if you get irritated and leave)
Live Performance:
Ideas for an English version.
No, don't tell me reasons why Don't try to insist Your reasons, weren't they just another lie?
No, don't look at me that way Don't say how I'm missed Your words are just a lethal game you play.
I'm going to ask you never to return I still feel how you hurt me here inside In my heart And at your age, you know well what it is To break the heart of someone else like this.
No, no-one can live with so much passion The hope that your love gave me No-one else gave me before I swear, I do not lie.
No, no-one can die with so much passion No-one can devote their soul Trying again and again Anger weighs down like coal.
I hope you don't expect I'll wait for you. Since turning twenty-six Patience has sunk down to my toes So here I am counting daisy petals Wondering without looking To see if you'll get fed up now and go.
Francis, you have so much to say But it all stays locked inside And when you know not what to say That’s when the tears begin to slide. But to your fans, it wouldn’t seem You had anything to hide You encourage them to dream, And all your secrets you confide.
Francis, the words stay firmly glued In front of this girl who wants Nothing more than to be wooed But you don’t know that’s what she wants. Your throat tightens and you go dumb Your heart beats fast every time The sight of her makes you numb So scared, you don’t act in time.
Chorus: As for me, I won’t forget you And I trust that you’ll help spur Those who feel the same for you As you write in your songs for her.
Francis, I just want you to know I’ll be leaving very soon, I will think of you, you know Each time my fingers play your tune. Remember how we were enthralled, And never will you lose heart So long as you'll not be falled By those who’d rather tear apart.
Chorus
Chorus
Hille said: This was truly lovely, I love french music but had never heard of her before, reminded me of many sweet and child-like female voices who I am a fan of like Emiliana Torrini, Stina Nordenstam and Lisa Ekdahl. Thanks for the translation, spot on!
okei said: Really glad you enjoyed this. I love her voice and from an interview I
heard she seems like a really sweet person. I once bought a CD by
Nordenstam when I was a big fan of Enya, but don't listen to that kind
of thing much now. I haven't heard of the other two names you mentioned.
But Coeur de Pirate is alive and vibrant somehow as well as being
child-like, more like world music which I love...I'm very tempted to buy
her album. Edit: I did buy her album!
"Lève les voiles" has a double-meaning, both "raise the sails" & "cast off the veils". Below are the original lyrics of Coeur de Pirate (Beatrice Martin) and my translation into English. Thanks to Catherine Armant for reassurances that the interpretation is good.
Lève les voiles
Lève les voiles, ô voilier blanc Lift up the sails, o white sailboat
Mais lève au vent qui tourne But lift up to the winds that bend
Lève les voiles sur d’autres chemins Lift up the sails on fresh travails
Rêvant de voir la fin Dreaming to see the end
Tombée d’étoiles Fallen from the stars
Cette nuit qui chante This night that sings
De vivre au gré du temps To live as time should will
Mais lève les voiles, ô voilier blanc Lift up the sails, o white sailboat
Mais lève quand tourne le vent But lift up to the winds that bend
Catherine said: Ah, ... adorable, so lovely. This little Song feels so good. And I love your interpretation of the French words, I really do. It is just perfect. Thank you very much for this.
Lhasa de Sela (1972-2010) — El Desierto (The Desert)
He venido al desierto para rear de tu amor (I've come to the desert to laugh at your love) Que el desierto es más tierno y la espina besa mejor (As the desert's more tender and the thorn kisses better.) He venido a ese centro de la nada pa' gritar (I've come to this middle of nowhere to shout) Que tú nunca mereciste lo que tanto quise dar (That you never deserved what I wanted to give so badly.)
He venido yo corriendo, olvidándome de ti (I've come running, trying to forget you) Dame un beso pajarillo, y no te asustes colibrí (Give me a kiss little bird, don't get frightened humming bird) He venido encendida al desierto pa' quemar (I've come on fire to the desert to burn) Porque el alma prende fuego cuando deja de amar (Because the soul is set alight when it stops loving)
Lhasa explains her father's philosophy about growth and breaking free, which inspired her song "soon this space will be too small".
Each time we reclaim our freedom and break through the barriers that enclose our world, we come into a new and bigger world and face new barriers and circumstances. new dangers, new choices and new freedoms to be re-claimed. Just as the baby in the womb must think, "this is it!" at birth, so we think at death. But is it? Or are we too smart for our own good.
Arjuna said: A very beautiful & a very wise person. Loved the song, your translation, and her thoughts on growth.
Eden said: I think she is beautiful as well, so sad to hear she has died. I too
loved the song, the words and the story of her father's idea.
I've added these to my favorites. Thank you for introducing her to us.
Kathy said: To return with such a memorable tribute is so very good of you to share,
Okei. You are among a few friends who stole some time away recently,
and it is nice to have you return. Hope your visit with your family was
a pleasant one. ~ Blessings!
Lin said: ((okie)) Wonderful to see you again. "Soon this space will be too small" Thank you !!!
Tamara said: (((*okei*))) thank you
okei said: Thanks all! I would like to continue the arc of thought of her father... it
makes me think of Freedom. We are all enclosed by our world and
circumstances in various ways. And we must find our freedom within this
world, to reclaim that which is ours. And sometimes this means to break
down barriers into a new and bigger world, but this involves facing more
unpredictability, more dangers and more choices... with more freedoms,
and yet we are still not truly free...
Indeed, she has a very distinctive face, perhaps
because of her native American roots. They call her a
Mexican/American/Canadian singer, but she was beyond those kinds of
labels. (And she sang songs in Spanish, French and English.)
Nunca no zanga We've never quarreled Nunca no tive um briga feia We’ve never had a serious argument Nunca no pensa na separaçon We’ve never thought of parting Nunca no fri nos coraçon Or wounded each other
Deus ta leva-no sempre assimMay God always keep us this way Na paz, amor e carinhoIn peace, love and affection
Na otra vida tem tempestade For life is made up of storms Vento do norte, vento do sul North winds, south winds
Ma sperança di mar azulBut the hope of the azure sea É pa quem tem fé na sê amor. Bears up those who believe in their love.
I
was very sad to learn that the singer of early music Montserrat
Figueras had passed away at the end of last year.
If
you have ten minutes, you might enjoy her "Song of Sibil", composed in
the 13th century, that was banned for several centuries because it was
in Catalan. http://youtu.be/iF1VClOAeyE
It
is a liturgical piece about that day when "the eternal king will come
dressed in our mortal flesh...to pass judgment on the century", ending
with: "You who have heard all this, pray passionately to God with all
your heart and devotion to bring us salvation". In this short
interview she gave in 2010, she discusses how her music crosses cultures
and boundaries, reflecting our common aspirations. In the background
she plays and sings a piece from "Francisco Javier - La Ruta de Oriente"
with Jordi Savall and the Hesperion XXI ensemble.
A beautiful demonstration of the eight-piece brocade in qi gong, accompanied by music of Nick Cave & Warren Ellis: "Mary's Song", and "The Water Song", the latter forming the background to a reading of "Journey to the Moon", an excerpt from Dante's Paradiso, starting at 02:55 in. (from Danto's "Paradiso, Canto II", trans. based on Cotter) O you who are seated in your little boats, Eager to listen, following in the wake Behind my ship that singing plows her way,
Turn back to look again on your own shores: Don't put out on the high seas, for, perhaps, In losing me you may run far adrift!
The waters I take were never crossed before. Minerva blows and Apollo pilots me, While the nine Muses point me out the Bears.
You other few who stretched your necks on high In time to taste the bread of angels which People here feed on, but never have their fill,
You well may put your boat out on the deep By staying in the furrow of my wake Before the waters flow back smooth again.
Those glorious men who sailed the sea to Colchis, When they saw Jason turned into a plowman, Were not as thunderstruck as you shall be.
The inborn, boundless thirst for that kingdom Created in God's image swept us onward Almost as swiftly as the skies you see.
Beatrice gazed upward and I gazed on her; And in the time perhaps it takes an arrow To strike the bull's-eye, fly, and leave the bow,
I saw myself arrived at a thing of wonder Which drew my sight to it, and therefore she From whom my close concerns could not be hidden
Turned towards me, as glad as she was lovely, And said, "Direct your mind with thanks to God Who here has made us one with the first star."
I thought we were enveloped in a cloud, Shining, solid, dense, and highly polished As a diamond struck by the sun would be.
The timeless pearl took us inside itself In the same way that water can receive A ray of light while it remains intact.
If I were body (and here we can't conceive How one dimension could contain another, Which has to be when body enters body),
All the more should longing then inflame us To see that Essence in which we may see How our own nature and God join in one.
There shall be revealed what we now hold by faith: Not proven to us, but known on its own, Like the first truths believed by human beings.
Lyrics in French & approximate translation below... does it make any sense? Only a little, but I love it.
De la belle et la bête je suis les deux
Mon antre est une vaste comédie
Je suis seule malgré l'ombre de vos yeux
Le silence attire ma folie
Cendrillon j'ai rayé ta citrouille
Avec l'aiguille de ton talon dodu
Comment être vraie quand on me souille?
Mon pied nacré a besoin d'être nu
J'ai donné mon corps au diable
Enfin j'ai sauvé mon âme
Je m'enfuis de la fable
Je ne ressens pas de blâmes
Le vilain meurt, reste le beau
C'est ma vie de château
J'ai fini par tout perdre et tout gagner
Ne me jugez pas, apprenez moi
Je suis entière, je suis hantée
Ne me regardez pas, vivez moi
Moi je suis la petite princesse, fière
Sans parures et sans couronnes
J'ai vu le serpent, la faiblesse
C'est toute nue que je me donne
J'ai donné mon corps au diable
Enfin j'ai sauvé mon âme
Je m'enfuis de la fable
Je ne ressens pas de blâmes
Le vilain meurt, reste le beau
C'est ma vie de château
Je me fou de ce que l'on raconte
Ma vie est là si cela vous chante
Je suis sortie, grandie de ce conte,
Moi je ris, je bondis et je chante.
A Little Fable
Of beauty and the beast, I am both.
I reside in a vast comedy,
Alone, but for the shade of your eyes,
And the silence brings out my folly.
Cinderella, I've done away with your pumpkin
With the spike of your buxom heel.
How to be true when I am maligned?
My mother-of-pearl foot needs to be bare.
I gave my body to the devil,
In the end, I saved my soul,
I am running away from the fable,
I do not feel to blame,
The villain dies, the handsome prince remains.
This is my life in a fairytale castle.
I finished by losing everything and winning everything.
Do not judge me, learn about me.
I am whole, I am haunted.
Do not look at me, live me.
I am the little princess, proud,
Without finery and without garlands.
I saw the serpent, the weakness,
And it is in nakedness that I give myself.
I gave my body to the devil,
In the end, I saved my soul,
I am running away from the fable,
I do not feel to blame,
The villain dies, the handsome prince remains.
This is my life in a fairytale castle.
I could not care for what they say.
My life is there if it enchants you.
I have left, grown out from this tale
And I laugh and I leap and I sing.
For some reason the lyrics remind me of
'The Lord of the Dance',
here played on the harp by Mary O'Hara.
Finally, a little joke from a man of fable, the legendary mathematician Paul Erdös:
Devotions to the Beloved by the great Spanish mystic Ramon Llull (1232-1315), who was also the first great writer in Catalan and was an extraordinarily prolific teacher, traveller and writer with over 265 books to his name.
The painting is the Madonna of Port Lligat by the famous Catalan painter Salvador Dali. The rectangular holes in this abstract depiction are supposed to symbolize transcendence.
Directions:
The Lover asked his Beloved if there remained anything still to be loved. And the Beloved answered that he had still to love that by which his own love could be increased.
~*~
The Lover was all alone in the shade of a fair tree. Men passed by that place and asked him why he was alone. And the Lover answered, "I am alone, now that I have seen you and heard you; until now I was in the company of my Beloved."
~*~
Said the Lover to the Beloved, "O you that love, if you have fire, come light your lanterns in my heart; if you have water, come to my eyes whence flow the tears in streams; if you have thoughts of love, come gather them from my meditations."
~*~
The Beloved instructed the Lover to go out into the world and not hide the marks of his love. The people saw him and asked, "Say, O Fool!, what is solitude?". He replied, "It is solace and companionship between Lover and Beloved." "And what are solace and companionship?" they asked. "Solitude in the heart of the Lover," he replied, "when he remembers naught save only his Beloved." ~*~ ... ~*~ ... ~*~
May grace come to my power from this great influence, that I may ever have power, knowledge and will to honour Thy power—to my knowledge that I may honour Thy knowledge—and to my will that I may honour Thy love.
~*~
Between the sun and its splendour there is a difference, and between fire and its heat. But between Thy Love and Virtue and Truth there is no essential difference; and all that Thy Love disposes in truth, It does with infinite virtue in love and in truth; whereas all that is done in things beside, is done with virtue finite in quantity and time.
~*~
Virtue, Truth and Glory met in the thoughts of Blanquerna when he contemplated his Beloved. Blanquerna considered to which of these three he would give the greatest honour in his thoughts and will; but since he could conceive in them no difference whatsoever, he gave them equal honour in remembering, comprehending and desiring his Beloved.
Lucha Reyes from Peru was one of the many great artists whom I heard on the radio thanks to the amazing Charlie Gillett who sadly passed away yesterday. Tribute_to_Charlie_Gillett_1942-2010
Regresa (vals de Augusto Polo Campos)
te estoy buscando
porque mis labios extrañan tus besos de fuego
te estoy llamando
y en mis palabras tan tristes mi voz es un ruego
te necesito porque sin verte mi vida no tiene sentido
y van
y van por el mundo mis pasos perdidos
buscando el camino de tu comprensión
(apiádate de mi si tienes corazón
escucha en sus latidos la voz de mi dolor)
pero regresa
para llenar el vacío que dejaste al irte
regresa
regresa aunque sea para despedirte
no dejes que muera sin decirte adiós
te estoy buscando
Return
I'm looking for you,
Because my lips are missing your lips of fire.
I'm asking for you
And in my sad words my voice is a prayer
I need you, because a life without you is souless
And they go, my lost footsteps go through the world
Looking for the road of your understanding.
(Forgive me, if you have a heart
Listen in its beats to the voice of my pain)
But please return
To fill the space you left
Return at least to bid farewell
You want me to die
Without saying goodbye to you.
Our Lady of the Shooting Stars
Was that you last night?
Did we dance a whispered waltz,
Did I hold you in my sight?
When morning came with open arms
She lifted you from me,
The sunlight burned my eyes away
And now I cannot see.
Our Lady of the Shooting Stars
As I face the early light
All that I can think of now
Is joining you in flight
But I have followed gypsies girl
I've lost my way back home
I've held the phoenix to my chest
And ended up alone.
CHORUS:
If I move to you
Will you move to me?
If I move to you
Will you move to me?
Our Lady of The Shooting Stars
Teach me how to know
I want to feel my thoughts go dark
And rest inside your flow.
I'll awaken without fear
And breathe the cool clean air,
With your words upon my lips
Your will becomes my prayer
CHORUS
Our Lady of the Shooting Stars
Look what you have done
You've led me to the water's edge,
Running from sun.
Are you in the briny mist?
Do seagulls scream your name?
Their wings suspended by your love,
Or do I reach for you in vain?
By yon bonnie banks and by yon bonnie braes,
Where the sun shines bright on Loch Lomond
Where me and my true love were ever wont to gae,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.
CHORUS
O ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak’ the low road,
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.
But me and my true love will never meet again,
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.
‘Twas there that we parted in yon shady glen,
On the steep, steep side o’ Ben Lomond.
Where in deep purple hue, the hieland hills we view,
And the moon comin’ out in the gloamin’.
The wee birdies sing and the wild flowers spring,
And in sunshine the waters are sleeping:
But the broken heart, it kens nae second spring again,
Tho’ the waefu’ may cease from their greeting.
There's a place where the sun breaks through
And the wind bites cold and hard
Stings my ears and
Tears my eyes
When the day starts to shout out loud
CHORUS
Stand tall
And glide
When you're all alone in the crowd
Don't fall
Don't hide
When you walk above the clouds
When you walk above the clouds
When the light is against your face
And your smile is soft and sound
That's when you tell me all your fears
and all your dreams
So proud
I try and tell you
to keep your head upright
Don't swing your sword and shield against the night
Don't block your blessings, boy
You don't have to fight
You don't have to fight
