Single Song Audio

A Little Better

A Little Better

1. When I get old I’ll leave this place
When I get old I’ll leave this place
When I get old I’ll leave this place
Pass it on to a younger face
I’m gonna leave this land a little better
For the next who comes along.

2. I rarely turn the soil these days
I rarely turn the soil these days
I rarely turn the soil these days
I’ve been trying out different ways
I’m gonna leave this land a little better
For the next who comes along.

3. Ran out to watch a storm last spring (3x)
I saw a three-inch rain soak in
I’m gonna leave this land a little better
For the next who comes along.

4. You smell that ground you know it’s right (3x)
Someone’s future’s looking bright
I’m gonna leave this land a little better
For the next who comes along.

5. They drank from this crick when Dad was young (3x)
My grandchildren will again
I’m gonna leave this land a little better
For the next who comes along.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Land Stewardship Project
© 2022 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording Credits: Bret Hesla & Six Feet Deep
Bret Hesla — lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Dan Chouinard — piano
Dave Michel — bass, vocals
Steve Kimball — percussion
Tim Gustafson — lead guitar, group vocals
Rebekah Fergus — harmony vocals
Robin Nelson, – group vocals
Betty Tisel — group vocals
Jane Dunlap — group vocals
Brooks Cavin — group vocals
Larry Dittberner — group vocals
Recording Engineer, Dave Michel
Recorded at Orchard House, Minneapolis, Minnesota

This song is part of the series Six Feet Deep, a collection of six songs written on commission for the Land Stewardship Project. The songs reflect the words, hopes, dreams and practices of farmers who are using the practices of regenerative agriculture.

In 2019, I was commissioned to write a song for the Land Stewardship Project. They wanted a song about their Soil Builders program. Doug, my liaison, gave me a few brochures, a few notes, and offered to connect me to some farmers to interview. So, knowing nothing about farming, I went to a field day in Mower County put on by farmer Tom Cotter, to tell other farmers about his work. About 25 farmers (and me) showed up. Amazing set of practices he’s blending together–no-till, no plow, cover crops 24-7-365, innovative grazing techniques, mycorrhizal fungi, science, ecology, joy, health, honesty. These farmers doing what they’re calling regenerative agriculture seem to have re-imagined their work as building soil for the long term, which not only leads to healthier food and better yield, but helps fight climate change by storing carbon in the soil. Then I went to visit another farmer from around Cannon Falls, Kaleb Anderson. A super fun conversation that further opened my mind to the work these folks are doing. He recommended a book called, Dirt to Soil, by North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown. So I read that, too: kind of a regenerative ag bible. And on and on.

I ended up writing a suite of songs — two recorded in 2020, and four more in 2022. Most of the images in these songs come directly from the comments of the folks I talked to or read about.

Everywhere a Song

Everywhere A Song
(Songwriter’s Hymn), Jan 6, 2021

1. There’s a song in ev-‘ry person
There’s a song in ev-‘ry home
There’s a song in ev-‘ry fam-‘ly
More than one, more than one.

And even when I try, I try to write it down
I try to write it down and nothing comes
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.

2. There’s a song in ev-‘ry heartache
There’s a song in ev-‘ry pain
There’s a song in ev-‘ry struggle
Those we win, and those in vain ….(and even when)

And even when I try, I try to write it down
I try to write it down and nothing comes
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.

Bridge:
I don’t need to hear it anymore
I feel it like a flutter in my bones.
I don’t need to sing it
It quivers ev-‘ry moment on it’s own.

3. There’s a song in ev-‘ry journey
There’s a song in ev-‘ry road
There’s a song in ev-‘ry coming home
And setting down your load…. (and even when)

And even when I try, I try to write it down
I try to write it down and nothing comes
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.
I trust that there is ev-‘rywhere a song.

I’m certain there is ev-‘rywhere a song.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2021 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Sing G-L-O-R-Y

This song spells out the Christmas story as it slowly sets out the family manger figures in a little wooden stable. Two videos for two different melodies: gentle/reflective, and upbeat celebration.

Lyrics for the gentle version

Baby J-E-S-U-S is born this day.
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya
Go spread the happy news to all the E-A-R-T-H
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya
Sing G-L-O-R-Y this day.

Angels, like grandmas hovered R-O-U-N-D … Sing G-L-O-R-Y…
They couldn’t wait to squish the Prince of P-E-A-C-E …

Telescoping magi rode their C-A-M-E-L’s …
The star led them right to a lowly S-T-A-L-L …

Angel songs set shepherds on a Q-U-E-S-T …
They went to see the babe with all their S-H-E-E-P …

Set your fancy dishes on the T-A-B-L-E …
Call neighbors far and wide to join the F-E-A-S-T …

Baby J-E-S-U-S is born this day …
Good will and peace will be the song for Y-O-U and me …

And here’s the uptempo version:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS8VB-FgUtg[/embedyt]

Lyrics for up-beat version

Baby J-E-S-U-S is born on Christmas Day.
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya
Go spread the happy news to all the E-A-R-T-H
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya

Re- J-O-I-C-E, re J-O-I-C-E
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya
Re- J-O-I-C-E, re J-O-I-C-E
Sing G-L-O-R-Y Halleluya

Angels, like grandmas hovered R-O-U-N-D …
They couldn’t wait to squeeze the Prince of P-E-A-C-E …

Telescoping magi rode their C-A-M-E-L’s …
The star led them right to a lowly S-T-A-L-L …

Angel songs set shepherds on a Q-U-E-S-T …
They went to see the babe with all their S-H-E-E-P …

Set your fancy dishes on the T-A-B-L-E …
Dial up the neighbors for a P-A-R-T-Y

Baby J-E-S-U-S is born this day …
Good will and peace will be the song for Y-O-U and me …

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2020 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Got Cover Crops

Got Cover Crops
Bret Hesla © 2020

1. Here comes wind | here comes rain.
Devil gonna take my soil away.
Oh black water, hills erode.
Uh-uh, I can’t let that go! That’s why …

Chorus:
I’ve got cover crops. I’ve got them all about.
I don’t leave myself defenseless with my bare soil hanging out.
I’ve got cover crops. I’ve got them all about.
Hold that water, build that soil
Makin’ the numbers pencil out.

2. Green protector, species cover
Add a bit of chicory for my mother.
Smorgasbord for cows to graze
Pollinator paradise. Telling you … Ch

3. I plant some things to keep it wet.
I plant some things to keep it fertile.
I plant some things that I can sell.
I love to double dip! Telling you … Ch

4. Italian ryegrass & mammoth clover
Brassica, peas and beans and big sunflowers
Radish, fescue and hairy vetch
Yeah, why not the kitchen sink?

5. They work great for me and I’ll tell you true.
I think they could work great for you.
If you don’t make the number one mistake:
You never tried ’em in the first place. That’s why … Ch

6. Fireflies sparkle, grandkids frolic.
Anybody heard of the word bucolic?
Who doesn’t love November green?
Hey, look over there — it’s another fox! Yes … Ch

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Land Stewardship Project
© 2020 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Contact: bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Bret Hesla & Six Feet Deep
Bret Hesla — lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Dan Chouinard — piano
Dave Michel — bass, vocals
Joe Silberschmidt — drums
Tim Gustafson — lead guitar
Rebekah Fergus- vocals
Martha Schwen Bardwell– vocals
Linda Breitag- vocals
Ray Makeever- vocals
Larry Dittberner- vocals
Bob Stuber– vocals

Production Services Matthew Zimmerman/Control Z

About a year ago I was commissioned to write a song for the Land Stewardship Project. They wanted a song about their Soil Builders program. Doug, my liaison, gave me a few brochures, a few notes, and offered to connect me to some farmers to interview. So, knowing nothing about farming, I went to a field day in Mower County put on by farmer Tom Cotter, to tell other farmers about his work. About 25 farmers (and me) showed up. Amazing set of practices he’s blending together–no-till, no plow, cover crops 24-7-365, innovative grazing techniques, mycorrhizal fungi, science, ecology, joy, health, honesty. These farmers doing what they’re calling regenerative agriculture seem to have re-imagined their work as building soil for the long term, which not only leads to healthier food and better yield, but helps fight climate change by storing carbon in the soil. Then I went to visit another farmer from around Cannon Falls, Kaleb Anderson. A super fun conversation that further opened my mind to the work these folks are doing. He recommended a book called, Dirt to Soil, by a North Dakota farmer named Gabe Brown. So I read that, too: kind of a regenerative ag bible. And on and on.

I ended up writing a suite of songs, two of which are recorded so far: Got Cover Crops (this one) and Back to Soil. Most of the images in these two songs come directly from the comments of the folks I talked to or read about. Doug called me back at some point and said, “Whatever you do, be sure the song includes the message of “building soil,” because that’s what these folks are up to.” He also said I’d get a $100 bonus if I incorporated the term “mycorrhizal fungi” into the song.

I’m waiting for that bonus, Doug.

The band is a total creature of the pandemic. Once I was ready to record, Covid -19 hit. So no possibility for side-by-side in the studio, much less to rehearse. I got a social distance plan from my friend Matthew. I first recorded myself, at home, singing and playing guitar. Then I invited a bunch of players to separately listen to my track and record themselves, at home, on their instrument. Be sure to keep to the same beat. Matthew put it all together. But we’ve still never played these songs all together in the same room. It helps to have dynamite musicians. Thanks all!

Back to Soil

Back to Soil
Bret Hesla © 2020

1. Well if you study history, then you’ll know
The empire falls when the topsoil goes.
The signs today are pretty clear to read
Soil’s looking bad and we’ve lost six feet.
But here’s the news, we could build it back
And I heard about farmers with a plan for that.
So I paid one a visit, we sat to chat ‘n that
one cup of coffee set me on a whole new track.

2. I went to no-till, let the soil be still.
I quit fighting what’s on my side.
Then it was cover crop, covered every bare spot
with the armor of a thick green hide.
And when the fields turned into gaudy buffet
I put new ways to graze in place.
Now I’m working with nature, “Halleluya!”
The dirt’s coming back, back to soil.

3. I keep living roots, year round living in the soil
Pulling carbon out of the sky.
They pull it down underground, then it’s shot right out
To feed the little microbes, mycorrhizal fungi.
[x] I make ’em happy, and they send back
all the nutrients that I was paying money for.
I’m building back black. “Halleluya!”
The dirt’s coming back, back to soil.

4. It takes a lotta swag, to buck big ag
Still farm and keep the family fed.
You gotta first find a mentor that you respect
You study mother nature, and scratch your head.
I made a lotta mistakes as I was changing things
But one day I noticed all the rain soaked in.
Best of all, my money stopped eroding
all the way to the Gulf of Monsanto.

5. And it’s joy, joy, there’s a certain kind of joy
I feel when I’m down on my knees.
Joy, joy, when I grab a chunk of soil
And it crumbles like cottage cheese.
I know I’m on the right track, standing near
‘Cause it smells like a good cup of coffee.
Here’s a little cup for you. Halleluya!
One sip and I think you’ll see
Why the soil’s got me singing, “Halleluya!”
One sip and I think you’ll see
Why the soil’s got me singing, “Halleluya!”
The dirt’s coming back, back to soil.
The dead dirt’s coming back. | Here’s a little cup for you.
I hope you like it black.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Land Stewardship Project
© 2020 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording: Bret Hesla & Six Feet Deep
Bret Hesla — lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Dan Chouinard — piano
Dave Michel — bass, vocals
Joe Silberschmidt — drums
Tim Gustafson — lead guitar
Rebekah Fergus- vocals
Martha Schwen Bardwell– vocals
Linda Breitag- vocals
Ray Makeever- vocals
Larry Dittberner- vocals
Bob Stuber– vocals
Production Services Matthew Zimmerman/Control Z

In 2020 I was commissioned to write a song for the Land Stewardship Project. They wanted a song about their Soil Builders program. Doug, my liaison, gave me a few brochures, a few notes, and offered to connect me to some farmers to interview. So, knowing nothing about farming, I went to a field day in Mower County put on by farmer Tom Cotter, to tell other farmers about his work. About 25 farmers (and me) showed up. Amazing set of practices he’s blending together–no-till, no plow, cover crops 24-7-365, innovative grazing techniques, mycorrhizal fungi, science, ecology, joy, health, honesty. These farmers doing what they’re calling regenerative agriculture seem to have re-imagined their work as building soil for the long term, which not only leads to healthier food and better yield, but helps fight climate change by storing carbon in the soil. Then I went to visit another farmer from around Cannon Falls, Kaleb Anderson. A super fun conversation that further opened my mind to the work these folks are doing. He recommended a book called, Dirt to Soil, by North Dakota farmer Gabe Brown. So I read that, too: kind of a regenerative ag bible. And on and on.

I ended up writing a suite of songs, two of which are recorded so far: Back to Soil (this one) and Got Cover Crops. Most of the images in these two songs come directly from the comments of the folks I talked to or read about. Doug called me back at some point and said, “Whatever you do, be sure the song includes the message of “building soil,” because that’s what these folks are up to.” He also said I’d get a $100 bonus if I incorporated the term “mycorrhizal fungi” into the song.

I’m waiting for that bonus, Doug.

This Lovely Food

This Lovely Food

1. This lovely food. These lovely people.
This lovely city. This lovely earth.
There is no space left in our hearts for all our gratitude.
It just keeps spilling down the edges of our life together.

This waking sky. This ancient morning.
This simple garden. This fragrant soil.
The Mississippi of God’s love runs through our stories here.
And just keeps spilling down the edges of our lives.
It just keeps spilling down the edges of our life together.

2. This font of stone
Is something you could play in.
This floor of maple
Begs for a dance.
And when the singing sometimes catches us a certain way
Sweet tears come spilling down the edges of our life together.

These wide front doors
Are level with the the sidewalk.
This wall of windows
Welcomes the street.
Then the announcements send us forth to join God’s wider “we.”
As love keeps spilling down the edges of our lives.
It just keeps spilling down the edges of our life together.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt; Guitar: Tim Gustafson; Percussion: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Vocals: Cathy Pino, Rebekah Moir, Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Nate Crary, Paul Andress, Ray Makeever, Chris Tripolino, Bret Hesla

Song Notes:
I wrote this as part of a commission for the church I attend, Our Saviour’s Lutheran of Minneapolis. One thing they asked for is if I could write a song for singing after communion. Here’s a shot at that; gratitude, joy, community all wrapped up in a little two-step.

Gratitude Ritual idea (outdoors): Ask folks to bring a jar of water from home, and to table their jar with things they’re grateful for. Then, when gathered, place a pitcher in the center of the space. Label the pitcher “All our hearts.” Then invite folks to come forward, speak one or two things from their list, and pour their water into the pitcher. Sing/play this song throughout. Hopefully you’ll have lots and lots more water that space in the pitcher, and the overflow of gratitude will be super wet and fun. Probably and outdoor ritual, but creative folks could figure out how to do it indoors and capture the wetness.

Verse 2 celebrates particulars of that community’s life and gathering space. The church’s old building burned down in 1995, and the new building has a much more modern, open design, including an entire wall of floor to ceiling windows in the sanctuary. The windows face Chicago Avenue, with all its pedestrians, buses, traffic, and city flavor. It’s fun to sing a song that’s very specific to your community. Feel free to adapt these v2 images to fit your people and location.

This Is Home

This Is Home
© 2019 Bret Hesla.

Here we’re invited. Come right on in.
Here we were always part of the plan.
Seeking a thousand, we’ve stumbled on ten!

Refrain:
This is home. Let us give thanks
For all of these mercy-filled glories of God.
This is home. Let us give thanks.
The home we have longed for has found us.

Here we are noticed. Here we can’t hide.
Here we are greeted. Looked in the eye.
Here our name’s spoken numberless times.
This is home ….

Here we can say it: Set down our load.
Break through the silence Crippling our soul.
Share without judgment our wounds from the road.
This is home ….

Here there are duties for each of us planned.
Here we must show up: the time is at hand.
Here we’re expected to give what we can.
This is home ….

We have a vision we’re eager to tell.
Wide is the table, deep is the well.
In-crowd dismantled, we circle with all.
This is home ….

[for other verses, see Leadsheet]

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt
Guitar: Bret Hesla
Percussion: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Vocals: Bret Hesla, Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Ray Makeever, Linda Breitag

Notes: This Is Home.
This song is part of a commission series, Love’s Wide Embrace, written for a Lutheran congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before doing any songwriting, I did a lot of listening and asking questions. “What’s one story you’d like to share that captures something about this congregation and your connection to it?” “What does it feel like to be a part of this church?” “Why are you here?” “Why are we here?”

This song is a collection of some of the responses of people in the congregation. Lots of the answers and observations were about being in community, about being deeply welcomed, but also about being accountable to one another in community. Words like “embraced” and “accepted” and “challenged” kept popping up. Also the word “home”.

Our Saviour’s Rouser

Our Saviour’s Rouser
© 2019 Bret Hesla.

We are called, nurtured and sent
to celebrate the beauties of life.
Called, nurtured and sent
to serve, and share what God has provided.
We are called, nurtured and sent
to go do justice in this land.
We are L U T H E R A N S
making P E A C E.
All together! Halleluya! Amen!

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt; Flute: Ray Makeever;
Vocals: Rebekah Moir, Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Cathy Pino, Nate Crary, Paul Andress, Ray Makeever, Chris Tripolino, Bret Hesla

Notes: Our Saviour’s Rouser

This song was commissioned for the 150th Anniversary of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. When I first met with the anniversary committee, I asked what they had in mind for the song they wanted. The first thing they said was, “our mission statement.” Now you might think, hmmm, mission statement, kind of dry. But not this one: “we are called nurtured and sent to celebrate, serve and do justice.” I got to thinking, what is a mission statement. It’s something we all rally around and whole-heartedly buy in to. Which made me think back to my high school fight song, except here we’re committed to nonviolence, so let’s call it a rouser. I think every group needs it’s own rouser. Schools already have them. Why not churches? Here’s ours.

By the way, if you want to sing this in your community, you don’t have to spell it “L-u-t-h-e-r-a-n-s”. We are M-E-T-H-O-D-I-S-Ts, or C-A-T-H-O-L-I-C-S, or M-E-N-N-O-N-I-T-Es, or U-N-I-T-A-R-I-A-Ns, or U-N-D-E-C-I-D-E-Ds, or P-R-E-S-B-Y-Ter-E-Ns, or C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-Ns, etc. No matter how you spell it, the sky’s the limit on peacemaking, justice and joy. Let’s all get on board.

ps. I managed to get another song out of this same mission statement, Loves Wide Embrace. Different flavor altogether–more of a straight-up hymn.

I Say Peace

I Say Peace
© 2019 Bret Hesla

I say “Peace”
when I see the cross.
That word somehow jumps out of my mouth.
I can’t explain it.
But when I see the cross
I say “Peace, Peace Peace.”
First I say “Peace.”
Then I say “Peace.”
And then it’s “Peace Peace Peace Peace Peace.”
I can’t explain it.
But when I see the cross
I say “Peace, Peace, Peace.”

I say “Thanks” when I see the sun ….

I say “Love” when I see you all ….

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt; Guitar: Tim Gustafson;
Vocals: Rebekah Moir, Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Cathy Pino, Nate Crary, Paul Andress, Ray Makeever, Chris Tripolino, Bret Hesla

This song was written on commission for my home congregation, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis. When I was gathering ideas for this commission series, one member of the congregation shared this story. “Every time my two-year-old son toddles into the church sanctuary and sees the cross, he says ‘Peace.'” It seemed like a great image for a song, and encapsulates something central to this congregation, deeply committed to taking collective action and making lifestyle decisions in line with peacemaking, justice and non-violence.

God Has Given Us Each Other

God Has Given Us Each Other
© 2019 Bret Hesla

1. God has given us,
given us each other
and reaches through our arms
as we enfold, through days of sorrow,
those of us who are hurting.

2. God has given us,
given us each other
and reaches through our arms.
In times of shock,
when we are reeling,
we have held to each other.

3. God has given us,
given us each other
and reaches through our arms.
When suff’ring speaks,
we feel the breaking.
Then we join in the lifting.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt; Harmonica: Bret Hesla;
Vocals: Martha Schwen-Bardwell (lead), Cathy Pino, Rebekah Moir, Nate Crary, Paul Andress, Ray Makeever, Chris Tripolino, Bret Hesla

Notes: God Has Given Us Each Other

This song is one of a commission series for my home congregation, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each Sunday morning, the service ends with open time for announcements. Often someone will come forward to share a pretty difficult personal story, some hardship or sorrow they’re going through, or even a confession of some sort. Along with a request for support, and prayers. The silence in the room at these times is itself quite powerful.

As I gathered song ideas and insights from members of the community, it was clear that this type of vulnerability and sharing, and the responses of support and embrace from fellow members, are an important feature of this congregation, and a source of its strength.

Bread of Heaven

Bread of Heaven
© 2019 Bret Hesla.

Bread of heaven, cup of love.
Bread of heaven, cup of love.
You are the way we live.
You are the way we live.

Bread of sharing, cup that’s passed.
Bread of sharing, cup that’s passed.
Be in our letting go.
Be in our letting go.

Bread of mercy, cup of hope.
Bread of mercy, cup of hope.
Off’ring a way of peace.
Off’ring a way of peace.

Bread of witness, cup unbowed.
Bread of witness, cup unbowed.
Challenge of wrongful walls.
Challenge of wrongful walls.

Bread that rises, cup held high.
Bread that rises, cup held high.
All things shall be made new.
All things shall be made new.

——-other verse options ———-

Bread of kindness, cup of grace.
Bread of kindness, cup of grace.
Hosting a meal for all.
Hosting a meal for all.

Bread of refuge, cup of rest.
Bread of refuge, cup of rest.
Balm for a wounded world.
Balm for a wounded world.

Bread of beauty, cup that shines.
Bread of beauty, cup that shines.
Fill us with simple joys.
Fill us with simple joys.

Bread of courage, cup of fire.
Bread of courage, cup of fire.
Forge us for justice now.
Forge us for justice now.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt; Flute: Ray Makeever; Guitar: Bret Hesla
Vocals: Bret Hesla (lead), Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Ray Makeever, Linda Breitag, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

Love’s Wide Embrace (song)

Love’s Wide Embrace

1, 4. We have been called.
We have been called to celebrate
Our home here in love’s wide embrace.
To bear in mind.
To bear in mind all that we share;
To join the song of love’s good ways.
Halleluya, we have been called
to join the song of love’s good ways.

2. We have been held.
We have been held in tender care
As we lay wounded by the road.
Receiving grace.
Receiving healing at the hands
Of strangers with the face of God.
Halleluya, we have been healed
by strangers with the face of God.

3. We have been sent.
We have been sent and gladly go
to stand where borders must be crossed.
To challenge powers,
To challenge powers, to welcome all,
Embracing love’s full joys and costs.
Halleluya, we have been sent
embracing love’s full joys and costs.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis.
© 2019 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recording:
Piano: Tom Witt;
Vocals: Bret Hesla (lead), Rebekah Moir, Martha Schwen-Bardwell, Cathy Pino, Nate Crary, Paul Andress, Ray Makeever, Chris Tripolino

Notes: Loves Wide Embrace

This song is based on the mission statement for Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota–“we are called nurtured and sent to celebrate, serve and do justice.” Verse Two alludes to the Good Samaritan parable, taking the insight of Rev. Dr. Asa Lee of Wesley Theological Seminary, who was teaching at Holden Village when our congregation was there last summer. Dr. Lee, as I heard it, stressed that to find the compassion to work for justice, we need to identify not with the Samaritan nor with the priest, but rather with the injured and robbed victim, the traveler who received the love and help of the Samaritan. When we can notice those experiences in our lives, we can find the will to work for justice, to give as we’ve received.

This hymn is mainly intended to be sung as a congregational song. But you could also perform it as a choir anthem. In which case, you might do: v1 solo, v2: sopranos melody, ATB hum parts, v3: SATB, then instrumental break, with something like flute or cello on the melody, then ending with v1: unison all.

ps. For another song based on the OSLC mission statement, check out the Our Saviour’s Rouser. A completely different feel — cue the marching band.

Wet Heavy Snow

Wet heavy snow.
It breaks your back
‘Cause it won’t fall off the shovel
When it’s thrown. I hate that!

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1991 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

It’s a fun little four-part round. I wrote it right after the big Halloween snowstorm in 1991, Minneapolis, MN. The melody covers a great big range, meaning that it’s easiest to sing with a big group, where some folks can shovel out those low notes, and others can sweep off the high notes.

Humid alternative: By the way, if you’re from a non-snow climate, maybe you can make up your own text. How about starting, “Wet heavy air….”? Let me know what you come up with, I’ll add it to the webpage!

Start by Listening

Start by Listening

Chorus:
If we want to love our neighbor
Gotta start by listening, listening, listening
If we want to love our neighbor
Gotta start by listening, listening, listening

Verses:

Earth Day Verses:

Autumn Garden verses

Listen to the green beans who are finished for the season
Listen to the kale standing green still in October
Listen to the squash vines as the spill out past the raised beds
Listen to the compost as it turns waste into topsoil
Listen to the fungi who are working in the darkness

Words by Bret Hesla and South Minneapolis Day Camp. Music by Bret Hesla.
© 2018 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

In the book One Square Inch of Silence, Gordon Hempton observes that deep listening is a first step to caring about our neighbors — the landscape, the trees, the insects, the people.

The South Minneapolis Day Camp, an urban camp for elementary aged kids, had a theme of “love your neighbor” in 2018, connecting that to not only humans but the earth. I put this song together, and got the children to participate on the verse-writing.

When God Rested

When God Rested

The human God
Is all about love and family,
and sometimes strife.
And the people will tell you that
After god made the people
God rested on the next day.

Now the insect God
has six legs
and compound eyes
And the insects will tell you that
After god made the insects
God rested on the next day.

The rock God
is three in one
Igneus, sedimentary, and metamorphic
And the rocks will tell you that
After god made the rocks
God rested on the next day.

The mushroom God
lives in the dark damp heaven below
And occasionally sends up her son
to live and die on the earth so that
other mushrooms may live.
And the mushrooms will tell you that
After god made the mushrooms
God rested on the next day.

The algae God
Is small and green
And never dries out for long
And the algae will tell you that
After god made the algae
God rested on the next day.

The cat God
has whiskers and purrs
In the deep shag carpet
by a warm sunny window
And the cats will tell you that
After god made the cats
God rested on the next day.

The emptyness God
Is never there
And cannot be grasped
And the void will tell you that
After god made the emptiness
God rested on the next day.

Words by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Reader: Larry Dittberner

A while back, I read a book called The Myth of Human Supremacy, by Derrick Jensen. He covers the whole cascading disaster, from economies to science to arts to religion to you name it, caused by believing and acting as if we are the top.

This playful poem pokes a little at that rotten core.

To Connect More Deeply

To Connect More Deeply With Nature
Bret Hesla © 2017

To connect more deeply with nature
Is a responsibility
We cannot preserve what we don’t come to love through touch and play
To sustain the earth, we must do more than purchase green products
We must touch the greenness and hurry up about it
Before it has all broken off the branches and fallen, brittle and useless
We must notice the spider chasing its prey in the cracks between bricks in our musty happy basements

To connect more deeply with nature
Is becoming a narrow privilege.
More and more it is only those with enough wealth and comfort
We who have the means and the time,
To carbon footprint our way across thousands of miles
To visit and be renewed in the majesty of earth’s dwindling beauty
Of course, the poor have the weeds growing around the front steps
While the well-off have whale tours in Alaskan fjords
Snorkeling with sea turtles in the Caribbean
And afternoons strolling through botanical gardens
After which we are on fire for preservation

To connect more deeply with nature
Is a pleasure
As the healing lotion of crane calls
and the aloe whispering of aspen leaves
soften the permanent scowl
of we, the screen starers
Until the relaxed face of wonder
Takes us beyond cheap smiling
Into the place outside of time,
Step follows step deeper into the head-high grasses of the bliss prairie
Till at some point our old eyes reassert themselves
And we look around, baffled but not concerned
And we wonder how in the world we ended up here
Next to these lovely, pulsing stands of leafy stemmy god-ness.

Reader: Larry Dittberner
Words by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Biker’s Prayer

This is my prayer for the bikers I see
Everywhere on the streets of the Twin Cities
Sailing down the lanes painted just for them
As they go gracefully on their commute to work

Just a few years ago there weren’t that many riders
But then something flipped
And whatever it was
I would sure like to have some of it bottled
To pass out at certain powerpoint-weary meetings I’ve been stuck in

This is my prayer for the bikers I see everywhere
To give them a bit of a hill to coast down
And a safe slalom ride through the potholes, past prairie-coneflower yards
And a calm to ignore the occasional middle finger “get off the road” drivers
And I pray that an eight-color madness of beauties
Bless this city we live in and bike through

This is my prayer for the bikers I see
Those alien, helmeted pedalers
Beguiling the harried car drivers
to someday consider
The workout of going to work
in the fresh air of morning
And what a morning it is, when
those bikers, undaunted by sweet siren thoughts
of saving ten minutes by driving,
mount up after oatmeal and coffee
Don the green jacket, florescent and shameless
Tuck the right pant leg into their right sock, (how dorky)
And set off pedaling new days onto their life expectancy

This is my prayer for the bikers — us bikers
well, now that we’ve started the journey of slowness,
of “how fast I get there is not most important,”
Pretty soon we’ll start looking at the folks who are walking
and think, hmmmmm, what if I got up even a half hour earlier
And walked myself off to work
without needing to tuck in my right pant leg?
Until finally, that glacial commute of two legs on the sidewalk
Becomes so alluring and so irresistible
That we slow it all down, walk,
and spend even less time at the breakfast table reading the paper
and whatever else it was I intended to do
with that time I saved by getting to work faster.

To me, it all feels subconsciously right
As if three million years of evolution
might make more sense
Than a hundred bleak years
slouched in a faster mode of getting from point A to point B
For money to spend at point C
for food you bring back and eat at point A
On a brick patio covering what used to be a good-sized garden.

Reader: Catherine Malotke
Words by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

You Embrace with Your Tenderness

You Embrace with Your Tenderness
Song ©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Song Text: Pope Francis, © 2015 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

You embrace with your tenderness
All that exists

[Prayers by Jake Johnson]

1. God of grace, we give you thanks for renewing the church in every age. Bless those who proclaim your mercy throughout the world, meeting the needs of humanity and protesting injustice. Teach us to claim your creation with your compassion, with your tenderness.

2. Generous God, your eye is on the sparrow and you are present with all things. Revitalize your pollinators around the world, heal the forests and rivers wounded by humankind, and guide our stewardship so that all life flourishes as you intend.

3. Compassionate God, we celebrate the life of your lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, pan-gender, two-spirited, queer, questioning, gender variant, intersex, bi-gender, asexual, pansexual, agender, gender queer persons, all of your children who don’t quite fit into any of these identities, and those learning more about what makes them them. Be with us as we grow evermore into our true selves, and give courage to everyone who faces oppression, bigotry, hunger and homelessness. For you embrace all.

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

We Give Ourselves

We Give Ourselves
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

We give ourselves to the earth
We give ourselves to one another
And find ourselves in Christ

“The more I give myself to the earth, the more I belong to God.”

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Prayer of the Universe

No one has ever really seen God, but if we love each other, God is in us.
If anyone says they love God and hates their sibling, they lie.
If we don’t love the people right in front of us, how can we love God who is invisible?

1 John 4 (paraphrase by RBC)

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Tree Song

The Tree Song
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

These woods have trees.
Each tree has growth rings.
Each ring a story of its fight.
These trees are strong–
strong and resilient.
Each year a circle added to a beautiful life.
Hard and easy, laughing, weeping,
storm and sunshine, real life.
Sometimes lovely, sometimes crazy
Nothing’s wrong as we grow inside.

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Teach Us What It Means to Pray

Teach Us What It Means to Pray
by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and Bret Hesla
Teach us what it means to pray
in all this world of sorrow
Teach us what it means to pray
and do our part for good
More than duty, more than words can say
Teach us what it means to pray

Teach us what it means to live
with a whole heart on this planet
Teach us what it means to live
even only for this breath
What is ours to take and what to give?
Teach us what it means to live

Teach us what it means to try
to heal a world split open
Teach us what it means to try
to share another’s pain
One part suffers, all creation cries
Teach us what it means to try

Teach us what it means to live
Teach us what it means to pray

Words and music by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and Bret Hesla. © 2017 Worldmaking.net(ASCAP). All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net, CCLI and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

I understand prayer very differently today than I did when I was younger. I’m pretty sure that’s true for most of us. In fact, I’m overflowing with questions and uncertainty; the older I get, and the more complicated the world reveals itself to be.

But I’m not troubled by this uncertainty. I just try to marinate in it, and find the healing and wholeness within it. These words try to capture some of that comfortable discomfort. I sent them to my friend Richard and he returned them as a song. (The moral of that story is, if you want to collaborate with someone, it works best if you find someone who can do 90% of the work. Thanks Richard.)

Teach Us to Discover

Teach Us to Discover
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Teach us to discover the worth of each thing
United with ev’ry creature,
We thank you, Lover of the universe

Fill us with a reverent awe and respect
In wonder for ev’ry creature
We thank you, Lover of the universe

Magnolia, gorilla, beluga and dog,
We bless them all, ev’ry creature
We thank you, Lover of the universe

Bob, Eva, Loretta, Fredrique and Lavonne
Each one of us holy creatures
We thank you, Lover of the universe
We thank you, Lover of the universe

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Pour Out Upon Us

Pour Out Upon Us
Song ©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Song Text: Pope Francis, © 2015 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Pour out upon us
Pour out upon us
The power of your love

[prayer: “Pitcher of All Goodness” by Bret Hesla]

1. Pitcher of All Goodness,
Pour out upon us the power of humble service,
that we would seek to serve above seeking to gain.

Pour out upon us the power of discernment,
that we would notice where we’ve gone wrong
and adjust the way we speak, touch, email and text
in our desire for loving community.

Pour out upon us the power of togetherness,
that we would share public spaces as true neighbors.

Magnificent Pitcher of All Goodness, pour out upon us the power of your love.

2. Pour out upon us the power of slowing down,
that we would be renewed by the simple passing of time.

Pour out upon us the power of paying attention,
that we might allow moments of awe in small things,
and notice the fragile beauties trampled in our mad rush to save time.

Pour out upon us the power of humility,
that we would give up being in charge of our planet.

Universal Pitcher of All Goodness, pour out upon us the power of your love.

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net.
Song Text: Pope Francis, © 2015 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Help Us to Stand With

Help Us to Stand With
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

Help us to stand with our abandoned and forgotten brothers and sisters.

Fill us with grace, oh
to claim one another
Fill us with grace to mend what is torn

Fill us with peace oh
to live as a family
Fill us with peace to mend what is torn

Fill us with strength oh
to struggle for justice
Fill us with strength to mend what is torn

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

God Make Me a Channel

God Make Me a Channel
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
God, make me a channel of your peace flowing from your river
God, make me a channel of your peace flowing from your river

Where there is hate, we plant love
Where there is hurt, forgiveness
Where there is doubt, we plant faith
and where despair, hopefulness.

God, make us a channel of your peace flowing from your river
God, make us a channel of your peace flowing from your river

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

For Justice Love and Peace

For Justice Love and Peace
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

For justice, love and peace,
Give us courage in our struggle

[Blessing: “Take Courage” by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and Bret Hesla]

Friends, may God be in our arms as we work for justice,
In our hearts as we practice habits of kindness,
In our heads as we learn to take risks to make this planet a place of peace.
People of God, take courage!

Singers: Conie Borchart, Robin Nelson, Liza Johnson, Kathy Pino, Ray Makeever, Paul Andress, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Bret Hesla
Guitar: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Brother Sister Creatures

Brother Sister Creatures

Huge and tiny beings,
Each one part of our family.
Hearing, smelling, seeing,
Each one part of our family.

[refrain]
Brother sister creatures of the ground,
Brother sister creatures of the sea,
Brother sister creatures of the air,
Oh I love my brother sister creatures.

Loud and quiet beings,
Each one part of our family.
Moving, touching, feeling,
Each one part of our family. (ref)

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Bring Healing to Our Lives

Bring Healing to Our Lives
©2017 Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Bring healing to our lives
sowing beauty, sowing life

[prayer: “Bring Many Healings” by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan]

1. Bring healing to our cities
where people gather and move, eat, drive and wait.
Architecture for businesses and housing, streets and sidewalks instilled with a grounding trust in our neighbors.

2. Bring healing to our politics:
Respectful conversation, careful listening to what’s beneath the words,
a generous allowing for differences in order to share life.

Bring healing to our neighborhoods.
Yards, alleys, work and play, families of all shapes and sizes.
Sharing space and time, giving always the benefit of the doubt.

3. Bring healing to our bodies:
Blood, skin, bone, chemistry and organs working together in harmony

Bring healing to our wild spaces:
habitats for those underground, on the surface, in the seas, in the air.
Spaces for oaks, for prairie grasses, for wetlands.

©2017 Worldmaking.net (ASCAP) All rights reserved. Use with permission please. Licensed via CCLI, OneLicense.net and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

You Embrace the Smallest

You Embrace the Smallest

You embrace the smallest of creatures
You embrace the whole universe
Your tenderness knows no end
We, too, rest in your arms.
You embrace the widest of oceans
You embrace the thinnest of hopes
Your tenderness knows no end
We, too, rest in your loving arms.

This song is part of a cycle of song I wrote with my friend Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Singing Prayers for the Earth(2017). The text of this song is inspired by Pope Francis’s 2015 Encyclical, in which is found “A Prayer for Our Earth.” I like to portray the sense that humans are just a part of the whole, the beautiful wide endless details of the cosmos. This feeling, we’re a part of something bigger, doesn’t feel like a humbling to me. It feels like warm understanding of belonging.

You can use this refrain by itself, or interspersed with readings or prayers. The recording is an example of the latter, using the text below.

[Prayer: “Arms of Renewal” © 2017 Bret Hesla]

Arms of Renewal, you hold in your healing embrace the earth that sustains us, the green life that covers the seas and land, the microscopic cells whose gifts to us we are unaware of, the rocks and particles who by not being alive are seen merely as resources rather than siblings wrapped in the same sweet bear-hug. Help us to feel your arms of healing, and to be those arms for the places we live, as we learn to renew the healthy habitats of wholeness.

Arms of Refuge, you hold in your tender embrace all our families who flee their homes, all those among us who flee from poverty, all of our girls who seek to escape trafficking, the birds threatened by loss of their forest homes, the seas threatened with the runoffs of our growing appetites, the parklands shaved ever thinner from all sides. Help us to feel your refuge in our communities both human and wider, and help us to be the arms of refuge for one another:

Arms of Compassion, you hold in your tender embrace all of us who struggle with our health, all of us who daily live with mental illness, all of us who suffer from the moral and physical wounds of war. All of us who need healing. We carry all these names in our hearts, and we set their care upon the combined voices of this singing … [pause] … Help us to feel your compassionate arms around us all, and to be those arms for one another

Embracer of all things, may we live in gratitude for your gifts of love. Amen.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.
Vocals, Harmonica: Bret Hesla
Piano: Tom Witt
String Bass: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
Reader: Larry Dittberner

Wonders of the Universe

Wonders of the Universe

Wine us. Dine us.
Delight us with a sense of awe.
Delight us with a sense of awe
As we take time to notice
The wonders of the universe.
Wine us. Dine us.
Delight us with a sense of awe.
Delight us with a sense of awe
As we take time to notice
The wonders of the universe.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

This song is part of a cycle of song I wrote with my friend Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Singing Prayers for the Earth(2017). Here’s a little prayer disguised as a polka, or vice versa. It’s meant to be used in a back-and-forth with gee-whiz facts about this amazing universe. The recording, and below, gives an example, but there’s no limit to the amazing tidbits you could dig up. Build your own polka gee whiz presentation. Then get a handful of readers to take turns barking out the OMG-Wowness. Just because it’s a prayer doesn’t mean you have to close your eyes and be somber.

[Gee whiz facts: better yet, collect your own favorites]

Flight #1
Octopuses have three hearts.
Butterflies can taste with their feet.
A group of parrots is known as a pandemonium.
Polar bears have black skin.

Flight#2
The sun makes up more than 99% of the mass of the solar system.
Almost every element in your body was made in an exploding star.
Each of a tarsier’s eyeballs is as big as its brain.

Flight #3
Beaked whales can hold their breath for over two hours.
The universe might be a hologram.
Dung beetles can use the Milky Way to navigate.
If you cry in space the tears just stick to your face.
Scientists have discovered a planet where it rains glass, sideways.
The world’s oceans contain 20 million tons of gold.
If you multiply the number 111,111,111 by itself, you get the number: 12345678987654321.
You can use a blue whale’s wax earplug to work out its life history.

Trust the Bird

Trust the Bird
Ch:
If the bird disagrees with the bird book
I’m gonna trust the bird.
Would you believe what you read in the index
No matter what you heard?
Listen to the wren and the chickadee
The truth in the air is the authority
If the bird disagrees with the bird book
I’m gonna trust the bird.

Life is deeply listening
To voices all around
When you find you’re deeply listening
You hear that joyful sound. (Ch)

Life is sweet allowing
Things to be their way
We love that sweet allowing
That is why we say (Ch)

Words and music by Bret Hesla and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan. © 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

This is based on a wonderful quote from Audubon, “When the bird and the book disagree, believe the bird.” Last month, in the cold snowy January of Minnesota, I was out walking in the woods and saw an Eastern Bluebird. What? They’re not supposed to be here this time of year. This little fluff ball got fooled into trusting the climate changed winters we’ve been having for the past 30 years. She’s suppose to be in the southern US at this time of year.

There Are Gardens Waiting

There are gardens waiting

There are gardens waiting to be planted.
And green hearts longing to be born.
There are healings yet to be imagined.
And wild fields waiting to return.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

This refrain was written and recorded as part of a 2017 earth-care song cycle, “Singing Prayers for the Earth.” Sometimes the message feels like a word of hope, sometimes encouragement, and sometimes just feels like a deep fact. It’s nice to sing this song all by itself, usually done twice. It also works as a gateway to reflection, doing it several times and bracketed with space for silence. It works well as a closing song to a gathering. Some communities have sung it after serving communion. The song obviously struck a new chord in 2020 with the pandemic. And now, more recently, with the disaster of the 2024 presidential election.

The recording intersperses singing with readings of earth-healing (below). I’d encourage you to use the earth-care readings, or find new ones to connect with your context and longings.

[reading: “Let Us Recognize” by Bret Hesla]

Friends, Let us recognize that the healing of the earth will involve us doing what we know how to do: planting gardens, creating green policies, letting go of harmful habits that give us short term profits and long term damage. Let us lift up the gardens waiting to be planted and pledge ourselves to more planting.

Let us recognize that the healing of the earth will involve generations yet to be born. Walt Whitman said, “Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” Let us lift up the green hearts yet to be born, and the earth they will inherit.

[sing]

Friends, Let us recognize that the healing of the earth will involve ideas no one has thought of. We may not be in the planning room when they come. We may not be around for the public announcement of success. But we trust that these changes will come. Let us lift up the healings yet to be imagined: for the earth, for our bodies, for all nations.

Let us recognize that the greening of the earth will continue after humans are no longer in the picture. It’s bigger than us. Let us lift up the wild places waiting to return: the healing we receive when we visit those wild places, and their worth on their own merit.

Snow Globe World

Snow Globe World
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

Intro:
The world is like a snowglobe and the people are its glitter
And every day God give this ball a shake
As people swirl around me, I’m mesmerized in beauty
And grateful for the happy fact that no two are alike
[And here’s my song to celebrate that no two are alike]

1. I’m glad there are people who know wild mushrooms
And don’t share their secret locations
I’m glad there are people who net dragonfllies
Even though I feel bad for the captured
I’m glad there are people who memorize poems
Like the Cremation of Sam Magee
Ch: I sing in praise of the bright colored glitter of people that
swirl in our snow globe world.

2. I’m glad there are people who listen to cars
And know which clicks might signify trouble
I’m glad there are people who run marathons
And spend all of their free time in training
I’m glad there are people who take me to task
When I pretend I’m not copping out (Ch)

3. I’m glad there are people who like to stay home
Reading novels while on the front porch swing
I’m glad there are people who study the past
And wear old funny clothes on the weekends
I’m glad there are people who like to keep books
And make sure that the figures are jake (Ch)

4. I’m glad there are people who speak in three tongues
And can help me share tools with my neighbors
I’m glad there are people who’re outraged by stuff
That I see in the news and ignore it
I’m glad there are people who go for the pink
when the proper shoe color is brown (Ch)

5. I’m glad there are people who think that a bug
Has a worth quite the same as what ours is
I’m glad there are people who get out and spray
So the wedding outside is successful
I’m glad there are people who don’t like to read
Who would rather watch movies and dance

Last Ch:
I’m so glad there are six billion
Pieces of bright colored
glitter that swirl in this
beautiful blizzarding
shimmering flickering
magical home of a snow…..globe…..world.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

Pour Upon Us All

Pour Upon Us All

Pour upon us all
The power of your love,
That we may be mindful
How we walk on this earth.
Pour upon us all
The power of your love
That we may defend
What sustains us.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

[prayer: “Chalice Prayer” by Bret Hesla]

Chalice of goodness:
We feel the power of your love pouring down from the sun,
earth’s gorgeous nuclear power plant wheeling across the sky,
whose warm love travels 93 million miles
as if it were merely an eight-minute errand to deliver cookies to a shut-in.
Pour your love upon us.

Chalice of goodness:
We feel the power of your love in the topsoil,
the compound interest of the ecosystem,
concocting a damp black trust fund
out of the loving remains of the striving green layers,
and hosting a joyful resurrection on a recurring annual schedule.
Pour your love upon us.

Chalice of goodness:
We feel the power of your love in the algae,
pumping out oxygen for no good reason,
which just so happens to answer our prayer
before we even made any plans to fold our hands and bow our heads,
much less take a breath to sing.
Pour your love upon us.

For these powerful gifts we have received, we give thanks today and always. Amen.

On the Eighth Day

On the Eighth Day
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

They say that way back when God made the world in six short days
And rested on the seventh, ’cause it’s Sunday.
But don’t you kind of wonder what happened that next Monday?
I’m here to tell you God got up and went right back to work.

On the very next morning the eighth day God made more bugs
On the very next morning the eighth day
God made more bugs
New bugs over here / Bugs over there
New bugs coming out everywhere
With absolutly no sign at all
of when this party might be slowing down.

On the very next morning the ninth day God made more germs
On the very next morning the ninth day God made more germs
New germs over here / germs over there
Virus festering everywhere
With absolutly no sign at all
of when this party might be slowing down.

10th day: Slime molds… (liverworts breaking out everywhere)
11th day: Gravity … (heavenly attractions everywhere)
12th day: Doughnuts … (happiness breaking out …)
13th day: Chaos (…looks like my college dorm room everywhere)

14th day: On the very next morning the 14th day
The moon moved to adjourn / But God objected on a point of order.
Ah, A-men and women and trans and gender-queer
and MtF and FtM / and gender fluid and non gender
and everyone in-between.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

Not Without Peace

Not Without Peace

Not without peace
Can we stop polar ice disappearing.
Not without welcome for us all
Will our forests be strong
We can’t treat the land
With respect we don’t show for each other.
So we pray to be kind
As we work to rewild the world.
Let us pray to be kind
As we work to rewild the world.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This lively song connects the healing the planet with our other efforts for justice. The song is part of a 2017 collection addressing ecology and climate justice, Singing Prayers for the Earth, by composers Bret Hesla and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan.

I like to use this song interspersed with readings, depending on the current context and situation.

“Peace, justice and the preservation of creation are three absolutely interconnected themes, which cannot be separated and treated individually.”

[Pope Francis, Laudato Si 2015]

“Four grave problems tempt us to despair in this world: climate change, massive inequality, militarism and money in politics. The good news is that the four are connected: when we act to repair any one of these problems, we create conditions that help resolve the others.”

[Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, Authentic Hope. Orbis Books, MaryKnoll, NY, 2012 ]

Letting Go

Letting Go
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

Letting go. Letting go in You.
Letting peace flow into my heart.
Letting calm rest upon my soul.
Letting go. Letting go in You.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

In 2017 I got to collaborate with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan on a series of songs addressing the climate crises–the weather climate crisis, the political climate crises, the spiritual climate crisis. Letting go is a deep healing we need in our society. Letting go of human domination of nature, letting go of things and accumulation for those of us with too much, letting go of control. This simple refrain can support a time of meditation, prayer and renewal. You can sing this song by itself, or interspersed with any sort of reading, prayer, meditation, instrumental music, or silence.

Let Not the Needy Be Forgotten

Let Not The Needy Be Forgotten
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

Ref: Let not the needy be forgotten.
And let not the hope of the poor be stripped away.

1. The victims of war
The refugees pouring in
The kidnapped and trafficked girls
The families torn apart

2. Pray what is the task
For people of faith when those
Who flee for their lives
Arrive to permanent second class?

3. How great is the breach,
The fault line through every town
A wound not allowed to heal
Corroding the ties that bind.

4. Communities thrive
When those who are safe take risks
For those under threat and fear.
To make sanctuaries bloom.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

I got the idea for this lament on human suffering from an adult forum I led in 2016 on the question, “What hymns do we need that are currently missing as we consider climate change?” Many folks were connecting the crisis of the broken earth and the crisis of human oppression. One suggested this text, from Psalm 9:18: “Let not the needy be forgotten; nor the hope of the poor be taken away.” That comment led to this song. I added verses with themes of specific human need that I see in 2017, the oppression of recent immigrants here in the U.S, the desparate need for sanctuary. Some of us need sanctuary, some of us can provide it. Here’s hoping we can join together and all be healed.

The long vocal dance on the word “away” is the heart of this lament, and gives your congregation a relatively rare opportunity to sing like that. Guitar and/or piano are appropriate for accompanying. The entire song can be sung by a congregation, but another option would be to have only the refrain sung by the congregation and the verses sung by soloists or a choir. You could also use the refrain only (without verses), alternating a sung refrain by the congregation with short spoken segments, or prayers, specific to your current situation.

For the Wholeness of the Earth

For The Wholeness of the Earth

For the Wholeness of the Earth
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

1. We lift this prayer
for the wholeness of the earth.
We lift this prayer
for the wholeness of the earth.
We lift this prayer
for the wholeness of the earth.
Can you feel it rising in you?

2. We tune our ears to the wholeness of the earth.(3x)
Can you feel it ringing in you?

3. We turn our lives to the wholeness of the earth.(3x)
Can you feel it spinning in you?

4. We stand our ground for the wholeness of the earth (3x)
Can you feel that granite in you?

5. Give thanks to God for the wholeness of the earth.(3x)
Can you feel it rising in you?

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Guitar, Harmonica, Lead vocals: Bret Hesla
Piano: Tom Witt
Bass, Drums: Richard Bruxvoort Colligan,
Singers: Mary Preus, Andrea Sorum, Sarah Preus, Nate Crary , Conie Borchart, Robin Nelson, Liza Johnson, Kathy Pino, Ray Makeever, Paul Andress, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Bret Hesla

This lively song connects the healing the planet with the healing of ourselves and our communities. It’s part of a 2017 collection addressing ecology and climate justice, Singing Prayers for the Earth, by composers Bret Hesla and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan. What wonderful news: this good creation rings and spins in each of us. We rise together: give thanks to God.

This song should swing! Guitar and/or piano are appropriate accompaniment. If you can, add a walking bass and percussion. A trumpet or a fiddle would sound good playing a verse for some alternation between singing and as an introduction to the song. Find a way to encourage some movement–not only the children, but everyone. May we always dance our prayers of hope and gratitude for this earth.

A song with lots of repetition gives the singers the opportunity to get into it whole heartedly. To teach it the first time, I usually sing it once all through, a capella. Then I go back and teach one line at a time, call/echo. From there, everybody go for it; close is good enough, in my experience.

Fill Us With Peace

Fill Us With Peace

Fill us with peace. Fill us with peace.
That we may live as sisters and brothers,
Fill us with peace. Fill us with peace.
That we may live harming no one.

Song Text: Pope Francis, © 2015 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Adapted and set to music by Bret Hesla. © 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Teach this refrain to your community. Then try singing it interspersed with spoken readings/prayers. You can either bracket the longer readings with the refrain, or alternate every other, using shorter readings. The above recording is one example.

[Prayer: “May We Live Into Our Sisterhood” © 2017 Bret Hesla.]

May we live into our sisterhood with the air that we breath, a clearness whose carbon dioxide weaves the green blanket that enfolds us, a clearness whose oxygen fuels the moving creatures, a clearness whose winds blow to dry the clotheslines of rich and poor alike. May we live as if we are members of the same family with this breezy wispy sister of sacred invisibility. Fill us with the peace of this sisterhood

[sing]

May we live into our brotherhood with the seas that cover our planet, in whose waters life began 3 billion years ago, in whose waters live 90% of all living things, whose tides give our clocks meaning, whose salt give our food flavor, whose health we threaten with our garbage rafts. May we live as if we are members of the same family with this great blue brother of liquid holiness. Fill us with the peace of this brotherhood.

[sing]

May we live into our sisterhood with the tiny particles we cannot see, tiny particles whose chemistry helps plants capture the sun, tiny particles whose business runs deep within our bodies, tiny particles whose dignity does not depend on our knowing they exist. May we live as if we are members of the same family with this great gathering of unimagined tinyness. Fill us with the peace of this sisterhood.

[sing]

Fill us with all these deeply-rooted meanings of peace, Dear Mother, that we may better cooperate as you gather us every day into your one great family. Amen

Come and Make the People Whole

Come and Make the People Whole
© 2017 Bret Hesla.

Ch:
Whole. Come and make the people whole.
Come and make the people whole.
Come and make the people whole.

Heal now the twisted values that abandon
the fam’lies needing help to be whole.
Come and make the people whole.

Heal now the broken laws that favor rich folks,
and block the rising of the poor folks.
Come and make the people whole.

Heal now the deep infection of white priv’ledge,
the wound that festers in the incrowd.
Come and make the people whole.

Heal now the fear that keeps us all from seeing
that we are all a single body.
Come and make the people whole.

Help us to find a room for every person
To find a home for every people
Come and make the people whole.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Bring Healing

Bring Healing
© 2017 Bret Hesla.
Ch:
Bring healing.
Bring healing to our lives we pray.
Bring healing to our lives we pray.
That we protect this earth,

1. Soften those who only look for gain
Gain derived by damaging the planet and the poor.
May we see beyond the bottom line
in these fair meadows,
in these fair woodlands.

2. May we live like we are not alone,
knowing how our choices ripple far outside our lives.
Other creatures also have a home
in these green pastures, by these still waters.

3. Wake us from dominion’s siren spell
Turn us from disrupting all the rhythms that restore.
May we stand in awe and be renewed
in silent nights. in holy nights.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

All Be Stewards

All Be Stewards
© 2017 Bret Hesla

All be stewards. All be stewards.
All be stewards. All be stewards.
Now. Now. Now.

Other possible texts:

Peace is calling. Peace is calling. Peace is calling. Peace is calling. Now. Now. Now.

Love is rising. Love is rising. Love is rising. Love is rising. Now. Now. Now.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This year on Earth Sunday, we used this song for the closing song. No teaching required: once you hear it you can sing it immediately. If you have the four chimes in the key you want to sing in, that would make a nice intro, or outro.

You’ll recognize the tune; it’s a doorbell chime engraved in my subconscious. I think the tune is a part of what is sometimes know as the Westminster Quarters, played by the famous clock in London.

In my image, the children of the future are standing at the door, ringing the bell.

All the Water in the World

All the Water In The World.

1. All the water in the world, The water in the world
Pouring down from the heavens
All the water in the world, The water in the world
Pouring down from the sky
Let’s look up now and get our faces wet. Oh,
Let’s look up now and get our faces wet
With water, like love pouring down.
We’ll get our faces wet
With water, like love pouring down.

2. All the water in the world, The water in the world
Flowing free in the river
All the water in the world, the water in the world
Flowing free in the stream
Let’s step in now and get our pant legs wet. Oh,
Let’s step in now and get our pant legs wet.
With water, like love flowing free.
And [get our pant legs wet
With water, like love flowing free.

3. All the water in the world, the water in the world
Welling up in the ocean.
All the water in the world, the water in the world
Welling up in the sea.
Let’s stand close now and feel the pounding waves. Oh
Let’s stand close now and feel the pounding waves.
Of water, like love welling up.
And feel the pounding waves
Of water, like love welling up.

Words and music by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan and Bret Hesla. © 2017 Worldmaking.net(ASCAP). All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net, CCLI and Worldmaking.net. Contact: Richard@worldmaking.net

Robed In Glory

Robed in Glory

1. Royalty in plain disguise
Which of us will lift our eyes to
see how this world is robed in glory?
May God grant us all release.
From our small devices freed
To see how this world is robed in glory.

Ch: This world is robed, robed in glory.
This world is robed, robed in glory.

2. Scientists have seen and heard
the moment that the universe
began in a great exploding fury.
Waves that have been traveling
thirteen billion years to bring
a hum to our ears, like bushes burning. (CH)

3. Dragonfly so high above
When it’s born it’s just a grub
For four years completely underwater
Then it climbs above and molts
Dons its helicopter clothes to
Zigzag the summer; then it’s over. (CH)

4. Dead crow lying on the ground
Other crows soon gather round
to voice something deep by squawking loudly
Watching them place sticks and things
There beside the fallen bird
I see flowers by my father’s gravestone (CH)

5. Ash to ash and dust to dust
One day we’ll be called to rest
In Topsoil in Whom we have our being
Rearranged to life again
Behold the host arrayed in slender green
We shall all be robed in glory. (CH)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Science song. Verses are facts. Chorus is joyful declaration of amazement/gratitude.
First time, try a leader solo on the verses, with all in on the chorus.
Then bring the song back next week, and invite everyone on all of it.
The little bass line intro is worth the price of admission.

Evening Is Falling

1. Evening is falling like the first evening
Peeper is calling like the first frog
Praise the dark singing. Praise for the evening
Murmers go winging all through the bog.

2. Sweet resurrection compost is breaking
Like the first making of the first soil
Molding in wetness under the leaf pile
Broken completeness where She has toiled.

3. Gentle the black heart soul of the evening
Born on the wine-dark face of the deep
Hues of contentment color the midnight
All is renewed in circles of sleep.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This song is basically “Morning Has Broken” for the other end of the day. I keep looking for other ways to rewrite the same song: that darkness is good, death is a natural returning, there is a spirit within it all somewhere that long for. From the collection: Singing Prayers for the Earth.

Steward’s Hymn

Steward’s Hymn

Ch: May we all be stewards of the earth,
May we tend our place among the whole.
Till plain old ditches enjoy the same regard
As high majestic peaks.

1. The sky, the atmosphere above us
The deep, the aquifers below
The very pillars of existence stand in peril.

2. The great things that we hold in common
Too often now are bought and sold.
And no, there is no app that can reverse extinction.

3. The seeds with parachutes are ready
Jamb-packed into the tiny dark.
They fly on summer breezes when the pod cracks open.

4. O Welcome of A Thousand Sparrows
O Host of Many Flavored Quarks
You’ve flyered every door & now your party’s waiting.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Now That We’ve Seen

Now That We’ve Seen

Now that we’ve seen what dominion has done
Let us pray to be members instead.
Belief we were placed at the top
And could run the whole planet
Has poisoned our head.
On supersized engines of progress we slash
Through gardens we don’t understand.
And now that we’ve noticed the gardens’ demise
May we humble our ways to the land.
May we simply return to the land.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This song connects the healing the planet with harmful issues like dominion, human supremacy, unchecked economic growth. It’s part of a 2017 collection addressing ecology and climate justice, Singing Prayers for the Earth, by composers Bret Hesla and Richard Bruxvoort Colligan.

I like to sing it together several times, interspersed the readings.

Come Rest From Your Labors

Come Rest From Your Labors

1. Hang up your tools
Put down your pen
Hand off your work
Unglove your hands
The good night awaits
Come rest from your labors now.

2. Lay down your head
Empty your mind
All will be still
All will be fine
The good night awaits
Come rest from your labors now.

Bridge:
Oh, let the Brush that paints upon
The canvas skies with sunset love
Apply great swaths of scarlet calm
Upon your setting soul.

3. Come softly sing
Come gently pray
With thankful hearts
Let all things fade
The good night awaits
Come rest from your labors now.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

When my friend Tom invited me to help write some songs for an evening prayer service, I wrote several using imagery of twilight, of dusk, of turning from day to evening. This moment of transition, this letting go, this fading toward darkness, has captured me; I think it’s a key moment in our rhythm, a key need in our daily healing, a key attribute of the love behind all things.

Like a Seed Upon the Breeze

Like A Seed Upon The Breeze

1. Like a seed upon the breeze of night
Letting go and carried into flight
Take our longings into You, Soft Wind of Peace
Carry us on.

2. Like the crimson of the afternoon
Turns at evening into rich maroon
Let our spirits gently fade in you, Dear Friend
Deepest Of Hues

Ch:
Spirit let us now depart in peace
In the shadows of your warm embrace
Spinning on the axis of your midnight grace
Carry us home.

(repeat ch.)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This was written as a sending song for an evening service. It’s part of a suite of songs for evening, that highlight the turning of the day, the goodness of the natural rhythms, positive images of darkness, and the healing of letting go.

Because He Stood

Because He Stood

1. Because he stood in the places where it mattered
There to expose and challenge the unjust
He was a threat to the guardians of power
And he was silenced with a cross
Because he called for the sharing of abundance
Where God invites the homeless to the feast
He was a threat to those wallowing in priv’lege
And he was silenced with a cross. (ch)

Chorus:
And we pray, “What now?”
Loving God, “What now?”
Oh, we pray, “What now?”
What for those now left
Standing at the cross
of silence?

2. Because he preached on the mountain, “Love your enemy.”
And said God’s rain treats friend and foe the same
He was a threat to the campaign of division
And he was silenced with a cross
Because he would not adjust his proclamations
Though he was threatened with a dire cost
His form of love was a danger to the empire
And he was silenced with a cross. (ch)

3. Oh, but the silence of death would not be final
His voice of truth still echoes through the land.
And we, who’ve heard what a cross could never silence,
Are called to places we must stand.
Let us awake at the ripping of the curtain
And leave behind our worship at the tomb
Not wait in hope someone else picks up the mantle
But follow Jesus out to the world

Last Chorus:
Now we pray, Empow’r us.
Loving God, Empow’r us
Oh, we pray, Empow’r us
Strengthen us to stand
Where it matters now
like Jesus.

Words by Bret Hesla and Paul Batalden. Music by Bret Hesla.
© 2016 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Getting away from atonement, getting away from sacrificial death, getting away from the glorious cross as God’s plan, and just looking at a simple view: Jesus was killed for what he was doing in his life, publicly challenging injustice. The cross as a method by which the powerful can silence dissent. And … then what?

A hymn for any season. But if you use it at the close of Palm/Passion Sunday, or on Good Friday, I’m thinking you might sing only verses 1 and 2 at that point. Then maybe add the third verse and final chorus on Easter, or Easter vigil, or weeks after Easter.

Wonderful Story / In The Turning

Wonderful Story

Leader: We’re a part of a wonderful story —
All: A story that started in darkness.
Leader: We’re a part of a beautiful song
All: that began long ago in the silence.
Leader: And each night we return to the darkness
All: Each night we return to the silence
Leader: to be renewed by the Teller of the story
All: And restored by the Singer of the song.

[segue into the song In The Turning]:

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This is a short call/response piece, designed as a lead-in to the song “In the Turning.” I’m especially thinking of an evening service.

Heads up: The song includes some non-stale language in place of “God.”

In The Turning

In the Turning
1. In the turning of day back into evening,
In the turning of light back into gray,
In the turning of business into pleasure,
In the turning of struggle into play,
In the turning of planning into dreaming,
In the turning of sunlight back to stars:
Turn us back to you.
Turn us back to you,
Ever Turning Love.

2. In the turning of springtime into summer,
In the turning of dormant into grown,
In the turning of flower into fullness,
In the turning of harvest into home,
In the turning of scarlet into snowfall,
In the turning of winter into mud:
Turn us back to you.
Turn us back to you,
Ever Turning Love.

3. In the turning of crude ore to invention,
In the turning of engine into rust,
In the turning of handshake into ally,
In the turning of empire into dust,
In the turning of enemy to neighbor,
In the turning of greed to common good:
Turn us back to you.
Turn us back to you,
Ever Turning Love.

4. In the turning of expert into mentor,
In the turning of upright into hunched,
In the turning of now into forgotten,
In the turning of body into mulch,
In the turning of memory into meaning,
In the turning of sadness into song:
Turn us back to you.
Turn us back to you,
Ever Turning Love.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Piano accpt. Zach Busch.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This song works well paired with the call/response “Wonderful Story” as a lead-in, which evokes the big bang, emerging from dark and silence.

This song is part of the suite of songs I’ve been working on as part of a project to write a new evening service.

When It Snows (round)

When It Snows
(a 2-part round)

1. 2.
When it snows
Though you’re froze
To your toes in
Minnesota
Strike a pose
One that shows
You have chosen to be frozen!

Words by Bret Hesla. Tune: unknown.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This is a very cool 2-part round, with only one beat separating the two parts. Anna and Marie, my niece and niece-in-law, brought the tune to the lake this summer. It was so fun to sing it on la-la, it seemed like a good thing to add some words. So … here’s a little cold northern pride to celebrate the outdoors. Now can someone add in a frosty, “Strike a Pose” slide show of ski/snowboard/skate/slide/football-in-the-snow?

Bringing Our Questions

Bringing our questions and bringing our doubts
Here with each other we open our hearts
These and our longings we offer to you
O Mender of All That Unravels

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Piano score by Cooper Sherry.
© 2015, 2021 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Two audio demos: above with guitar, below with piano

I wrote this song a few years back for my home church, Our Saviour’s Lutheran of Minneapolis. We have a program called Living Questions, in which nonmembers and members can gather regularly to chat about their musings, the big unknowns, the deep ambiguities of our lives separate and together, what it all means. I like the title, since it honors the experience most of us have had of being more full of questions and doubt than certainty. It’s not about answers; it’s about questions.

I’ll be curious if you can find a place for it in your life and the life of your community. Perhaps some service or prayer ritual or gathering for honest conversation. Let me know if you find a way to use it.

Thanks to Cooper Sherry of Tacoma, WA for the lovely piano score (and great voice to go with it!).

We Lay Our Questions

We lay our questions on this fire.
We build a pile of smoldering prayers.
They turn into sweet smelling smoke.
Their memory stays in our clothes
Long after the flame of the Amen has died.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2008 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

May What Is Right for Every Season

(from the 2020 songbook, Lake of Mercy: Songs for Healing)

May What Is Right for Every Season

1. As the lilacs shine in May
And the corn swells in July
As the branches of October sag with apples.
May what is right for ev’ry season come to you
And each letting go that follows fall in beauty.

2. As the puppy full of spring
Goes abounding for the ball
Till the day he stiffly lies beside the rocker …

3. As the mother holds her child
Till the child is up and gone
Then returns to hold the mother in her failing …

4. In the years of quiet loss
In the strangeness left behind
In the longing for those things that never happened
May what is right for ev’ry season come to you
And each letting go that follows fall in beauty

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

When my mother-in-law was in her fourth or fifth year of dementia, my wife Jaimie, who was doing a lot of daily support and caregiving, said, “Oh Bret, can’t you write a song about how awful this is?”

I think the answer to that question is, “No.” But here’s what I wrote. Perhaps it can help, if you find yourself or a friend in a difficult place.

Only We

Only We
Bret Hesla ©2012

1. We are your neighbors. We’re friends you have known.
We are your coworkers sharing your load.
We are the regular people you meet every day.
There is no they.

2. We are your roofers and we are your cooks.
We’re your accountants we balance your books.
We plow your highways and we haul your garbage away.
There is no they.

Refrain:
Only we, only we.
All of us living as we.
Only we, only we.
All of us living as we.

3. We are the students beside you in class.
We’re the computer geeks fixing your crash.
We are your teachers. We help you discover your way.
There is no they.

4. We are the authors who write what you read.
We are the farmers who raise what you need.
We are your fellow church members who join you to pray.
There is no they.

5. We are your children, your daughters your sons.
We are your cousins, your uncles your aunts.
We are your parents who’ve loved you through all of your days.
There is no they.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

When I Feel Despair

When I Feel Despair

When I feel despair
I remember that truth and love
Have always won.

Lyrics based on a quote by Ghandi. Adapted and set to music by Bret Hesla
©2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

The song works well in a contemplative service, evening service, interspersed with prayers or readings, alternate singing and humming, etc. Including a Good Friday setting. It also has easy SATB for folks to jump in on.

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.” Mahatma Gandhi

Also this quote from Howard Zinn:
“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

Thanks to Zach Busch for the wonderful piano score!

Let Us Put On the Clothes of Christ

Let Us Put on the Clothes of Christ

Refrain:
Let us put on the clothes of Christ
and live as equals with everyone.
Let us put on the clothes of Christ
and reunite the family of God.

1. Jew and Greek will live side by side
with the garments of justice on.
And every door will be open wide
in that sweet and delightful dawn.
Hate and fear shall not come between.
Oh, let us unite in love!
We’ll celebrate our diversity
as we welcome the reign of God.

2. All the captives will be set free, with …
Discrimination will cease to be, in that ….
To the poor we will bring good news. Oh let us …
Our faith will travel beyond the pews, as we welcome

3. Men and women will live as one, (etc.)
With equal priv’ledge for everyone
Domination will finally end.
The pains of history we will mend

4. Let us rise up completely new
Living fully in Christ, we’ll bloom
Like the threads of a tapestry,
And weave a joyful community

Words and music by Bret Hesla. © 1990 Bret Hesla. Admin. Augsburg Fortress.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

——————
For full keyboard score, see Global Songs II Songbook.

Come and Grow

Come and grow.
Come and grow our faith.
Spirit of the living god
Come and grow our faith
And water in us
Water in each of us
The deep desire
To be your faithful friend.

Deepen now, deepen now our hope ….

Strengthen how, strengthen how we love ….

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
v1. adapted from the words of Alan Story
© 2014 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Cell Phone Song

Jack and Jill went up the hill to
Fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
While texting on his cell phone.
His cell phone, he’s always on his cell phone
Jack fell down and broke his crown
While texting on his cell phone.

I gave my love a cherry
That had no stone
I gave my love a riddle
And she solved it on her cell phone …

Some-time in all our lives
We all have pain and sorrow.
But if you want to lean on me,
Snap chat me on my cellphone …

Love me tender, love me sweet,
Never let me go.
You have made my life complete,
Or maybe it’s my cell phone …

Hoist up the John B Sails,
See how the main sail sets
Send for the captain ashore,
He’s shopping on his cell phone …

Amazing grace how sweet the sound that
Saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but then I found
the map quest on my cell phone …

Yesterday all my troubles
Seemed so far away
(Now I) need a place to hide away
That’s why I’m on my cellphone …

I love to go a-wandering
Along the mountain track
And as I go a-wandering
My eyes are on my cell phone …

O beautiful for spacious skies
For amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties
I googled’m on my cell phone …

If everyone had an ocean
across the USA
Then everyone would be surfin’ ‘n-takin’
Selfies on their cell phone …

On top of Old Smokey
All covered with snow
I lost my true lover
While staring at my cell phone …

Words: Bret Hesla. Music: “Second Story Window”, adapted by Bret Hesla
© 2015 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Note: Android users can substitute “Android” for “cell phone”

iPhone users, can substitute “iPhone” for “cell phone”

Land line users: find your own song

Owl and the Pussycat

The Owl and the Pussycat

The owl and the pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea green boat.
They took some honey and plenty of money wrapped up in a five pound note.
The owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar.
Oh, beautiful Pussy, oh Pussy my love, What a beautiful pussy you are.
What a beautiful pussy you are my dear, what a beautiful pussy you are.
Oh, beautiful Pussy, oh Pussy my love, What a beautiful pussy you are.

Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl, how charmingly sweet you sing.
Oh, let us be married, too long we have tarried but what shall we use for a ring?”
So they sailed away for a year and a day to the land where the bong tree grows.
And there in the wood a piggy wig stood with a ring on the end of his nose.
With a ring on the end of his nose, my dear. With a ring on the end of his nose.
And there in the wood a piggy wig stood with a ring on the end of his nose.

“Dear Sir, are you willing to sell for a shilling your ring?” Said the piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away and were married next day by the turkey who lived on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And there in the sand they danced hand in hand by the light of the silvery moon.
By the light of the silvery moon, my dear. By the light of the silvery moon.
And there in the sand they danced hand in hand by the light of the silvery moon.

Lyrics: Edward Lear (1812-1888), England. Adap. BH.
Music: Bret Hesla
© 2001 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Lear, born in England, was a zoological artist, traveler and writer. He gave drawing lessons to the queen. He had epilepsy, depression, and loneliness.

Welcome Neighbors

Welcome Neighbors

1. Welcome neighbors and family all
To this magnificent glorious hall.
Here on benches of oak, now rest,
And hear the old songs we love the best.
Now the holiday time is here,
And now the shortest night of the year.
All the reason we need to fill
The air with music and good will.

2. A thousand years have come and gone
And still these melodies dance along.
Thousands more will come and go,
And still this river of song will flow.
Ours the tiniest thimble of time
To play the tunes and tongue the rhymes.
It’s now or never, so breathe and sing,
And make these marble rafters ring.

3. Not on faraway holy ground
Nor on some perfect silver screen.
(But) here alone the jewel is found,
The angels heard, the glory seen.
Cleanse your mind of bills to pay.
Erase tomorrow and yesterday.
To this moment we now belong.
Let all of us savor this night of song.

Words by Bret Hesla. Tune: Edi Beo Thu, 13^th cent
© 1999 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Written for the annual Winter Solstice/Christmas concert of the Blue Heron Consort, Winona, Minnesota, December 1999.

This a solo, performance piece. We originally did it with a hurdy-gurdy. Super fun to sing, alone or in duet. The second voice can double unison, then at some later verse, start on the 5th of the scale and sing the same melody shape, a fifth apart.

With A Song of Joy

With a Song of Joy

With a song of joy the buds shall break
With a song of joy the seeds shall wake
May their song of joy be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of joy the sea shall roar
With a song of joy the sky shall pour
My their song of joy be the song that you sing in your heart.

Chorus:
Joy will be the song
Joy will be the song
Joy will be the song in my heart.
Joy will be the song
Joy will be the song
Joy will be the song in my heart.

With a song of hope the sun will burn
With a song of hope the geese return
May their song of hope be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of hope the grain will swell
With a song of hope the kids will yell
May their song of hope be the song that you sing in your heart.
Ch: Hope will be the song …

With a song of peace the wind will blow
With a song of peace the stream will flow
May their song of peace be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of peace the grass will bend
With a song of peace the wound will mend
May their song of peace be the song that you sing in your heart.
Ch: Peace will be the song …

With a song of love the dads will play
With a song of love the field will sway
May their song of love be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of love the lilies bloom
With a song of love in the mother’s womb
May their song of love be the song that you sing in your heart.
Ch: Love will be the song …

With a song of ease the snake will lie
With a song of ease the buzzards fly
May their song of ease be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of ease the dogs will sleep
With a song of ease the willows weep
May their song of ease be the song that you sing in your heart.
Ch: Ease will be the song …

With a song of praise to the God of earth
With a song of praise to the God of birth
May their song of praise be the song that you sing in your heart.
With a song of praise to the God below
With a song of praise to the God of all
May their song of praise be the song that you sing in your heart.
Ch: Praise will be the song …

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1992 Bret Hesla. Admin Augsburg Fortress.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recorded by Bread for the Journey, on the CD Bread for the Journey. For full piano accompaniment, see the companion songbook, “Global Songs, Local Voices.”

Who Put That Turd In My Pocket?

Who Put That Turd in My Pocket?

I’ve got a tune that has no words.
I’ve got a ring that has no jewel.
I’ve got a longing for a life I’ll never have.
Who? Who?
Who put that turd in my pocket?

I’ve got a house without a home.
I’ve got a neighbor with no face.
I’ve got a place I wish was mine but ne’er will be.
Who? Who?
Who put that turd in my pocket?

I’ve got a storm that brings no green
I’ve got a list that won’t stop growin’
I’ve got a phone that disconnects me from my heart.
Who? Who?
Who put that turd in my pocket?

I’ve got a job without a wage
I’ve got a paycheck with no life
I’ve got this feeling I should make more of myself.
Who? Who?
Who put that turd in my pocket?

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2013 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

I meet monthly with a songwriter’s group. Sometimes we talk about our writing process. When songwriting, I usually start with the lyrics. Some of the others always develop the tune first. That seems completely backwards to me, but I decided to try it. Here’s what happened.

[note: sheet music = melody line, lyrics and chords]

Who Made the World?

Who made the world?

Refrain:

Who? Who made the world?
Love, Sweet Love.
Who? Who made the world?
Love, Sweet Love.

On the first day, the first day
Love, Sweet Love
KA-POW! the light came shouting
Love, Sweet Love
And it was oh, so good!

On the second day, the second day
Love, Sweet Love
The edges were expanding, KA-POW! the light came shouting
Love, Sweet Love
And it was oh, so good!

(Continue the same cumulative pattern, and drop in the refrain now and then.)

3rd day. The galaxies were twirling, the edges were expanding, KA-POW …

4th day. The sun and moon were soaring

5th day. The planets were a-cooling

6th day. The waters were a-pouring

7th day. The algae were a-blooming

8th day. The fishes were a-schooling

9th day. The prairies were a-greening

10th day. The rabbits were romancing

11th day. Both you and I were dancing

12th day. Oh, Love, she put her feet up (ahhh)…

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Here’s a creation story in 12 days. It’s a cumulative song, sort of like the 12 days of Christmas. Starts out with the BIG BANG!

Recorded here as a teaching track.

Big fun: buy 200 paper lunch bags. Get a Big Bang team of 4-5 people (any age) Have them practice the day before blowing them up and exploding them. They wrap the opening around your finger to create a hole. Then blow them up, squeeze the top together, and on KaPOW, they smash it between your hands to explode. Super loud bang throughout the room. Like firecracker loud, but won’t bring the firemarshall down on you.

Widen Our Sense of Belonging

Widen Our Sense of Belonging

1. Widen our sense of belonging
In every place we call home
Sharpen our eye for the beauty
Everywhere that we roam
Increase our love for each other
In simple kindness expressed
In bountiful love, together we’ll reach for the best.

2. May we have time to look inward
Teach us to trust in our dreams
Show us the balance of living
Fishing and stocking the stream
Give us new eyes when we travel
Returning to see what we missed
Then grounded in love, We’ll daily set off for the best.

Give us a home, give us a heart
Wide as the Atlantic sea.
Then grounded in love, together we’ll reach for the best.
3. Give us a song for the binding
All of us scattered and strewn
Water the seed of forgiveness
Waiting inside us to bloom
May we put gates through our fences
May we in neighbors invest
Till surrounded by love, together we’ll reach for the best.

Give us a home, Give us a heart
wide as the Iowa sky
Then surrounded by love, together we’ll reach for the best.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Written for my niece Anna and nephew-in-law Audun, on their wedding in 2011. She’s from Waverly, Iowa, he’s from Trondheim, Norway. Somehow they met.

Wash That Baby In the Water

Wash That Baby in the Water

Chorus:
We’re gonna wash that baby in the water:
dunk, dunk, dunk three times down.
We’re gonna wash that baby in the water,
then pass her* all around. Pass her all around.

1. Now it’s once for the Source of the universe,
And once for Jesus Christ,
And one time more for the Holy Ghost
To stay by her side. (repeat.)

2. Once for her grandma and her grandpa.
And one time for Mom and Dad,
And then it’s one time more for the people here.
Everybody’s glad. (repeat.)

3. We’ll do it once for the times that are easy.
And once for the times that are tough,
And one time more for the in-between.
May there be enough. (repeat.)

4. May you be both strong and peaceful.
May you be both wise and fair.
May you be content with the simple things,
And may you learn to share. (repeat.)

5. We’re gonna welcome you to the family.
We’re gonna welcome you to the world.
We’re gonna welcome you to the love of God
For every boy and girl. (repeat.)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1991 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This song is fun for a big group to sing. I wrote it for the baptism of my son, Sam, in 1991. Everybody brought a little jar of water from their own home, and on cue, brought it forward and dumped it into a bowl — which was my wife Jaimie’s bread bowl that she inherited from her grandmother. Dunk, sing, pass, cuddle, celebrate. Switch her/him pronouns as you need to. Adapt as needed for the pandemic.

If You’re Lonely Buy A Songbook

If You’re Lonely Buy a Songbook

1. If you’re lonely buy a songbook
Especially one where you don’t know the songs
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And everywhere you go bring it along
You’re sure to find some people you can show it to
And chances are that they can teach a song to you
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And pretty soon your repertoire will grow.

2. If you’re lonely buy a songbook
Then go and buy another twenty two.
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And plan a little singing rendezvous
Get shoulder next to shoulder in a tiny space
And revel in exuberant, unpolished ways
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And pretty soon your repertoire will grow.

3. Release the lovely bird that’s living in your heart
Don’t cede the joy of singing to the singing stars
Eventually you’ll memorize a song or two
Forget-me-nots that beautify a blooming you

4. If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And voyage out upon the rolling sea
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And feel someone’s yearning to be free
By marinating in another time and place
You sweeten your affection for the human race
If you’re lonely buy a songbook
And pretty soon your repertoire will grow.

When I bought the Rise Up Singing book in the late 80s, I knew about 5% of the songs. By 2015 I knew about 85%. For most of those songs, I can tell you who I learned it from. The book became a record of my life and friendships.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2014 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Snow Day

Snow Day
Bret Hesla ©1999
(a spoken song, with gestures)

Quietly, quietly, quietly
the snow falls in the night.
Come, look, see
the blanket soft and white
gets deeper, deeper, deeper. (repeat)

SNOW DAY! (last time only)

——————————-
It’s fun to do with a group of young children, or a big inter-generational crowd. The image is of a big snowfall that starts in the afternoon, continues all night. The deeper the snow gets, the quieter is the night (and the song). And finally, in the magical drifted-in silence of the morning–wahoo–school is called off. SNOW DAY!

The recording is from Ridgeway Community School (elementary) winter program, 1999.

Many Years Ago on Christmas Eve

I well remember Christmas as a boy (2x)
But one day it will all be too distant to recall
So let me tell you how we passed the day
Many years ago on Christmas eve

We opened up our stockings in the morn (2x)
We got a chocolate Santa, a toothbrush and a pen
& Every year we always got the same
Many years ago on Christmas eve

My mom would soak the lutefisk for hours (2x)
The folks who’ve barely tried it complain about the smell
It always smelled like Christmas Eve to me
Many years ago on Christmas eve

We set the finest dishes for the meal (2x)
Todd would mash potatoes and Beth would slice the bread
& Joe would dish the jello into bowls
Many years ago on Christmas eve

The tablecloth was red lace over white (2x)
I would light the candles and everyone would come
Then Mom would read the Bible to begin
Many years ago on Christmas eve

We opened up the presents after that (2x)
Mom with pen and paper to track who gave us what
I mainly hoped my gifts would not be clothes
Many years ago on Christmas eve

And after that the family went to church (2x)
The service was in candle light and I was in the choir
And every year we heard the angels sing
Many years ago on Christmas eve

The Jirele’s had a party after that (2x)
It started after midnight and went till two or three
I even saw my father drinking wine
Many years ago on Christmas eve

And then we’d sleep into the silent night (2x)
And now I well can see it was lovely as a song
And something good was born within my heart
Many years ago on Christmas eve

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

—————————————
My memories of our Christmas Eves as a boy growing up in the 1960s, in Austin, Minnesota.

Merry Christhallowanksgivemas

Celebrating the ever-elongating holiday.

Merry Christhallowanksgivmas

1. It was the usual Santa creep / In late October
It was the usual Santa creep / Fleet Farm with holly
It was the usual Santa creep / Cashiers with antlers rang me up
I came for socks, and ended up with all this crap.
Merry Christhallowanksgivmas / Hear the checkout scanners ping
It’s the most wonderful quarter of the year.
Merry Christhallowanksgiftmas / Hear the Muzak angels sing:
Gorge yourself in excess this day-o.

2. It was the usual overload / Thanksgiving dinner
It was the usual overload / TsuTurkeynami
It was the usual overload / Three pie trifecta polished off
And after that, well, everybody felt like crap.
Merry Christhallowanksgivmas / Mindless snacking without end
It’s the most wonderful quarter of the year.
Merry Christhallowanksgivmas / Keep the insulin on hand (then)
Gorge yourself in excess this day-o.

3. It was the usual argument / A few days later
It was the usual argument / The battle Christmas
It was the usual argument / Some well-aimed cheap shots hit their mark.
I won, I think. But basically it felt like crap.
Merry Christhallowanksgivmas / Obligations sold as “fun”
It’s the most wonderful quarter of the year.
Merry Christhallowanksgiftmas / Visit A T M’s a ton (then)
Gorge yourself in excess this day-o.

More Than Your Land

This land is more than your land or mine
It’s done fine on its own for several billion years
It’s given life to us all and someday when we die
It will be made from you and me

Words by Bret Hesla. Tune: unknown origin
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This is a partner song that works as a counter-melody duet with “This Land Is Your Land.” With these lyrics, it’s a nice song to have in your public singing back pocket. And it’s fun to sing.

I didn’t write the melody, and I don’t know who did; I heard it back in the 80s with a different set of words.

And if you’re singing about ecology and a land ethic, here are some new verses you can use, to the tune of This Land Is Your Land.

A healthy topsoil is made of bodies.
And moldy corpses and cornstalks rotting
And when we kick off, we’re gonna go there, too
And this land will be made from you and me.

To buy food local is such a chore
We’d rather choose food with a price that’s lower
And so we buy from the factory growers
And squeeze the best stewards off the land.

If you agree with this simple chorus
Then let’s protect our farmland and forests
And choose together the way before us
The green road for the red, white and blue

New words © 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Let Us Be Mary

Let Us Be Mary on Christmas Morn

Refrain:
Light will shine in the darkness.
Thread will mend what is torn.
This Love lies waiting to be reborn.
Come let us be Mary on Christmas morn.
Let us be Mary for now is Christmas morn.

1. Sorrow is present among us.
Many have burdens to bear.
Christmas brings no easy answers.
Rather the presence we share.

2. May we ignore the self doubting.
May we bring mercy to bear.
Where someone’s pregnant with justice:
Christmas is soon to be there.

3. We the not noteworthy people
With un-award-wining lives:
We are the angels of glory.
We are the busy midwives.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

————————–
Based on a quote from Meister Eckhart, paraphrasing: what good is it to me if Mary gave birth to God two thousand years ago, if I don’t also do so in my own time?

I Like The Teeth In Your Smile

Here’s a song for Jaimie.

I Like The Teeth In Your Smile
Copyright ©2009 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. I like the teeth in your smile,
And the edges of your eyes where the little lines play
I like the shine of your dark brown hair
Even more with the occasional gray
I like the tone of your voice when you ask me if I love you
When you know I know you know I do …

2. I like the second hand dress
That you wore when we wed on that August day
I like the way you saw beauty in the weeds
That you took for your bridal bouquet
I like how you look back and you ask if I remember
When you know I know you know I do …

3. I like how you ignore the budget
When you find a cause to give money to
I like the quality you have that makes people
Want to open their hearts to you
And how when you’re down you ask if I also see the sorrow
When you know I know you know I do …

Bridge: I know it’s not always so easy
No, it’s not always so easy

4. I like the way you insist
That we talk at night when I only want to read
I like the way you say “leave me alone”
When you finally get the book from me
And all the times you ask if I wish that we’d met sooner
When you know I know you know I do …

Fifty Roses

I asked Jaimie what she wanted on her fiftiety birthday. This is what she asked for: fifty roses.

Fifty Roses
Copyright © 2008 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. Fifty Aprils, fifty springs
Fifty sparrows to make the backyard sing
Fifty long-stem, long-stem roses
I brought them in the morning for you.

2. Fifty summers, fifty rains
Fifty gardens upon your fertile plains
Fifty long-stem, long-stem roses,
Crowded in a five-gallon pail …

3. Fifty autumns, fifty winds
Fifty longings for what won’t come again
Fifty long-stem, long-stem roses,
One for ev’ry trip ’round the sun …

4..Fifty winters, fifty snows
Fifty saunas, where midnight friendship grows.
Fifty long-stem, long-stem roses,
Wish I’d brought you ten-thousand more …

Br: Brought them in the morning for you.
Crowded in a five-gallon pail
One for ev’ry trip ’round the sun.
Wish I’d brought you ten-thousand more.

5. Fifty Aprils, fifty springs
Fifty wond’rings of what the years will bring
Fifty long-stem, long-stem roses,
Brought them in the morning for you

I’ve Got a Date for Dinner

I’ve Got a Date for Dinner

1. When the Thursday sun sinks low in the west
Like a big glob of butter on hot cornbread
Then I’m happy,
‘Cause I know I’ve got a date for dinner.
Yes, you heard me right, every Thursday night
All the neighbors get together for a meal.

2. When you hear the gravel cruchin’ as the car’s roll in
Like walnuts underneath a rolling pin…

3. I know Bob’s arrived ‘cause the Pinto’s here
My right hand’s chilly just thinking about a beer…

(Bridge 1:)
Cheese and macaroni, Chicken caccatori
And chili without any meat
& if your life is pallid, Try the Caesar’s salad
“Whoa, that garlic’s got teeth!”

4. Everybody’s frazzled overscheduled tight.
The only time we get to talk is Thursday night…

5. Jaimie’s makin’ chicken, I can always tell.
Feels like home when I smell that smell…

(Bridge 2:)
Oscar’s squallin’, Kobi’s bawlin’
And Rosie is climbin’ my back.
Devin clammers, Sam’s got a hammer.
“Quiet down kids,
‘cause I can’t hear Jack.”

7. It’s not a bring your own and it’s not potluck.
Everybody eats and we rotate cooks…

6. Twelve years running without fail
Blizzards, washouts, flies and hail…

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1999 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

We were part of a weekly meal cook-share for 15 years running with three or four other neighbor households. When it was your week, you did everything: food shop, cook, set table, clean up. All the other weeks, you just show up and eat.

Down Along Chicago Avenue

Down Along Chicago Avenue
Copyright © 2012 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. Jesus was born to an unwed mother.
Glory, Glory, What glory!
The outlook wasn’t bright.
But how the angels sang that night
Down along Chicago Avenue.

2. Deep in her coat Mary held her baby.
Glory, Glory, What glory!
She found the shelter door.
A woman smiled and welcomed her
Down along Chicago Avenue.

3. Hope for the world, cuddled by the homeless.
Glory, Glory, What glory!
But many heads were turned
And missed the dream of peace that burned
Down along Chicago Avenue.

4. Far, far away, Farmers gazing skyward
Glory, Glory, What glory!
beheld the northern lights.
But none could see that heav’nly sight
Down along Chicago Avenue

5. Wake, Mary, wake! to the winter morning.
Glory, Glory, What glory!
Quick, grab a bite to eat.
At seven you’re back on the street
Down along Chicago Avenue.

6. Bring gifts, you wise, for the babe before you.
Glory, Glory, What glory!
Oh, find it in your heart
To give these two a healthy start
Down along Chicago Avenue.

Alt v6:

6. Wherever power tramples on the lowly
Glory glory what glory
There Jesus is reborn,
With throngs resisting tyranny
Down along Chicago Avenue.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Notes: Here’s a Christmas carol in which Jesus is born in another time and place. It tells of Jesus being born in present-day Minneapolis, to a woman who is homeless and staying in a shelter on Chicago Avenue.

This particular shelter — transitional housing — was started in the mid 80s, when the number of people who were homeless in Minneapolis was exploding. The city asked Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church if they would create temporary overnight space for these folks. The church, at the intersection of 24th and Chicago, opened its basement, and the service continues to this day.

This past summer, George Floyd was murdered by the police on the same street, just a mile to the south. I’ve added an alternate verse 6.

Give Us Today

A second setting of the lyrics in the song “Give Us Our Daily Bread.”

Give Us Today Our Daily Bread.
Copyright © 2003 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

Ch: Give us today our daily bread.
Give us today our daily bread.
May we be ever satisfied with what is our share.
Give us today our daily bread.
Give us today our daily bread.
May we be never satisfied ’til what is on earth is equally shared.

1. In simplicity is life full flavored.
In simplicity the bitter and the sweet.
In simplicity is true abundance.
Not streets of gold but paths of justice for all. (Refrain)

2. Fear of scarcity will not divide us.
Fear of scarcity will never be our guide.
Now the invitation of Jesus calls us
to share the gift and trust that God will provide. (Refrain)

Now O Spirit

A pregnant and laboring earth …

Now, O Spirit
© 2005 Bret Hesla

1. Now, O Spirit, fill us with fire.
Your compassion be our desire.
Now, O Spirit, open our hands.
May we share as need demands.
Letting go of what is not ours,
True abundance ev’rywhere flowers.
Daily giving justice birth:
Dawn of peace, a laboring earth.

2. Now, O Spirit, giver of breath
Free us from consuming death.
May we throttle runaway “More,”
monkey wrench the gears of war.
Meet oppression face to face
We resist in nonviolent ways.
Daily giving justice birth:
Dawn of peace, a laboring earth.

3. Now, O Spirit, turn us aside
In our quiet moments confide.
Healing Womb, Enveloping Urn
We in you develop and learn.
In the night, your silence we hear.
By your calm we certainly steer.
Daily giving justice birth:
Dawn of peace, a laboring earth.

4. Pouring Spirit, Swig of Delight
Cup of Joy, all people unite.
Shine, O Sweet Expression of Grace.
Be revealed in ev’ry face.
Sharing food our spirits we blend;
Truths discovered in stranger and friend.
Daily giving justice birth:
Dawn of peace, a laboring earth.
——————————
It’s hard to write a song about non-violence, and non-violent resistance to oppression. It’s a hard word to sing, for one. And usually, writing about a negative concept is always less powerful that writing about a positive one. Hmmm. You hate to just talk around it poetically, especially when you’re hanging with someone like my friend Jack-Nelson-Pallmeyer. There’s a guy who does not beat around the bush.

Well, here’s an attempt at such a song from my collaboration with Jack. It fits in the framework of a larger service of songs and readings.

Heart of Mercy

Heart of Mercy

Heart of mercy.
Heart of mercy
Heart of mercy.
We live in you.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2004 Bret Hesla. Licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Use: This song can be used as a sung prayer response, to intersperse with prayers, readings, visual images. Or just sing and alternate with silence, as a meditation time.

SATB: It sounds nice with four parts, so you might consider teaching it to the choir, so they can fill it out with harmonies from the pew, or wherever they’re sitting. As you hear on the demo recording, you can start with one voice to call it, then all can jump in for a unison pass, then add the SATB.

Come Lend Your Beauty To This Place

This tune is a second setting of the text for the song, Dazzling Bouquet. Recorded as a teaching track.

1. Mine is the church where ev’rybody’s welcome.
I know it’s true, ’cause I got through the door.
We are a dazzling bouquet of every flower.
Jump in the vase, ’cause we’ve got space for more.

(ch)
We are a dazzling bouquet, a dazzling bouquet,
a dazzling bouquet of every flower.
We are a dazzling bouquet, a dazzling bouquet.
Come, lend your beauty to this place.

2. Come gather round, you sixfoot gladiolas.
Come all you purple lilacs shining bright.
Come let us all bloom together in one garden:
A carnival of fragrance and delight …(ch)

3. Don’t think we merely tolerate each other.
We ask and tell, we don’t just turn away.
We give attention to every bud and blossom.
Let every face come grace the grand bouquet …(ch)

4. We see our demons trying to divide us;
They document their lies to make them true.
Today we’re freed from our judging and excluding.
Just look around enjoy this lovely view …(ch)

We Gather Longing

We gather longing, longing for peace.
We gather longing, longing for peace.
We gather longing, longing for peace,
And we know it’s good to be here.

Ch:
We are longing, longing
Longing, longing for peace.
We are longing, longing,
Longing, longing for peace.

2. We gather singing joyfully strong.

3. We gather dreaming what is to be.

4. We gather praying the heart of the world.

5. Weaving, mending the whole

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2004 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

I continue to attend church through the years. I often ask myself why, given the constant evolving of my spirituality, changes toward increasing plurality, all the curiosity and searching, my dislike of doctrine and dogma, my attempts to create meaning in community. This song is about that why.

See also the cousin of this song, Longing We Gather. I sometimes like to take the same starting text and try a few different tunes and structures.

In that spirit, I hope you feel free to do the same with this song, play around with it a little. It’s pretty flexible. Add some verses, adjust the repeats.

Fly Away Home

source: Diana Earth Mission. Adapted and expanded: Larry Dittberner

She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain

Traditional American

My Dame Had a Lame Tame Crane

Two traditional rounds:

My Dame Had a Lame Tame Crane

Why Shouldn’t My Goose?

Solar System

Solar System

Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars
Asteroid Belt
Then Jupiter is next
Then Saturn with its rings
Then Uranus, Neptune, Pluto are the rest
Around the sun together

Words by Bret Hesla.Tune: John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt, trad
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Even though Pluto was downgraded since I wrote this song, I’m still calling Pluto a planet.

Froggie Went A-Courtin

Traditional American

Simple Gifts

Traditional Shaker Tune

Home On The Range

traditional

Recorded with Larry Dittberner on the irresistible “The Big Fat Tape of Songs for Kids.”

Sorry, CD only (cassette tapes are sold out.)

Hambone

Traditional

One Bottle of Pop

One Bottle of Pop
Traditional round
New verse and arrangement Bret Hesla © 1991

One bottle of pop, two bottle of pop, three bottle of pop, four bottle of pop
Five bottle of pop, six bottle of pop, seven bottle of pop, STOP!

Don’t put your trash in my backyard, my backyard, my backyard.
Don’t put your trash in my backyard, my backyard’s full…HEY!

Everyone recycling, -cycling, -cycling.
Everyone recycling. Once ain’t enough….NO!

Crawdad

Traditional American

You get a line and I’ll get a pole, Baby.
You get a line and I’ll get a pole, Honey.
You get a line and I’ll get a pole
And we’ll go fishing at the crawdad hole.
Honey, surgar baby, mine.

Get up old man you slept too late….
Crawdad man done passed your gate…

Yonder come a man with a sack on his back…
Packing all the crawdads he can pack….

What you gonna do when the lake runs dry?
Sit on the bank until I cry…

I hear the drake say to the duck
Been diving all day and I got no luck….

Ballad of the Bottler

Ballad of the Bottler
Bret Hesla ©1989

Chorus:
I’m a Minnesota soda water bottler
I bottle soda water water bottles
I bottle bottled pop in some water bottles
In others I bottle bottled beer.
And counting all the Minnesota soda soda water bottled
There’s many Minnesota soda water water bottles bottled here.

1. Now a lot of people think that a bottle
is a bottle is a bottle is a bottle is a bottle
But it seems to me that a bottle with water
isn’t just a bottle but a water bottle
And a water bottle bottled with pure soda water
I call a soda water water bottle
So you see if it’s Minnesota soda water bottled
Then you call the bottles bottled Minnesota soda water water bottles.

2. With ten thousand lakes and couple hundred rivers
Why are people buying water at the store?
Just belly up to the sink, drink save a few dollars
And holler if you want a little more.
Well the problem is the poison we’re putting in the ground
We finally found it floating in the well
So either buy it in the bottle or test it in the tap
So you know the water isn’t gonna do a little number on your health.

3. Bottle business is booming but the end is looming
But the system will eventually crash.
Cause the landfill’s growing with everybody throwing
Water bottle after bottle in the trash.
Did you ever stop and think when you go to take a drink
Why you throw away the bottle when you’re done.
If we could all learn to do the bottle return.
We could fill the Minnesota soda water water bottles up again.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. © 1989 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Farmer Is The One

Traditional American

New words Bret Hesla

Make New Friends

Make New Friends
Round: Words and music: Traditional,
Adapted and arranged: Larry Dittberner © 1992

Make new friends but keep the old.
Those are silver, these are gold.
New made friendships like new wine
Age will mellow and refine.

Friendships that have stood the test
Time and change are surely best.
Brow may wrinkle, hair turn gray
Friendship never knows decay.

For ‘mid old friends, tried and true,
Once more we our youth renew.
But old friends alas may die.
New friends must their place supply.

Cherish friendship in your breast.
New is good but old is best.

From the recording, Big Fat Tape of Songs for Kids.

Mole in the Ground

Traditional American

New Perspective (song)

w. E.B. Browning; m: Larry Dittberner

Yea O God

3-part round

Yea O God
by Larry Dittberner, © 1978
larryd1945@gmail.com

Yea, O God, you are our mother.
You are our mother and father.

We are the clay. We are the clay.
We are the clay. You are the potter.

We are all the work of your hands.
The work of your hands, the work of your hands.

Midnight Lullaby

Midnight Lullaby
Larry Dittberner © 1991

On a Thursday, in the evening
I am sitting in my kitchen.
In the evening in the kitchen
I am thinking of my children.

Ch: And peace, we want peace.
Oh peace, hope for peace.
Yes, peace, work for peace.
Live in peace.

It’s so easy to get greedy.
To want more and more
That’s how it seems.
‘Cause letting go isn’t easy.
How can we without a dream? (Ch.)

Many people the world over
Live simply day by day.
And we can, I do believe it.
It’s a choice that we all can make. (Ch.)

On a Thursday in the evening
I am sitting in my kitchen.
Guitar singing, me I’m wishing.
Sending love out to my children.

In their beds, tucked in and dreaming.
Curled up tight, gently breathing.
In the midnight, children sleeping.
And their angels watch are keeping.
In the midnight, children sleeping.
And their angels watch are keeping.

All In All

w: deWaal, adap. Dittberner
m: Larry Dittberner © 1985

God bless thou thyself in my reaping.
Each ridge and plain and field, in my reaping.
Each sickle curved, shapely and hard in my reaping.
Each ear and handful on the sheaf in my reaping.

Ch: All in all, God bless all. (repeat)

God bless each maiden, God bless each youth.
O bless each mother, and tender youngling.
God bless each woman, God bless each man.
And guard us all in all in our reaping. (Ch.)

God bless Thou Thyself, in our reaping.
Each hill and plain and field, in our reaping.
Each sickle curved, shapely and hard in our reaping.
Each ear and handful on the sheaf, in our reaping. (Ch.)

Make Me An Instrument

Text based on familiar prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.

Ch:
Make me an instrument of your peace.
O God, fill me with love.
Make me an instrument of your peace.
O God, make me an instrument of your peace.

1. Wherever there is hatred, let me sow love.
Wherever there is sorrow, let me sow joy.
Wherever there’s oppression, freedom let me sow.
O God, fill me with love.

2. May I seek to console, not to be consoled.
May I seek to pardon, not to be pardoned.
I seek to understand not to be understood.
O God, fill me with love.

Ch:
Hazme un instrumento de tu paz,
O Dios, dame tu_amor.
Hazme un instrumento de tu paz,
O Dios, hazme un instrumento de tu paz.

3. May I be mindful that all creatures are one
Sisters and brothers with the earth and the sun.
I pray release me from my need to be in charge.
O God, fill me with love.

Recording from the album Justice Like a Base of Stone. Text based on St. Francis of Assisi.

We Have Died

We Have Died

We have died to hatred.
To hatred we have died.
We are raised.
We are alive to peace.

We have died to indifference
To indifference we have died
We are raised.
We are alive to beauty

We have died to warring
To warring we have died
We are raised.
We are alive to healing

We have died to dominion
To dominion we have died
We are raised.
We are alive to belonging

Words and music by Bret Hesla. © 2002 Bret Hesla. Admin. Augsburg Fortress.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Found in the songbook/CD Justice Like a Base of Stone, 2006.

As God Provides

Offertory song, nice in four parts or unison. Recorded here with a second song, Rising the Sun, which works as a duet where both are sung together, or as a counter melody.

As God Provides
Bret Hesla, © 2005

As God provides abundantly the riches of the earth
As sun and rain distinguish not among each garden’s worth.
We abandon every caution as our abundance freely we bestow.
Creation streaming graciously shall lead us in the flow.
In gratitude, these gifts we bring.

Rising the Sun
Bret Hesla, © 2005

1. Rising the sun’s streaming glorious and proud,
Casting jewel over jewel on the wet morning ground.
Full in their bounty all greenly and high
Do the trees stand a-reaching for the lightening sky.
Heedless of boundary line
Neither of “Private” sign
Light after light spilling down, spilling down.
All now are bathed in this dawning of gold
In this treasure unbounded that ne’er will be sold.

2. See now the lilacs a-blooming in song
With their lavender voices fragrant and strong
See how the apple trees join the choir
With magenta harmonies of blazing desire.
Lightly the petals cling, then yield to the breeze of spring
Till earth be strewn in purple and white
Come soak your feet on a dew laden stroll
And this beauty discarded will cling to your soles.

Shout Unto God

Shout unto God! Shout unto God!
Let the trumpets welcome in the day of justice.
Shout unto God! Shout unto God!
Let the trumpets welcome in the reign of God.

1. Sing unto God a new song,
Whose deeds are full of wonder.
Whose right hand is raised
And the victory begun.
And now this victory is revealed
As justice in all nations,
As mercy to the people
In every corner of the planet. (Lift up your voice and)

2. Let the earth… Shout! ; Let the trumpet… Blast!
Let the harp… Sing! ; Let the bells… Ring!
Let the creatures of the sea roar.
Let the hills in the springtime
Let the mighty rivers rise up.
And let the people of the nations (Lift up your voice and)

3. Look and see God is moving. (3x)
To lift the broken and the lowly.
Look and see God is moving.
Within the people stirring
To heal what is wounded.
And inspire true compassion.
(Lift up your voice and)

Words and music by Bret Hesla. © 2001 Bret Hesla. Admin. Augsburg Fortress.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Based on Psalm 98. The recording is from the 2006 album Justice Like a Base of Stone, by the group, Bread for the Journey.

Lake of Mercy (song)

Lake of Mercy

(from the 2020 collection, Lake of Mercy: Songs for Healing)

From the shore, from the shore
Where moonlight bathes the sand.
I set sail, I set sail
And leave behind the land.

Ch: Let me rest upon your waters
Lake of Mercy, precious friend.
Rock me softly in the midnight wind
And make me whole again.

2. As I sleep, as I sleep,
Oh make my body whole.
Heal me deep, heal me deep
Within my blood and soul.

3. Carry me, carry me,

Oh rock me through the night.
Calm my fears, calm my fears

When no help is in sight.

4. Make me strong, make me strong,
Oh, fill me with your power.
Stay with me, stay with me
Now in this troubled hour.

5. Take away, take away
My present pains and past.
May your peace, may your peace
Then fill my empty glass.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1991 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Admin Augsburg Fortress. Also licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Years ago, a friend was dying of cancer. I wanted to write a healing song for her and her family.

Unfortunately, she never heard it. In my insecurity, I kept tinkering with it, waiting to perfect it; then it was too late. I give the song to you, the listener, along with my hope that we can all share our imperfect gifts with each other while we have time.

The imagery here is of God, the spirit, as a great healing lake, and of us in our small boats, sailing out over that water. The singing should be very relaxed.

Sing We All On This Day

Sing we all on this day
Of a child as he lay
In a stall filled with hay
Ancient tale of glory
Ever new the story
Filled with joy sing we
Filled with joy sing we
For the spirit of love
Born in every heart now.

In the field shepherds lie
Scholars watch in the sky.
Wonders meet every eye.
Who will see the holy
In the plain and lowly?
Filled with joy sing we
Filled with joy sing
We for the spirit of truth
Born in every heart now.

Now the star is a sign
Now the water is wine.
Now the vulgar divine.
Helpless babe before us
Hear the angel chorus.
Filled with joy sing we
Filled with joy sing we
For the spirit of hope
Born in every heart now.

As the prophets of old
The messiah foretold.
So we cry loud and bold,
“Now the day is breaking
Peace on earth be making!”
Filled with joy sing we
Filled with joy sing we
For the spirit of peace
Born in every heart now.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Admin Augsburg Fortress.
© 1999 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Stand In Awe

Stand in Awe
Bret Hesla © 2000

Refrain:

Stand in awe of the one who hears the cry of the poor
Stand in awe of the one who will provide
Stand in awe of the one who hears the cry of the poor
For they shall eat and be satisfied.

1. Praise god, the Spirit moving over the earth.
Let ev’ery heart give honor to the Servant of Peace.
Let the great assembly praise the Friend of the Poor.
Let us declare the saving deeds God has done.

2. How sweet to gaze upon the rich and the fair.
And how seductive is the mighty voice of the strong.
But the wretched and disfigured now are empowered.
Let us declare the saving deeds God has done.

3. Who’ll not despise the poverty of the poor
Who comes to meet the_oppressed.
Whose back will never be turned.
This is now the one who moves in every land
Let us declare the saving deeds God has done.

4. Let all the ends of earth be watered in joy.
Let all the fam’lies of the nations meet at the well.
where the thirsty shall drink deep and be satisfied
Let us declare the saving deeds God has done.

Words and music by Bret Hesla
© 2000 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Admin. Augsburg Fortress. OneLicense.net

Blessed Are You

1. Blessed are you, the meek and lowly
Blessed are you, the meek and lowly
Oh ……. Blessed are you
You shall inherit the earth.

2. Blessed are you who mourn in sorrow …
Comfort shall come to you.

3. Blessed are you defusing violence …
You are the face of Hope.

4. Blessed are you who offer mercy…
Mercy will always be yours.

5. Blessed are you who thirst and hunger …
You shall be satisfied.

6. Blessed are you the poor and downtrod…
Yours is the reign of God

SATB with keyboard accompaniment available in the songbook, Justice Like a Base of Stone.

May You Rest

May You Rest

1. May you rest as peaceful and timeless as a lake
Nestled deep in wilderness untraveled
May you rest as peaceful and timeless as a lake
Many portages past the familiar

Ch: Rest in peace
May you rest in peace

2. God be the basin that holds you
God be the stars that enfold you
Rays of golden sunlight will warm your shoals
Trickle of the snowmelt will fill your soul (Ch)

3. Calm of the evening will soothe the day
Ripples on your surface will die away
Resting in the silence, beneath unbounded space
You will be a mirror reflecting God’s face (Ch)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1998 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

In this age of information overkill, I”m drawn to the notion of Meister Eckert, that God (the spirit, peace, wholeness) “is not found in the soul by adding anything, but by a process of subtraction.” In the late 80s, I was given an anonymous poem from my friend Jon Olson, who thought its imagery might make a good base for a meditative song. It began with the lines, “Peace, O Soul. Deep peace. Be a high lake.”
This song retains many fragments from the original poem, but I’ve paddled the imagery a good ways toward my camping experiences in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of the Minnesota/Ontario border. And I think of my uncle Don, who took many batches of teenagers, including us, up there canoeing. He helped plant a lifelong love of that beauty and solitude in our hearts. The lake-country wilderness is about as close to heaven as I could ask for.

Build Up a New Foundation

Build Up

How shall we pursue the dream?
On the rock, build on the rock of justice.
Building true equality,
Till we build up a new foundation.
Using our united power…
On the rock, build on the rock of justice.
Duty bound we seize the hour….
Till we build up a new foundation.

Ch: Build up, build up build up a new foundation.
Build up, build up, oh build up a new foundation.

Compassion’s empty without deed…
Action’s what the afflicted need…
Level every playing field…
Work until the breach is healed….

Doubting the official word…
Letting every voice be heard….
Challenging the club of power…
Giving common good the floor….

Crossing borders of the heart…
Build the right way from the start….
Listen to the spirit’s call…
Crumble the dividing wall….

Hope, but never sit and wait…
Learn to use the tools of change….
Listen to the spirit’s call…
Life’s abundance meant for all….

Stir Fry

Cooking in the kitchen every night.
You probably do it to.
But I’ll bet my board and my chopping knife
I can stir fry better than you.
Got my stove. Got my wok.
I can make those vegetables sing and talk.
Heat, flame, simmer, sizzle, flip and toss.
Cooking in the kitchen. Cooking in the kitchen, gonna

Ch: Stir fry, yes I’m cooking in the kitchen, cooking in the kitchen
Stir fry, yes I’m cooking tin the kitchen tonight
Stir fry, yes I’m cooking in the kitchen ,cooking in the kitchen
Taking a wok on the wild side
Cooking in the kitchen tonight.

Let me tell you about the way that I begin
When I whip up a gourmet meal.
First thing I do is have a glass of beer.
Or I pour me up a cup of tea.
Then I crank up the music good and loud.
Call a couple friends if I need a crowd.
Then we twist tap turn around sing and shout.
We’re getting good and ready. We’re getting good and ready for a …(Ch.)

Cutting up the onions. Snapping the beans.
And chopping up the cabbage fine.
Slicing the potatoes, dicing the greens,
Put the scraps in the compost pile.
Strike up a match. Light up the stove.
And heat up the oil with the garlic clove.
Then you start with the vegetables you know are slow.
Don’t forget to hurry, and don’t forget the stirring of the …(Ch.)

Here’s a little secret I can tell you about
But you probably use it too.
I look food up and down when I check it out
‘Cause the best is all I use.
Forget about tomatoes hard as rocks.
Forget about anything dipped in wax.
Forget it if it’s sprayed a hundred times for bugs.
Remember where it’s going.
Remember where it’s been. Then… (Ch.)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

We’ve Got To Stop Treating The Soil Like Dirt

We’ve Got to Stop Treating the Soil Like Dirt
Bret Hesla © 1990

I had a dream last night I want to tell you about.
If it gets a little heavy, I hope you don’t walk out.
You see death came knocking upon my door.
So I went to be with loved ones who’ve gone before.

Yes, I dreamed I died, went to heaven’s gate.
I didn’t see St. Peter so I had to wait.
Thinking over my life, what I would change,
When I noticed that this paradise was mighty strange.

No pearly gates, no golden urns.
Just a lot of little roots, and a whole lot of worms.
Then I realized this wasn’t heaven or hell.
I just died and they put my body back in the soil.

Then I began to rot and disappear.
And I thought to myself, “There’s nothing to fear.
I’m just falling apart into the land I love.
Giving life to the plants that are growing above.”

I went back in the land, back in the ground.
I went to little pieces in a total breakdown.
I was a part of the soil, a part of the earth,
A part of the mother of my birth.

Then I heard a pounding noise and a stake came down.
And I heard a voice say, “I own this ground.”
And I yelled back, “You’re full of it pal.
You’re full of little pieces that came out of the soil.

And pieces of air and water, too.
That traveled through the plants until they came into you
By way of the spinach, the carrots, the cows.
They entered your body from your hand to your mouth.”

It’s just like Chief Seattle said,
“It don’t belong to us we belong to it.”
It gives us life, it makes us strong.
It’s where we’ll all be buried when the circle turns round.

Now I would have kept talking. I was on a roll.
But the wind came whipping up and started to blow.
Or it might have been the rain, I’m not sure which it was
That carried about a third of me into the ditch.

Then a part of me was sold for cash
And used as a dump for trash.
And I wondered if the rest of me, like as not, would be
Permanently covered with a parking lot.

I woke up a little short of breath.
Could it be because I was afraid of death?
Yes, I was a little scared and mighty glad
This was not reality — it was a dream I had.

Life could be a dream. Death could be swell.
It’s up to human beings if it’s heaven or hell.
So let’s tell the truth until it hurts —
We’ve got to stop treating the soil like dirt! (3x)

You say, “It’s not my problem, it’s not my land.
There isn’t any mud or blood on these two hands.
That’s right,” you say, “Erosion is a shame.
Now excuse me while I watch another football game.”

Fine.
Just remember next time soil’s blowing around,
That might be my grandma or your best friend’s mom.
Or you might wonder if
It’s a part of your pedigree making a drift.

Filing up ditches, filling up streams.
Make Louisiana bigger while the heartland shrinks.
The soil gets thin, the land paved under.
We’re losing all our relatives and left with hunger.

Can we really survive, yes, just say NO
To the two big problems. One is war.
You ask what the other problem is my friend?
The answer to that is blowing in the wind.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Farmers Market

The Farmer’s Market

Chorus:

I’m going to the Farmer’s Market, the Farmer’s Market
Getting up going down to the middle of town
Come back with the car loaded down
Down, way down to the ground
Come back with the car loaded down.

1. Go down there when the sun comes up
Come back home ‘bout nine o-clock.
Beans are long and the beets are fat.
A bag of this and a pound of that. (Ch.)

2. Potatoes packed in a hundred pound sack
I put two in the front seat, ten in the back.
Squash on the roof and corn on the floor
And giant pumpkins tied on the door. (Ch.)

3. Brussel sprouts and broccoli

Pepper parsley pumpkin pea
Cauliflower Kale and corn
Every single Saturday morn

4. Don’t give me that fruit from Mexico
Gonna buy what my neighbors grow.
Corn is early the pumpkins late
If it’s out of season I can wait. (Ch.)

Just like instinct it’s inborn
I go there every Sunday morn
It’s a nine month marathon shopping spree
From starter plants to Christmas trees

Bridge:
Ee-eye-ee-eye—ee—eye-Oh (echo)
Oh, I oh I oh I eat (echo)
Oh, I eat (echo)
Only local food.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

When Justice Comes

When Justice Comes

1. Oh, the clouds will build up black when justice comes.
There will be no turning back when justice comes.
The thunder will shatter the sky when justice comes.
And you’ll have to believe your eyes when justice comes.

Ch: When justice comes,
Let it roll like a downpouring rain.
Let it flow like a flood in the spring.
Let there be no place left to run
When justice comes.

2. It’s gonna blow in heavy and hard when justice comes.
And the experts will be caught off their guard when justice comes.
The first drops will startle your skin when justice comes.
Then we’ll all be drenched to the bone when justice comes.

3. There’ll be nowhere to buy a boat when justice comes.
And money is not gonna float when justice comes.
Nothing will be high and dry when justice comes.
But the thirsty will be satisfied when justice comes.

4. The storm will give way to the sun when justice comes.
The creeks and the ditches will run when justice comes.
The breeze will be cool and clean when justice comes.
And the prairie will answer with green when justice comes.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1990 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Amos 5:24. But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

The recording is from the CD A New Perspective, with Bret Hesla and Larry Dittberner

What Joy To Be Alive

What Joy to Be Alive
Bret Hesla ©2012

What joy to be alive!
Blooming in the city side by side.
What joy to be alive!
Blooming in the city side by side:
You and I.

1. We welcome you
We welcome all
This is a place
Where you belong.

2. Respect the Earth
And every Thing
Respect your Self
And others, too.

3. While some may doubt
That you can fly
We know you can
Go right ahead.

4. You will be wise
Your colors shine
Lift up your dream
For all to see.

5. Into your hands
I put my heart
Though there are times
You drive me nuts.

[written on commission for Lake Country School, Minneapolis, MN]

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Everybody Wants to Sing

Larry Dittberner, “Mr. D,” was the musical heart and soul of Lake Country School its beginning in the early 70s to his retirement in 2019. Larry’s irresistible presense and inviting style of music has inspired and empowered 40 years worth of students. The tune for the verse is based on the song “They All Asked About You.”

Everybody Wants to Sing
Copyright © 2012 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

I went down to the Children’s House
Everybody want’s to sing
Everybody wants to sing
And they want to sing more with Larry.
I went down to the Children’s House
Everybody want’s to sing
Everybody wants to sing
And they want to sing more with Larry.

Ch:
Hey Larry, get ready
‘Cause we’re all movin’ in.
We’ll cook you that weird food you love
and you just have to tra-la-la
Hey Larry, get ready
‘Cause we’re all movin’ in.
Then twentyfour seven, three-sixty-five
we can sing with you.

2. I went out to the Land School ….

3. I went down to the farmer’s market ….

4. I went over to Cabrini Church ….

5. Up on Mars, guess what you’ll find …

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This Pleasant Road

Here by this road,
Here by this road,
Here by this pleasant Road:
Meet me in the morning.
Spend the day with me
Here by this pleasant Minneapolis road.
This Pleasant road.

Dip in this well
Dip in this ancient well
Drink the cooling waters
Pass the dripping cup
Here by this pleasant Minneapolis road.
This Pleasant road.

Fly with your dreams.
Fly with your dreams.
Fly with your wildest dreams.
To that place uncharted
Only you can find
High o’er this pleasant Minneapolis road.
This Pleasant road.

Come sit with me. (2x)
Come sit and talk with me.
When the veil is lifted
Tell me what you see
Out on that pleasant Minneapolis road.
That Pleasant road.

Study with me. Study with me. Study the way with me.
How to help each other walk in harmony
Out on that pleasant Minneapolis road.
That Pleasant road.

Teach me your song. (2x)
Teach me your own true song.
Let our spirits mingle
As we journey home
Back on that pleasant Minneapolis road.
That Pleasant road.

[Written for Lake Country School, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.]
Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

If A Bee Can Fly

If A Bee Can Fly

If a bee can fly, then why not you and I?
If a bee can fly, then why not you and I?
The experts all said it shouldn’t be possible
But we who’ve been stung know it is.
I think it’s time we try.
Let’s fly!

Written on commission for Lake Country School, an urban Montessori in Minneapolis. This song remembers especially Zoey B, who flourished at Lake Country School. The imagery here is from a conversation with her mother Sally.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Come Share This Road

For Lake Country Montessori school, situated in the heart of Minneapolis, with links to the rural land school and the wider world.

Come Share This Road
Copyright © 2012 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. Come, come share this road.
Come share this pleasant road.
Oh, my Lake Country friends, come share this pleasant road.
Meet me in the morning, and spend the day with me.
Here on this road. On this pleasant road.
This Minneapolis road.

2. Dip. Dip in this well.
Dip in this ancient well.
Oh, my Lake Country friends, Dip in this ancient well.
Drink the cooling water. And pass the dripping cup.
Rest by this road. By this pleasant road.
This Minneapolis road.

3. Fly, fly with your dreams
Fly with your wildest dreams
Oh, my Lake Country friends, fly with your wildest dreams
To that place uncharted that only you can find
High o’er this road. O’er this pleasant road.
This Minneapolis road.

4. Dance, dance with the stars.
Dance with the twirling stars.
Oh, my Lake Country friends, dance with the twirling stars.
Step into the story of where we all began
Here by this road. By this pleasant road.
This Minneapolis road.

5. Teach, teach me your song
Teach me your own true song
Oh, my Lake Country friends, teach me your own true song
Let our spirits mingle To sing this journey home
Out on that road. On that pleasant road.
This Minneapolis road.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Pour Out Your Heart

Pour Out Your Heart

1. Pour out your heart into the Healing Bowl of Prayers.
Pour it out like water. Pour it out like rain.
Pour out your heart into the Healing Bowl of Prayers.
Just pour, pour out your heart.

2. Pour out your sorrow. Let us share each other’s pain.

3. Pour out your gratitude for all you have received.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church on their 50th Anniversary
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

One evening, I asked my son Sam if he wanted to say the table grace before supper. To my surprise, he said, “Yes.” Then he got serious, pre-yoga like, and told us each to press our palms together in front of our chest, face solemn, posture erect, in silence. Slowly, he reached out to an empty pitcher on the table (one of us forgot to bring the water.) Holding it up like the communion cup, he said, “This is the jar of hearts.” He set it down slowly and said, “Everybody take your heart and put it in the jar.” In total silence, he pantomimed using both hands to gently pull his heart out of his chest, and carefully dumped it into the pitcher. Then one at a time, he held the pitcher in front of each of us, so we could do the same. Silence throughout. After the hearts were all collected, he again held the pitcher up, and said, “This is for all of us here at this table.” Short pause. “This is for all the people of the whole world.” Short pause. “This is for God. I love you God.” Then after a little more silence, he showed us how to pour out the heart back into your cupped hands, and how your hands could put your heart back in your chest. We each did so, as he went around and poured for each of us. We closed by following Sam in the starting position, palms together, straight posture, calm face. Silence. “Amen.”

Performance: You could sing this as a three verse hymn to bracket the time of prayers. Or, you could use verse one only, and sing it intermittently, alternating with spoken prayers. I hear an intro with piano, or piano and a melody instrument, to set the tune in people’s hearts.

We Share The Peace

We Share the Peace

1. We share the peace. We share the pain.
We share the drought. We share the rain.
We share the fancy and the plain
Beside the Welcome River of Life.

2. We bring our dreams. We bring our fears.
Our easy smiles. Our hidden tears.
We’ve found a place of comfort here
Beside the Welcome River of Life.

3. We who have crossed the oceans deep;
We who have swum the rivers wide;
We who have known this place alone
Now share the Welcome River of Life.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis, on their 50th Anniversary.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

I have a little office at Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis, the rent being a barter for music. So for their 50th anniversary, I got to write some songs for them. The congregation is quite near the Mississippi River, in the heart of the metro. I interviewed the anniversary committee and several members. Their strong themes were life-giving water, immigrant welcome, justice, peace, and gratitude.

This song tries to capture some of that deep community they embody as a congregation. The song’s been used as an offertory, a prayer response, in healing services, even a gathering song.

Where Love and Justice Combine

Where Love and Justice Combine

1. Where love and justice combine
Where love and justice combine
God has welcomed us home.
O beloved of mine, may we dwell there
Where love and justice combine,
Where love and justice combine
God has welcomed us home.
May we never be moved.

2. Deep in the business of life
Deep in the business of life
God has welcomed us home.
O beloved of mine, may we dwell there
Deep in the business of life
Deep in the business of life
God has welcomed us home.
May we never be moved.

3. Sharing the fruit and the land …

4. ‘Mid every sorrow and joy …

5. Spreading the table with peace …

6. Held in community’s arms …

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis Minnesota, on their 50th anniversary.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

v.1 very loosely based on a few lines from the Latin text, Ubi caritas et amor, attributed to Paulinus of Aquileia around 800 CE, and often chanted or sung on Maundy Thursday during foot washing.

River of Gladness (song)

River of Gladness

Flowing through the city now is a River of Gladness.
Make glad my heart.
Fill every voice with song.
Through the streets and through the years there’s a River of Gladness.
When times are dry, it carries us along.
Unfailing Love, we dwell within your valley of delight.
River of Gladness, River of Joy.
Unfailing Love, our home upon your banks shall not be moved.
River of Gladness, River of Joy.

Flowing through the city now is a River of Mercy.
Soften each heart with kindness that abides.
Through the streets and through the years there’s a River of Mercy.
Recharge us all; forgiveness be our guide.
Unfailing Love, we dwell within your valley of delight.
River of Mercy, River of Joy.
Unfailing Love, our home upon your banks shall not be moved.
River of Mercy, River of Joy.

Flowing through the city now is a River of Healing.
Reform each heart with gentle peace, we pray.
Through the streets and through the years there’s a River of Healing.
Rise in us now, that we repair this day.
Unfailing Love, we dwell within your valley of delight.
River of Healing, River of Joy.
Unfailing Love, our home upon your banks shall not be moved.
River of Healing, River of Joy.

Flowing through the city now is a River of Welcome.
Stir every heart to set a place for all.
Through the streets and through the years there’s a River of Welcome.
Throw wide the doors, and sound that welcome call.
Unfailing Love, we dwell within your valley of delight.
River of Welcome, River of Joy.
Unfailing Love, our home upon your banks shall not be moved.
River of Welcome, River of Joy.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church on their 50th Anniversary. © 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

——-
Minneapolis sits on the banks of the Mississippi River, whose broad majestic valley cuts through the metro area. The river lies 100 feet below the level of the neighborhood where Faith Mennonite church is located. I think of the beauty of this great river, of the colors of fall, of the ice sheets of winter, of the barges creeping up stream in spring, the water birds, the rowing crews. We drink the water (treated). We water our lawns. We fish down there. They even cool building with it. This is a river it’s a privilege to be next to.

Sing the Day

Sing the Day

1. Sing the day, Sing the dawning of the sun
Sing the day, Sing all creatures joined as one
Sing the day. Come rise, sing the day.
Sing the day. Come rise, sing the day.

2. Sing the home. Sing the bricks upon the ground
Sing the home. What we’ve left and what we’ve found
Sing the home for all, sing the home

3. Sing the dance. Sing how we together move
Sing the dance. sing the promenade of love
Sing the dance with joy. Sing the dance

4. Sing the call. Sing the welcome far and wide
Sing the call. Crumble every last divide
Sing the call today. Sing the call.

5. Sing the hope. Sing the hope for what could be
Sing the hope. Sing for peace and unity
Sing the hope, my love. Sing the hope

6. Sing the praise. Sing the Maker of the world
Sing the praise. Sing the Maker’s love unfurled
Sing the praise. Come rise, sing the praise.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church on their 50th Anniversary.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Performance: Like a bird song floating on a gentle breeze. Get a flute or other melody instrument to play the melody one time as an intro, with guitar or keyboard underneath. Try having the flute continue doubling the melody on the first couple verses, to help folks follow the melody.

Blest Are Those

Blest Are Those
Bret Hesla. © 2011 bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. Blest are those who put trust in God.
They shall be like a tree.
Like a tree planted by the water
They shall never be moved.

2. In a world that’s splintered apart
Keeping many outside
Give us hearts welcome and including
Hearts to heal the divide

3. Homeless, wealthy, stranger, and friend
Fill the city, our home
May we now share of our abundance
Finding plenty for all

4. When we fear the peace that we seek
simply cannot come true,
We abide in our work for justice
Rooted deep in the stream

5. Here beside the river of faith
We now gather in joy.
Like a tree planted by the water
We shall never be moved.

————-

This was the theme verse for the 50^th anniversary celebration of Faith Mennonite Church in Minneapolis, and this song was written on commission for that event.Words and music by Bret Hesla.

© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

You Belong In This World

You Belong In This World

Stand up proud. Take your space. You belong.
Trust the tone of your voice. You belong.
Throw your shoulders back.
Hold your head up high.
You belong in this world!

Chorus:
Yes, You belong. Oh, You belong.
And you belonged long before the day that you were born.
Throw your shoulders back.
Hold your head up high.
You belong in this world!

Tell ‘em what’s on your mind. You belong
Only you know your lines. You belong
Smile to the mirror
Say it loud and clear
“You belong in this world.” (ch)

To the sky, sing it out: You belong
Let’s remove any doubt. You belong
If you see no place
There’s been some mistake
Squeeze in there. You belong (ch)

Feel it deep in your bones. You belong
Even now you’re at home. You belong
Every place you go.
Every crowd you know
You belong in this world (ch)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Notes: I wrote this for my 16-year-old daughter. She was telling me about some group project at school, where she kept deferring to the ideas of her teammates, and not injecting her own thoughts. I told her to get in there, your ideas count just as much. Then I made a little note that said, “You belong in this world” and taped it up on the kitchen cabinet. I noticed how wonderful it felt, even to me, to read that affirmation several times a day.

Since then, this song has been used in a lot of settings. So many people in this world are made to feel that they don’t belong. For their skin color, hair style, sexual orientation, gender. You name it. “You belong” seems to be an important message that we all need to hear, and to tell each other. Sure feels good when you sing it, too.

Kingfield Market Carol

Kingfield Market Carol

Where were you last Sunday
‘Mid the August glory?
I was slurping bumpy Brandywines.
A likely story.
And where might that have been?
In Kingfield. Say what?
In Kingfield. Oh ho!
South Minneap’lis that makes sense:
On Nicollet Avenue.
We’ll skip church and go with you
to the market in Kingfield.

2. Where were you last Sunday
‘Mid the August glory?
Strolling luscious lanes of collard greens
A likely story ….

3. Where were you last Sunday
‘Mid the August glory?
Buying smoothies blended by a bike bike
A likely story ….

4. Where were you last Sunday
‘Mid the August glory?
Meeting all my peoplewatching needs
A likely story ….

5. Where were you last Sunday
‘Mid the August glory?
Winning me a button for a song
A likely story ….

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

When Healthcare Reaches All

When Health Care Reaches All

I’ve got a longing for that day
When health care reaches all
I’ve got a longing for that day
I’ve got a longing for that day
(Oh day how glorious)
When health care reaches all
When health care reaches all
When health care reaches all

No child truly left behind
When health care reaches all … (etc.)
(With dental coverage)

Where will insurance tycoons be
When health care reaches all? …
(without their bonuses)

They’ll all be seeking real jobs
When health care reaches all …
(when they get out of jail)

We’ll sing a single-payer praise
When health care reaches all …
(if Congress gets a spine)

Join we to hasten that great day
When health care reaches all …
(with lower premiums)

Lyrics Bret Hesla © 2009, Tune: Trad English, “On Ilkly Moor Bar Tat”
© 2009 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

We Will Remember

We Will Remember

Anonymous gravemarker at a former Minnesota State Hospital. Photo by Advocating Change Together

We will remember. We will remember.
Your story is in our hearts. We will remember.
We will remember. We will remember.
Dear sister, we will remember you.

We’ll call your name out … [Hmmmmm]
We’ll call your name out … [Hmmmmm]
We’ll call your name out … [Hmmmmm]
Dear sister, we will remember you.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1999 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Song Uses: The song also works well for All Saints Day, and other gatherings of remembrance.

Song background: Throughout the 20th century, thousands of Minnesotans with developmental disabilities were placed in large, state-run institutions. Conditions were often inhumane. Those who died while living there, more than 13,000, were buried in unmarked or numbered graves–no name. Since the mid-90s, leaders with disabilities at St. Paul-based Advocating Change Together, along with allies, have been replacing numbered grave markers with the actual names and birth/death dates of the people buried. Remembering them with dignity. This song was written to sing at ceremonies honoring the deceased, at which their proper headstones are unveiled. These were moving and uplifting events, led by people with disabilities.

Songleading: As for singing, it’s mostly mi-re-do. Pretty easy to sing, after you’ve heard it one time. The second verse, “we’ll call your name out” has humming, during which people can call aloud the names of those being remembered. Any simple accompaniment will work great.

Motley Travelers of Pleasant Avenue (song)

Motley Trav’lers Of Pleasant Avenue!
Copyright ©2012 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. Stick out your hand to welcome the revelers all assembled here.
And you and I will be side by side.
Stick out your hand to welcome the revelers all assembled here.
Hello, you motley trav’lers of Pleasant Avenue!

Ch:
All live well.
All live well.
Come let us learn how to all live well.
Come let us learn how to all live well together.
Hello, you motley trav’lers of Pleasant Avenue!

2. If you would like to join us we’re certain to find a hat for you
And you and I will be side by side.
If you would like to join us we’re certain to find a hat for you
Hello, you motley trav’lers of Pleasant Avenue! (ch)

3. If you would like to fly, there’ll be nobody here to doubt you can … (etc)

4. If you would like to dance, there’s a couple-a forty partners here … (etc)

5. If you would like to crawl, you can bury the seeds along the way … (etc)

6. If you would like to swim, you can hook up the hose and fill the ditch … (etc)

7. If you would like to dream, you’re the leader we need to lead the way … (etc)

8. If you would like to sing, take the melody, I’ll be harmony … (etc)

9. If you would like a family, you’ve stumbled upon a pot of gold … (etc)
———————————–

Written on commission for Lake Country School, located on Pleasant Avenue in south Minneapolis. Aaron, one of the teachers, told me that every day, everything they do in the classroom has to do with learning how to live well together.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2012 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Look Who’s Out In the Garden

Look Who’s Out In The Garden

Look who’s out in the garden
Look who’s working the ground
Starting with starters and packs of seeds
We’ll be watering twice every week
Till they root, root, root and they flourish
Throughout the summer and fall
And it’s one, two, three cheers for gardens
And gardeners all!

Words by Bret Hesla. Tune: “Take Me Out To The Ballgame”
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

For Jim, doing community garden work in Minneapolis, set to the tune of one of the last real community singing songs in the country (Take Me Out to the Ballgame). This live recording is from one of our community sings in the Minneapolis Parks in about 2014

We’ll Come Shining Through

In these times of grief
I still believe in who we are and what we do
In these times of grief
I still believe
You and I will come shining through.

[ch]
We’ll come shining through.
We’ll come shining through.
This much I know is true.
We’ll come shining through.
We’ll come shining through.
You and I will come shining through.

Though we’re burdened down
We’ll carry on in who we are and what we do
Though we’re burdened down
We’ll carry on.
You and I will come shining through.

Though we’re now apart
Love’s still the heart of who we are and what we do.
Though we’re now apart
Love’s still the heart
You and I will come shining through.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqJ7IDNgP3I[/embedyt]

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Nov. 9th, 2016. The unthinkable has happened. Now what?

My daughter called me at 6:00 in the morning today. “Dad, what are we gonna do?” Good question. We’re gonna be sad, but we’re going to keep working together to make this world, this country, this state, our neighborhoods better places for all of us to live. And listen to each other’s ideas. What do you think?

Spring / Summer 2020. And now the unthinkable has happened again. And again, “What are we gonna do?” Same answer: I still believe we’ll come shining through.

Vision of Hope

Minnesota Community Sings benefit for Minnesotans United at Calvary Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis, Saturday evening February 18, 2012.

Vision of Hope

1. Why, you ask me, do we sing together
In the sweetness of a thousand voices
Butter melts, like a gladness, into the soul …
Why, you ask me, do we sing together.
In the glory of a thousand voices
there we find what we knew not had ever been lost

Ch: We sing a vision of hope
We sing a vision of peace
We sing a vision of joy
This irresistible life
This irresistible dream
This irresistible jewel
Oh, this vision of hope

2. Why, you ask me, do we sing together.
On the mountain of a thousand voices
We can say what alone we never could say…
Why, you ask me, do we sing together
In the rising of a thousand voices
Even those with their ears plugged must hear us now.

3. Why, you ask me, do we sing together
In the refuge of a thousand voices
Is a place where the wounded gather to heal …
Why, you ask me, do we sing together.
In the cradle of a thousand voices,
We are rocking the promise of beauty to come

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This song is about the power of singing together. Right after the Haiti earthquake of 2010, amid all the devastation, the news was reporting that people were gathering in the streets at night and singing. In Estonia in the late 80s, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing in defiance of Soviet occupiers. In South Africa, the freedom songs helped fire the anti-apartheid movement. In this country, singing was a source of power and strength in the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s.

This song is about that singing. It’s also about our work to build a better world. I hope you can find a way to sing it with your communities. I think you’ll find, like me, a certain power that wells up inside you, just in the act of singing it. We sure need that power at this moment. Let’s rise up and make a different way forward!

This Good Old Man

This Good Old Man

Ch: This good old man / is gone.
This good old man / is gone.
The last good-bye / ‘s been sung.
This good old man is gone.

1. He left me well / well-worn tools.
He taught me how / to use.
I drive his car. I drive his pink Ford car
Can’t wear those great big shoes.

2. Who’ll make the calls? … the house calls now?
Whose ear will read / the pains?
Whose hands will be / so wise?
Some holes won’t soon be filled.

3. Horses to pull / the plow.
Great boats to sail / to war.
Babies to fill / the town.
Decades to bloom and fade.

4. He scattered corn / each day.
The backyard’s full / of ducks.
The neighbor’s dog / romps through.
His world was full of joys.

5. The winter wind / was cold
We stood beside / that hole
And raised a hymn / of old
I took a flower to dry.

6. His shining day / is done.
There’s none to guide / us on.
It’s up to you / and me.
Come let us make this world.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2013 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

In memory of my father Inman Hesla (1922 – 2013), who grew up on a small farm in South Dakota, got an education on the GI bill, became a small town doctor in Austin, Minnesota, and who little things still remind me of every day.

Not long after my father died, I led a community sing in Austin, along with my colleague Mary Preus. After the singing, I was chatting with an older couple. The woman told me that my dad had delivered all four of their children. This would have been back in the 50s or 60s. She said that when their son was nine-months old he got spinal meningitis and had to be taken by ambulance to Rochester. She said Dad told her afterward that he rode along in the ambulance and held the baby all the way, and that he prayed for it the whole time.

This Night of Rejoicing

This Night of Rejoicing

This night of rejoicing is sweeping the gloom
from my gloomy soul
This night of rejoicing is weaving the room
into one great whole
Soprano and alto and tenor and bass
Blending to make a harmonious place

Ch: Oh, what a pleasure to be offline,
singing with you, my friends!
Oh, what a pleasure to be offline,
and may it never end.
Oh, what a pleasure to be offline.

This night of rejoicing goes perfectly well
with these trays of food.
This night of rejoicing leaves no place to dwell
for a gray cold mood
Download your worries and cares at the door
Upload your napkin with choc’lates galore (Ch)

This night of rejoicing is good for what ails
every weary heart
This night of rejoicing is waging a peace
in which all take part
Crammed on the couch with a songbook in hand
Open your mouth and indulge in what’s grand (Ch)

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2008 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Here’s to our annual solstice singing party in December. and its full throated joy!

When my grandma (my mom’s mom) was about 80, she moved into the senior apartment building in Sisseton, South Dakota. It was just a few blocks from her house. One of the first things she did was buy a a couple dozen copies of the Golden Book of Favorite Songs. She loved to sing, and wanted to sing with her friends and neighbors. After she died, most of us got a copy or two.

You can’t beat a singing party when you pass out songbooks. Or sing songs by heart.

February Blues

February Blues
Copyright © 1987 Bret Hesla. bret.hesla@gmail.com

1. I wandered home from work
Grabbed a beer and then
changed my mind
and put it back again
It’s a Friday night
And I’ve got no plans
dishes piled high
I’m gonna let ’em stand

chorus:
I’ve got the February blues
From my head on down
Think I’ll head on down
To Riverside Avenue.

2. I called my brother Joe
He was watching TV
all alone
and thinking ’bout calling me
Seems there’s nothing to do
And nowhere to go
And when I get call
I hear myself say No

3. Was thinking about my dog
Wish he hadn’t died
Loved to walk
With Badger by my side
Memories floating by
Of places that I’ve been
That trip to Idaho
Sure like to go again.

4. Feel like a stranger here
The people aren’t like me
And all my friends
Live so far away
Seems like every time
I try to make a friend
Never seem to show
Who I really am.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 1987 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Rosie’s Last Request

When a 12-year old moves to a new city, nothing looks like home–especially that old overgrown graveyard by the thrift store.

1. If I should die before you, Dad
One small request is all I have
Don’t blow it off, or I’ll come back
And haunt your every step
Just do it or my ghost will be
your constant source of misery
So listen up and promise me
You’ll honor this request:

Chorus:
Don’t put my grave in that graveyard by Saver’s
Right there on Lake is not the place
I wanna sleep for keeps
Don’t put my grave in that graveyard by Saver’s
That cemetery there gives me the creeps.

2. It may be an historic place
But I prefer my plot be graced
With daffodills, not strewn remains of
Arbys Curly Fries
Sure you can say I’m rude and all
But I’ve seen folks both short and tall
Answering to nature’s call
Right through that chainlink fence.

3. My wishes for my stone you know. It
won’t need lines from some great poet
But the grass, they better mow it
more than once a year
My “Crossing Jordan Soundtrack” choice:
the angel choir and NOT some noisy
disembodied ceiling voice
announcing daily deals

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

One Sweet August Afternoon

Two versions. First the gentler, old time version:

One Sweet August Afternoon (old-time)

1. We got married by the lake
Oh that perfect summer day!
One sweet August afternoon.
I looked up and smiled at you
Promised always to be true
One sweet August afternoon.

2. Folding chairs in crooked rows
Where that big old willow grows
One sweet August afternoon.
There we finally tied the knot
Grandma cried and smiled a lot
One sweet August afternoon.

Ch:
Hear those blackbirds in the reeds
Hear that fiddle on the breeze
We were shining like the dawn
Walking slowly up the lawn
One sweet August afternoon.

3. Gourmet food that never ends
Eighteen tables full of friends
One sweet August afternoon.
Sep’rat’ly though all had come
We were woven now as one
One sweet August afternoon. Ch:

And here’s the up-tempo version

One Sweet August Afternoon (up-tempo)

1. We got married by the lake
Oh that perfect summer day!
I looked up at you
Promised to be true
One sweet August afternoon.

2. Folding chairs in crooked rows
Where that big old willow grows
There we tied the knot
Grandma cried a lot
One sweet August afternoon.

Bridge:
Hear those blackbirds in the reeds
Hear that fiddle on the breeze
Shining like the dawn
We walked up the lawn
One sweet August afternoon.

3. Gourmet food that never ends
Eightteen tables full of friends
Sep’rat’ly we’d come
Woven now as one
One sweet August afternoon.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Chris and Tony got married out at Clare’s Well farm. Linda and I drove out and played music for it. They couldn’t have picked a nicer day for an outdoor wedding in rural Minnesota …

I’ve Walked Minnesota

I’ve Walked Minnesota

I’ve walked Minnesota on the prairies
West of the town of Luverne
I’ve floated Minnesota on the rivers
Just east of Austin, the place where I was born
I’ve waded Minnesota in the swamplands
In those Twin Cities so fine
I’ve paddled Minnesota ‘cross the sky blue waters
Up on the borderline.
State of farmland, state of pine
State of wonder, state of mind
Minnesota is my longtime home.

I’ve lived other places and enjoyed it
But somehow I ended back here
It could be the sweet corn in the summer
Could be the sauna, or could be Summit beer
Nine miles out of Glencoe I got married
First time in Utah didn’t stick
If you want good apples or a long time lover
This is the state to pick.
State of farmland, state of pine
State of wonder, state of mind
Minnesota is my longtime home.

My brother said “let’s go see a movie”
which one we could not agree
So we did the thing we thought was fairest
We chose a movie that no one wants to see.
We Minnesotans love that kind of logic
That’s how, when voting, we select
It gave us Ventura and it gave us Pawlenty
Can’t wait to hate who’s next. (wonder who I’ll hate next)
State of farmland, state of pine
State of somewhat open minds
Minnesota is my longtime home.

Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2010 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

My entry for Minnesota state song. (Probably should have buttered up those former governors, though.)

I Burned the Beans

I take full responsibility

I burned the beans; it was all my fault.
It was me, I burned the beans.
Yes, I smelled it, too right when I walked through
the front door and thought, “O. M. G. I forgot”
I left the burner on when I left.
Oh no! Oh yes, and that was six hours ago.
This hideous stench is all my fault.
It was me: I burned the beans.

1. I know it’s not important
To specify the blame
I’m sure you’re ecstatic
Just knowing I’m OK
Remember to be grateful,
At least the house is here
So what if it’ll smell a little smokey for a year
Fine. Go ahead. Shoot me.

2. But who just burned the grilled cheese
And threw the pan away?
And who burns the popcorn
‘Bout every other day?
OK, OK, OK, this is
Diff’rent I agree
A six hour, super power fumigation spree.
Fine. Go ahead. Shoot me.

3. I want a little credit
I tried to make amends
I went and bought a stick that had
a spongee on the end
I scoured floor to ceiling
I did the kitchen twice
Just call me Mr. Every-Surface-Spongee-Mopper-Guy
Fine. Go ahead. Shoot me.

Whenever I perform this song — which is a true story– I hear of similar disasters from at least five listeners. Let’s all try to pay better attention to the present moment. Yikes.

Greenland Ice Is Falling

The Greenland ice is falling
Falling into the sea.
Things of old are melting, melting all away.
Who will slow to see them go
Never to return?
The Greenland ice is falling into the sea.

1. One by one the species go, like libraries burning down.
Two by two the changes come, a lost for every found.
And I hear the Northwest Passage is now just open sea,
Where the ice floes and the white bear used to be.

2. Climate shifting ever north at twenty five yards each day.
Minnesota’s leaving us; Missouri’s on the way.
When the ski team from Winona keeps training on the grass.
Don’t you start to wonder if those days are past

Don’t You Think?

Don’t You Think?

1. Don’t you think we all deserve
to have the right to marry who we choose to love?
Come join us if you do.

[ch] Then when all of us,
All of us rise and push to make the state fair
We’ll make the state fair for us all.

2. Don’t you think we all deserve
to feel safe and be accepted as we are?
Come join us if you do.

3. Don’t you think it’s time to see
the other person as a version of yourself?
Come join us if you do.

A big thanks to the nonprofit United for All Families, and all the other people and groups that came together to help Minnesota defeat the marriage amendment, then pass a marriage equality law in August 2013. On the way to the June 2012 Pride parade a few months before, I heard a radio interview with Norman Lear, who talked about compassion and seeing the other person as simply another version of yourself.

https://youtu.be/Ess3Ap5q3tA

Fine Form

A song for use at our annual winter solstice singing party–oooh, we all looked good.

Fine form.
Aren’t we all in fine form?
Aren’t we all in fine form?
Oooh, we look good to-night!

Calls:
1. Oh, what a sight for sore eyes we are
What a feast for the soul
Just to walk in this room. Look!

2. These girls, these women in full splendor
There’s Venus, Casseopea
And the seven sisters of the night!

3. Oh, these men decked out in glory
See how they hold themselves
Like precious stones!

4. This old house (hall) is dressed up also
Like Grandma when she wears
Her special Christmas pin.

5. Who would have thought that southern Minnesota
Was the Center of the Universe?
But it’s all here.

6. Oh, my friends our time is right now
This is our moment
And we are the ones

Eat Food Carol

Eat Food Carol

1. Come dear neighbor join us, come join us for a bite
Tra-l’arugula-lalalalalala
Gather round a table a table of delight
Eat food. Not too much, And mostly plants

Chorus:
Sit down, sit down
Come join us for a meal
Tra-l’arugula-lalalalalala
Sit down, sit down
Come savor what goes rushing by
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plants

2. Oh green treasures springing, springing from the ground
Tra-l’arugula-lalalalalala
Sweeter pleasures nowhere, nowhere can be found
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plants

3. My wife and I got married when oat bran was the thing
Tralarugulalalalalalala
But now oat bran is nothing, omega 3 is king.
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plants

4. Should I eat this product? Well here’s a simple rule:
Tra-l’arugula-lalalalalala
Think of your great grandma; Would she know that it’s food?
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plants

5. Here’s another guideline, and please don’t think us rude
Tralarugulalalalalalala
If it has a barcode, it prob’ly isn’t food
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plants

6. Chemistry is pallid, a meal is so much more
Tra-l’arugula-lalalalalala
Nutrient obsessions, obsession’s such a bore
Eat food. Not too much, and mostly plant

Song for group singing, based on “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan (2008). The lyrics build on Pollan’s own seven-word summary of the message of his book, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Perfect for a motley group of green carolers, a singing party, even a community choir. It’s been a blast to sing at farmer’s markets, food coops, CSA gatherings, etc. Recorded with stragglers from the Garlands of Song Traveling Singing Party. (2009).

Childhood Sweethearts

(ch) We could have been childhood sweethearts
If we’d met back when we were young
I wish we’d been childhood sweethearts
I know we’d have had lots of fun.

1. You’d be in my fading photos
Like this one that’s from my first date
And right where that hole is cut out
Would now be your young happy face

2. Under the ball of mirrors
Just think how we two would have twirled
With your dress and my tuxedo
Slow dancing to “Color my world”

3. And all those great songs from high school
“Our songs” is what we’d call them now
And each line would hold a memory
That ties us to our old hometown

4. With my the St. Olaf youth group
Aboard that old bus in the back
We two could have sat together
Made out to Wyoming and back

5. Just tell me you ne’er were happy
Before the sweet day that we met
Just tell me you wish you’d known me
Before your whole twenties were spent

Can You Strum?

This is my life story, in the form of a cumulative song.

1. Can you strum your deepest dreams on a banjo hand-me-down?
Can you strum your deepest dreams like me?
Can you strum your deepest dreams on a banjo hand-me-down?
Can you strum your deepest dreams … like me?

2. Can you sauna with your love on a redwood bench of fire?
Can you sauna with your love like me?
Can you sauna with your love on a redwood bench of fire?
Can you sauna with your love,
Can you strum your deepest dreams … like me?

3. Can you build a house of straw that will stand against the rain?

4. Can you hold a baby girl with a whisper in her ear?

5. Can you feel a broken heart that will not quite go away?

6. Can you help to build that ring where all people come to sing?

Big Fat Walleye

Early in the morning I load up my canoe.
Only one thing is gonna break these blues

Ch: I want a Big Fat Walleye (2x)
I’ve got a sinker on a spoon
And I’m trolling from the morning
To the late afternoon.

Got my boat, got my gear.
Got my buddy Larry only one thing isn’t here (Ch)

All day gray, all day drizzle
Don’t mind getting wet if I get to hear the sizzle (Ch.)

Can’t get my mind off this gnawing hunger
I gotta get a fish, and it better be a lunker

Don’t want beef, no chicken, no pork.
Don’t give me no tofu on my fork. (Ch)

I don’t want a sunny, a bluegill or a trout
It’s the Minnesota state fish I’m talking about

May 8^th 2002 Press [Catch-and-]Release:

I’ve used this song in countless settings across all ages for many, many years. EVERYONE loves this song. It’s fun, easy to learn, and can involve kids as young as 3 to the oldest adults. I used to sing it with 1,400 middle school students in school assemblies. They would go wild for it.
Middle School Educator Paul Andress, Edina MN

——————————————————————————

Dateline: May 8^th 2002 Press (Catch-and)Release: ———-

Local Songwriter Pens The Unofficial Song for Fishing Opener

A simple fishing song, written in the solitude of the Minnesota wilderness more than a decade ago, is returning home this weekend to fanfare and celebration (and hopefully bringing good luck with it.) The Minnesota governor’s office has invited the popular Twin Cities-area singer and music teacher Larry Dittberner to International Falls to sing “The Big Fat Walleye” for the governor’s fishing opener party this weekend.

The song was born in the north woods of Minnesota, written by Dittberner’s singing partner, Minnesota songwriter Bret Hesla, during a 29-day wilderness canoe trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. In an effort to lighten the food packs and make portages easier, Bret and his camping buddy intentionally brought less food than they needed, hoping to make up the difference with fish. Bad idea. By day nine, these novice fishermen had caught no fish. Worse, they had lost most of their lures to submerged logs and were desperately putting duck tape on treble hooks hoping to land anything that might possibly complement yet another supper of “fish and rice sans fish.” Hard times in the woods can strain friendships, but they are also fertile ground for songs. On day ten these hungry paddlers finally landed…a blues classic.

Recorded in 1992 by Dittberner and Hesla on their own label, “The Big Fat Walleye” has since become something of an anthem for all desperate anglers. The song is also a huge favorite in many Minnesota schools, including Lake Country School of Minneapolis and Ridgeway Community School of Winona, where Larry and Bret respectively teach. For information, lyric sheets, or recordings, contact:

Big Town Values

1. I’ve been ’round the country / Rambled and I’ve roamed.
I’m back in the city / That’s where I call home.
I’ll stay in the city / because of what I’ve found:
Those big town values all around.

Refrain:
I love those big town values, like vibrant public schools.
Give more if you’ve got more.
We’re basking in the golden rule.
Dance with who you want to.
Let your joy resound.
There’s big town values all around.

2. When I was a shaver / on my mama’s knee,
Kindness was the anthem / mama sang to me.
Always do for others / papa would expound.
It was big town values all around.

3. Ev’rybody’s language / Spoken in our schools.
Ev’rybody’s story / Told and listened to.
Celebrate what’s diff’rent / It’s not that profound.
Just big town values all around

4. All those tiny food trucks / parked on busy streets.
Sprouting from the sidewalks / coffee shops like weeds.
Special lanes for bikers / Potlucks that abound.
And big town values all around.

5. Decent living wages / Health care for us all
Neighborhood investment / ‘stead of endless war
If there is a heaven / I’ll know when I’ve found,
these big town values all around.

Time To Share

Linda Breitag, 1992.

I wrote this for my pal Frank Hall, for a co-op food shelf commercial. The commercial never happened, but there are more people to feed than ever. As it turns out, helping each other out in life is fun and completely rewarding.

Mothers Anthem

Linda Breitag 2006, for Nanci Olesen

The original idea for Mother’s Day was no Hallmark card. Julia Ward Howe, who wrote “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” also called for an international Mother’s Day for Peace:

Arise all women who have hearts…

Say firmly: “We will not have questions decided by irrelevant agencies; our husbands shall not come to us reeking with carnage for caresses and applause. Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, “Disarm, Disarm!” (Boston, 1870)

Good Good Thing

Linda Breitag, 2004.

Written during a hard winter when friends and the larger mystery helped get me through. As Vietnamese poet-monk Thich Nhat Hanh put it: “You cultivate the flower in yourself so that I will be beautiful / I transform the garbage in myself so that you will not have to suffer.” The first verse is a humble homage to the Navajo Beauty Way. “People” means “all my relatives,” including strangers and tadpoles.

Be the Color

written by Linda Breitag, 2004.

It all started at Sunset Hills swimming pool at the bottom of 96^th Street, where I lay on my towel next to the sleek and bronze Lori Christell and suspected we weren’t from the same planet…

American Dream: Limit Exceeded!

Linda Breitag 2008, with thanks to Mark Nunberg

A lust-along song for the “everything-wanter”(a term from the great Seth Kantner book Ordinary Wolves). This little greed-fest began as an attempt to exorcise ad absurdum my attractive habit of comparing my own (lacking, under-achieving, hamster-wheelish,) life with everyone else’s (fulfilling, exciting, commander-in-chiefish) life. Then, as desire, envy, and western civilization are wont to do, it took on a bloated life of its own. A comment on our modern insatiability for things, experiences, and nothing—including youth and (what the heck) life itself—ending until we decide it’s over. Parents, talk to your kids about what irony means…

Basta

Linda Breitag 2003

with inspiration from the kids of Peace Village

Embarrassingly enough, people around the world often seem to know and care more about what the U.S. is up to—starting wars, polluting, torturing, etc.—than we ourselves do. ¡Basta! sprouts new verses continually; here’s today’s snapshot. (Plus one thankfully-obsolete, full-snark stanza, below).

lipstick on a pitbull, lipstick on a pig

lipstick on a polar bear who runs an oil rig

well I don’t care if she wears lipstick, has fresh and minty breath

‘cause Palin near the White House, well, that’s the kiss of death

Where There Is Hatred

Where There Is Hatred

1. Where there is hatred,
Where there is hatred,
Where there is hatred,
let me sow love.

O God, let me sow love.
O God, let me sow love.
O God, let me sow love.

Where there is hatred,
let me sow love.

2. Where there is sorrow, let me sow joy.

3. Where there’s oppression, let me sow freedom.

Based on the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi.

Web of Beauty

Praise to God, who has spun the threads of being,
And turns the universe before my eyes.
Who has woven this tangled web of beauty
That binds me to the earth and sky.

This short refrain on stewardship of the earth works well when alternating the singing with readings.

Turn My Heart to Peace

Turn My Heart To Peace

1. Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright.
Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray to God my soul to keep.
Turn my heart, Turn my heart
Turn my heart to peace.

2. Silent night, holy night,
Wish I may, wish I might
Trust the words I claim to believe.
Learn to give as I have received.
Turn my heart, Turn my heart
Turn my heart to peace.

3. Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright.
Hear my prayer, God, hear my song.
As I wake with each new dawn,
Turn my heart, Turn my heart
Turn my heart to peace.

4. Silent night, holy night.
All is calm all is bright.
God who calls us to love our foes.
Help us heal this world of woes.
Turn my heart, Turn my heart
Turn my heart to peace.

5. Silent night, holy night.
God of love, all unite.
Change our fear to community.
Change our pride to equality.
Turn my heart, Turn my heart
Turn my heart to peace.

Peace prayer, evening song, whose lyrics also work to the tune of Silent Night, if you adjust the last two lines to be “Turn my heart to peace, Turn my heart to peace.”

To Sing With You Is Home

To Sing With You Is Home

1. To sing with you is home to me
A compass at the close of day
to guide my soul in deeper ways
as o’er the years I roam
To sing with you is home.

2. To sing with you is home to me
A throng of friends together breathe
We set the ancient spirits free
And drink the blended tone
To sing with you is home

3. To sing with you is home to me
I’m back upon my mother’s knee
While she piano plays for me
Her voice my lifelong throne
To sing with you is home

4. To sing with you is home to me
Beneath the sky all black and bright
We join the loud and holy night
of galaxies unknown
To sing with you is home.

I wrote this during a flurry of singing parties at our house, a time when our group Minnesota Community Sings was also leading a lot of community sings in the parks around Minneapolis. It all got me thinking about singing together, and how central it is and has been to my own life. Growing up in a singing family. Singing together in the various Lutheran churches through my youth. Singing together at summer camps. Singing in choirs. Singing singing singing. Always with others. And by the way, this song works great as a closing song for pretty much any gathering.

On another note, I got to lead this song at the wedding of my nephew Paul and niece-in-law Marie. I led the whole group in singing during the ceremony. Paul and Marie are both super interwoven into all sorts of singing circles themselves, so all of us there in that church sanctuary singing this for and with the bride and groom — the surround sound of community — was super moving. It was one of those situations where you gotta be careful, if you make too much eye contact with any one person, tears start coming out of your eyes. Which is of course fine, but it complicates the singing a little.
And now, several years later, Paul and Marie have made this beautiful living room recording of the song, and included it as part of a virtual concert that Paul’s group Cantus did last spring in the early days of the pandemic. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYJn3SROSw8[/embedyt]

This Remains

This Remains

1. This remains: the love that binds us.
This remains: the common prayer.
This remains: the Spirit calling.
This remains: the food we share.
This remains: the voices singing
Harmony on old refrains.
In this time of many changes,
This remains, all this remains.

2 .This remains: the cup of coffee.
This remains: the listening ear.
This remains: the conversation.
This remains: the quiet tear.
This remains: our braided stories
Who we are, and who we’ve been.
While it seems that all is changing,
This remains, all this remains.

3 .This remains: the streets of hunger.
This remains: the cry of need.
This remains: the plywood windows.
This remains: the stomping greed.
This remains: the breech dividing
Us with wealth, from us with none.
Though we fight for new tomorrows,
This remains, all this remains.

4 .This remains: the love that binds us.
This remains: the common prayer.
This remains: the Spirit calling.
This remains: the potluck shared.
This remains: the heart that’s yearning
For a beauty yet unseen.
Deeper than the many changes,
This remains, all this remains.

Back in 08/09, when our church was between lead pastors, we were mired in a pretty long limbo. We were plodding through various discernment protocols before setting up a call committee, which I was also on. Good things were happening, but to many of us it was sure seeming to take a long time. All on the heels of the national financial meltdown.

Anyway, for much of that period, we had Paul Rogers for our interim pastor–what a happy arrangement that was! In one of his monthly newsletters, the apostle Paul (our personal apostle) encouraged us in his monthly column by naming all the things that have not changed. We could take heart, that despite all the changes, many many things were constant and remained with us in our life together. So, springing from that encouragement, I wrote this song.

In the years since then, as times change, these words keep refloating, taking on new meanings and new comfort (and challenge) to me. And now today, yet again. Thanks to Paul, and thanks too you all, for your constant companionship in this life and Love we share.

Shower Your Spirit

God whose love flows like a river
Shower your spirit upon us all.
God whose grace pours down like summer rain
Shower your spirit upon us all.
God whose justice pours like crashing thunder
Make your ever-presence known to us
Hear our prayer, O hear our prayer
Shower your spirit upon us all.

2. God of every rainbow color …
God of gay and God of straight and in-between …
God of babies smooth and elders wrinkled…

3. God who frees us from oppression …
God who frees us all from wrongful privilege…
God who frees us shackled by inaction…

4. God who calls us to live justly…
God inviting us lives of peace…
God who points us all to humble service…

5. God of laws inscribed in granite…
God who blows the winds of endless change…
God of messy hard-won compromises…

6. God of birth and new beginnings…
God of promises that never die…
Dear Companion on the paths we travel…

A call response song; an SATB celebration of the diversity within community.

Here’s on way to teach this gathering song without having to pass out any printed music. I teach the response parts in four steps, using a call/response style. First I sing, “Shower your spirit upon us all.” All repeat. Then “Make your ever-presence known to us –[clap, clap]”. All repeat. Third, “Hear our prayer when we call to you.” All repeat. Finally, I sing all three, from “Make your ever presence” to the end. Congregation sings it back. Next I explain the flow. Then start the song for real.

Provoking Each Other

Provoking Each Other

1. If life is a coffee cup, grace is the urn
We drink an abundance no virtue can earn
This grace ever brimming is also our call
“Turn outward and work for what’s decent for all”

Chorus:
Provoking each other we gather once more
Provoking each other to..unbar every door
That fairness may rise up
And privilege fall
Provoking each other we gather to follow the call

2. We yearn for a state where all people know health
We dream not of narrow but wide, common wealth
If we’ve the intention to act upon these
Let’s also encourage each other to deeds. (ch)

3. Come pastor, come Chreaster, come gray hair, come youth
Come seeker of comfort, come seeker of truth
Downsize the false def’rence and get up some gall
Let’s elbow each other to answer the call (ch)

Pave the Way with Branches

Pave the Way With Branches

1. Jesus is coming.
Pave the way with branches.
Jesus is coming. Hosannah.

Ch: Hosannah. Jesus is coming.
Hosannah to the Prince of Peace.

2. Hope for the downtrod …

3. Land for the landless …

4. Debts are forgiven …

5. Release for the captives …

Spanish:
Cristo ya viene con mantos y palmas.
Cristo ya viene hossana.

Ref: Hossana cristo ya viene.
Hossana yo lo quiero ver.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Spanish lyrics Jose Antonio Machado
© 1999 Bret Hesla. Admin Augsburg Fortress Publishers.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. All rights reserved.
Use with permission, please. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Origin: I wrote this song on an April morning in 1999. I was walking down a gravel road near my home in southern Minnesota, trying to come up with a song for Palm Sunday. I didn’t have a pencil or paper to keep track of my ideas. So I just kept walking till a song came out that was easy to remember. When I got home I wrote it down.

About: This energetic Palm Sunday song urges us to move out into the street singing and proclaiming the transformation that Jesus spoke of and lived out in his life. Challenging powers to release to the incarcerated. Bringing good news to the powerless. Welcoming the immigrant. Compassion and love of enemies. Perhaps even allowing the coming realm of God to be how Jesus described: pervasive but a bit unnoticed, small, ordinary, like a mustard seed.

How to: It’s perfect for a paperless traveling procession by the whole congregation. Leader sings once, all repeat. Then have a supportive choir, pre-primed to jump in on SATB; pass out simple percussion (hand drum, shakers) and find a good song leader who can call out the verses. Wind your way through the church, or the neighborhood. Imagine the transformation.

Adapt as needed: Some groups have adapted this as, “Justice is coming.” Great idea. I think the rest of the adaptation would replace Pave the way with branches to “Pave the way with action.” Replace Hosannah with “Be strong now” and replace To the Prince of Peace with “In the way of peace”.

Also, of course, there’s lots of other room here to make up new lyrics. In case you need a nudge, here’s your official nudge. C’mon. Sing what makes sense to you in your deepest heart. This is our one go-around on this earth.

———-Attention Good Friday: Because He Stood: a song to help remove atonement from Good Friday, and focus on Jesus life and the threat he posed to the powers of the day—-

Here’s how Edina Community Lutheran Church used the song during the time of social distancing

And here’s a children’s choir from Tacoma WA singing Pave the Way with Branches recorded remotely during the pandemic. From St. Mark’s Lutheran, by director Cooper Sherry.

Open Invitation

The Open Invitation

1. Sound the call of welcome. Ev’ryone come.
Sound the call of welcome. Ev’ryone come
Oh, sound the call of welcome. Ev’ryone come.
The Open Invitation stands.

2. The door is always open…
Door is always open…
The table’s set and waiting…

3. We’re ordinary people…
Ordinary bodies. ..
An ordinary potluck…

Bridge:
Grateful we stand at the table of peace:
Spirit of Mercy revealed.
Woven together, wealthy and poor,
through one another we’re healed.

4. It’s not a victory party…..
It’s not for members only….
No matter what your creed is…..

5. It’s time to tell our stories….
To listen to each other….
Be shoulder next to shoulder….

6. Without any condition….
Without any coercion…
Without any exception….
Bridge:

7. The Spirit is among us….
The Spirit is within us…..
The Spirit is inviting….

—————————————
Tired of the white male sky god formula? Here’s a new metaphor for the spirit, featuring the inclusive community, and framing the spirit’s power as invitational power, rather than dominance or power-over. Attention service planners: try this as a communion song, or a gathering song.

No Matter Who (song)

No Matter Who

No matter who
No matter who
No matter who
No matter who
No matter who should stumble and fall
We will raise them up

2. Lovely or plain (4x) No matter who should stumble ….

3. Even the slow (4x) No matter who should stumble ….

4. Those not in line (4x) No matter who should stumble ….

5. We all belong (4x) No matter who should stumble ….

Mercy We Abide

Mercy We Abide

Mercy we abide in you.
Stir in us, we pray.

1. In peace, may we assemble.
In peace, may we unite.
In peace, may we be whole.
Move within each heart.

2. For all who suffer in war.
For all who struggle for comfort
For all who slumber in ease.

3. We are broken, longing for peace
Forgiveness flow among us.
May we be reconciled.

In a nutshell: Reconsidering the line “God have mercy.” Rather, as my friend Jack says, “God is mercy.”

To me, the old language in the time-honored liturgies I grew up with brings up the old images of God –white, male, powerful judge. I can’t separate them. Most of my songwriting work for churches involves a search for new language to sing, that describes what’s going on today, and offers expansive ways to understand the divine. In this song, I’ve tried to reimagine a Kyrie that uses new imagery for God. My intent is to lift up Jesus’ vision of God as a loving spirit (who ismercy), and let that vision play out in the cantor’s text.

During the cantor lines, the congregation also has a part to sing. It’s a dialog. If this back-and-forthh feels too busy, you can just have instruments play the congregation part. Or let a small group of singers do it for a few Sundays, after which the whole congregation will easily join in.

Make Us Mindful

Make Us Mindful

Make us mindful
Ever mindful
Now we pray
May we be open.

Alt text:

Make us mindful
Ever mindful
Being ever
Open of heart

This short song, repetitive song can work well when alternated with spoken parts, or silence. You’ll notice on the recording that I have two different verses, but when I do this with a group, I always just choose one or the other and only sing that one.

Little By Little

Little By Little

Refrain:
Little by little by little.
Little by little by little.
Little by little by little, I know
The tiniest seeds will grow.

1. Growing in cracks and crevices (3x)
we are everywhere

2. Habits of peace and justice (3x)
tools to change the world

3. Never resorting to violence (3x)
we will find a way

4. Working with all of each other (3x)
we are not alone (Ch.)

5. The Spirit is present among us (3x)
we are filled with power

6. Rooted in the Water of Mercy (3x)
we will surely flower. (Ch.)

This song lifts up the fact that small steps lead to deep change. It is inspired by a book called: By Little and By Little: The selected writings of Dorothy Day., 1983. In the book she discusses active nonviolence, focusing on the small, ordinary acts and the ‘holy sublimity of the everyday’. This song was written as part of a collaboration with Jack Nelson Pallmeyer, who has written widely about the nonviolent vision of Jesus, who insisted that kingdom of god would be something ordinary and easily missed (yeast, small seeds), not dominating and all powerful. [see e.g.: Worship in the Spirit of Jesus: Theology Liturgy and Songs Without Violence, 2004.]

It feels good to sing about how we are the tiny weed-seeds that grow in the cracks and can’t be repressed. The weeds of peace and promise.

Churches have used this for a sending song. It’s also a favorite among very young children at several schools I know of. Kids really respond to this idea that daily habits of peace and justice can change the world. Depending on the verses, it works in faith-based or secular setting.

Note on the video: Why the dark room? This video took place at Calvary Lutheran in Minneapolis. About an hour before the Sunday service, a big storm knocked out the power. So what to do. The folks who showed up anyway met in a room with some natural light. As so often happens, the natural world knocks us out of our routines, and the group felt more at ease, and more connected, than usual.

Justice Like a Base of Stone (song)

Justice Like a Base of Stone

1. How shall we pursue the dream: Building true equality?
Put down, put down in the deepest ground Justice, like a base of stone.
Using our united power. Lifting all together now
Put down, put down in the deepest ground Justice, like a base of stone.

2. We who come from many lands welcome all with open hand.
Put down, put down in the deepest ground Justice, like a base of stone.
Many from among us lead. Sharing power we are freed.
Put down, put down in the deepest ground Justice, like a base of stone.

Chorus:
And we will lay a new foundation bearing on the justice stone.
And raise abundance over all bearing on the justice stone.

3. Standing at the bolted door. Questioning the status quo….
Fairness overcoming fear. Everyone will have a share….
Ch.

4. Listen to the Spirit’s call: Crumble the dividing wall….
Hope, but never sit and wait. Learn to use the tools of change….
Ch.

Other verses:

5. Compassion’s empty without deed. Action’s what the afflicted need….
Level every playing field. Work until the breach is healed….

6. Doubting the official word. Letting every voice be heard….
Challenging the club of power. Giving common good the floor….

7. Learning from each other’s songs. Knowing that we all belong….
Many from among us lead. Sharing power, we are freed….

8. Listen to the Spirit’s call: Earth’s abundance meant for all ….

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Piano Accpt. Tom Witt.
© 2006 Bret Hesla. Admin Augsburg Fortress. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Also licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.
Recording by Bread for the Journey, with Linda Breitag on lead vocals.

I wrote this song as a commission for ISAIAH Minnesota, a group that organizes church congregations to work politically on legislation for social justice. [the Christian left]. The song uses images from the book of Isaiah, Chapter 58, as suggested by Sue, a friend who was working for them at the time. Recording from Justice Like a Base of Stone, by Bread for the Journey (Augsburg Fortress Publishers).

Juntos creamos espiritu

Juntos creamos espiritu

1. Juntos creamos espiritu.
Juntos creamos espiritu.
Bailando, llorando,
Bailando, llorando.
Duradero, duradero, duradero.

2. We’re building spirit together.
We’re building spirit together.
With dancing and crying.
With dancing and crying.
Never turning,
Never turning,
Never turning back.

3. We bind our hearts to each other
And weave our spirits together.
With threads of joy and sorrow,
We spin hope for tomorrow.
Never turning,
Never turning,
Never turning back.

Words: Al Hage, Jorge Flores, Bret Hesla & Bill Dexheimer-Pharris, Music by Bret Hesla.
© 1995 Bret Hesla. Admin GIA Publications, Inc.. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Jorge Flores and Al Hage met at the St. Paul Cathedral in 1989, during a hunger strike protesting the US support of the repressive government in El Salvador. Although they came from completely different backgrounds — a Third World campesino living under brutal dictatorship and a first world activist in a culture of greed, militarism and abundance — they quickly discovered that they shared a very similar understanding of the power of people working together to counter oppression, create change and build a better world. At one point, Al (a strike supporter) asked Jorge (a striker), “In Spanish, how do you say ‘We’re building the spirit together’?” They painted Jorge’s answer on a banner to lift over the strikers. Al called me that night to see if a song might emerge as well.

May we all keep working with each other as we make it through, and make it better.

Image of God

Image of God

1. In joy! Oh, in joy do we gather!
In joy! Oh, in joy do we gather!
In joy! Oh, in joy do we gather!
Knowing we are all the image of God.

2. Be well. Oh, be well and be welcome.
Be well. Oh, be well and be welcome.
Be well. Oh, be well and be welcome.
Knowing we are all the image of God.

3. Be great. Oh, be grateful and confident….

4. Be true. Oh, be truly unwav’ring….

5. Be strong. Oh, be stronger than hatred….

6. We see. Oh, we see heaven daily….

7. We stand. Oh, we stand and we celebrate….

8. We shout. Oh, we shout out resounding….

This gathering song celebrates everyone; it’s meant in particular for those of our sisters and brothers, parents and children, friends and neighbors who are lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual.

The recording is from the 2006 album Justice Like a Base of Stone, by the group, Bread for the Journey.

Here In This Ordinary Place

Here In This Ordinary Place

May we awake, awaken
To the presence of God
The presence of God
The presence of God
May we awake, awaken
To the presence of God
Here in this ordinary place.

(ch)
Here, here in this ordinary place.
Here, here in this ordinary place.

May we awake, awaken
To the power of love …
(ch) Here, hear in this ordinary crowd….

And may we build a neighborhood
of justice for all …
(ch) Now, now in this ordinary time….

And may we daily work
To build a culture of peace …
(ch) Now, now with these ordinary hands.

For a different musical setting to these lyrics, see the song “May We Awaken.”

Hearts On Fire (D)

1. When you heard the silence broken in the square
Tell me was your heart on fire?
When you heard the great dream ringing in the air
Tell me was your heart on fire?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
We gather in the morning to clear the path of peace
We with hearts on fire (2x)

2. When the common fabric was torn before your eyes
Tell me was your tongue on fire?
When you watched the plain truth papered over with lies
Tell me was your tongue on fire?
Was your tongue on fire like mine?
Was your tongue on fire like mine?
We gather in the sunshine and speak the truth to power
We with tongues on fire. (2x)

3. When you joined with thousands standing side by side
Tell me was your soul on fire?
When you knew you’d win what so long was denied
Tell me was your soul on fire?
Was your soul on fire like mine?
Was your soul on fire like mine?
We gather the table and pass a cup of joy
We with souls on fire. (2x)

4. When you dreamed a feast where everyone was fed
Tell me was your heart on fire?
When you dreamed a city where all had a bed
Tell me was your heart on fire?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
We gather in the evening and longing is our prayer
We with hearts on fire. (2x)

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Accpt. by Tom Witt.
Spanish translation: Jose Antonio Machado.
© 2008 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Hymn of solidarity in the struggle we share to build a just world. I wrote this for a Lutherans Concerned gathering in San Francisco summer of 2008. It’s a group promoting equality for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Sadly, Proposition 8 passed shortly thereafter. This is the group singing version. See also the solo version, in the key of Am.

Give Us Our Daily Bread

Give Us Our Daily Bread

1. Give us our daily bread.
Give us our daily bread.
Give us our daily bread.
May we be satisfied.

2. May we be satisfied.
May we be satisfied.
May we be satisfied.
With only what we need.

3. Never be satisfied.
Never be satisfied.
Never be satisfied.
If any be denied.

4. Passing the gift along.
Passing the gift along.
Passing the gift along.
Each adding as we can.

5. Five thousand will be fed.
Five thousand will be fed.
Five thousand will be fed.
Trusting there be enough.

Simple prayer, or communion song. Contemplative, after a few times, the group could easily sing this without printed paper. Theme of shared abundance, simple living.

Flower of Compassion

Fresh-cut, nonviolent images of the spirit. Short repetitive song, designed to be interspersed with readings, spoken parts.

Flower of compassion
Bloom within, bloom within, bloom within each heart

Blossom of love, you
Draw us all, Draw us all , Draw us all together.

Delicate fragrance
Drift beyond, Drift beyond, Drift beyond all borders.

Everything That We Have

Refrain:
Ev’rything that we have,
Ev’rything that we are,
Ev’ry moment is a blessing from above.
It’s endless love that we breathe.
It’s endless love that we receive.
What has freely come we now let freely go.

1. Working hard to survive is no guarantee.
For the deck is always stacked against the poor.
If we’d use just what we need.
Reject the creeping cancer of greed.
Like a miracle, the hungry could be fed.

2. May we show gratitude in the way that we live.
Not with pompous prayers and not with fancy feasts.
Imagine how the world should be.
Then take a risk to build this dream.
That’s the offering that God is asking for.

Notes: The refrain of this song, when sung by itself, can serve a variety of settings: an offertory, a healing service, and even a funeral. The verses, when sung as an offertory, give the meaning a deeper focus of justice and shared abundance.

The recording is from the 2001 album Pave the Way With Branches, Global Songs 3, by the group, Bread for the Journey.

Embolden My Heart

Written for the national gathering of the Baptist Peace Fellowship in 2012.

1. Without risk you can’t be open.
Without that you won’t build trust.
Without trust there’s no community uniting them and us.
Without unity what legacy will we be passing on
But a lonely type of safety some call “home”?

{ch}
O dear Desire of Peace, come embolden my heart.
Embolden my heart, to bloom into community.
O dear Desire of Peace, come embolden my heart;
embolden my heart to bloom.

2. Without risk there is no justice
Without justice there’s no peace
Without peace there is no hope and without hope there is no dream
Without dreams there’s no tomorrow. No tomorrow? What’s today
But a empty way to burn some time at home?

Dazzling Bouquet

Here’s a big fun dance all-sing celebrating the inclusive vision. Attention pride parade planners: that first line looks good on banners and T-shirts, too. Recording by Bread for the Journey, on Global Songs 2.

Refrain:
Mine is the church where everybody’s welcome.
I know it’s true ’cause I got through the door.
We are a dazzling bouquet of every kind of flower.
Jump in the vase, ’cause we’ve got space for more.

1. Come here, all you six foot gladiolas.
Come all you purple lilacs shining bright.
Come let us all bloom together in one garden:
A carnival of fragrance and delight. (Refrain)

2. We don’t simply tolerate each other.
We ask and tell, we don’t just turn away.
We give attention to every bud and blossom.
Let every face come grace the grand bouquet. (Refrain)

3. Our demons keep trying to divide us;
They document their lies to make them true.
Today we’re freed from our judging and excluding.
Just look around enjoy the lovely view. (Refrain)

Note: Originally published in the wonderful songbook, “Global Songs II.”

I wrote the song Dazzling Bouquet in 1995 to give welcoming churches a way to celebrate members who are gay lesbian bisexual and transgender. At the time, not many congregations were welcoming. The US military’s policy of muffled inclusion was, “don’t ask don’t tell”. I was part of a congregation that was welcoming but I thought we were mostly pretty subdued about it in the services.
Well, we wanted to ask and tell. I thought it would be nice to have the trumpets and full party welcome. A good dance groove seemed the best way to capture the wonderful joy we all feel when the inclusion gets wider. I hope you enjoy singing it together. And why not a little two-step in the center aisle?

Bread For the Journey

2000 live recording (with the band Bread for the Journey)

1990 Studio Recording

Give us bread for the journey. Give us bread.
Give us bread for the journey. Give us bread.
When our legs are getting heavy
And we’re hanging down our heads,
Give us bread for the journey. Give us bread.

Guide our way as we travel. Guide our way.
Guide our way as we travel. Guide our way.
With so many roads before us,
where to go is hard to say.
Guide our way as we travel. Guide our way.

Make us one with each other. Make us one.
Make us one with each other. Make us one.
All the walls we’ve built around us
May we learn to tear them down.
Make us one with each other. Make us one.

Lead us home to the garden. Lead us home.
Lead us home to the garden. Lead us home.
Where we’ll live with all creation,
Find our place and never roam.
Lead us home to the garden. Lead us home.

I wrote this prayer for an ecumenical gathering in Minneapolis in 1990. The event was part of a series of services to foster solidarity among people of faith working for justice.

The repetition of lyrics makes this song pretty easy to sing and lead without printed songsheets. The non-sectarian language helps it fit in a variety of settings: worship services at communion, sending song, prayers; hospital chaplain/hospice work for healing prayers, campfires.

You can also download either the 2000 live recording, or the solo studio recording from 1990. Fun flashback to same guy, younger voice, newer song.

Be With Us Now

1. God of earth and ev-‘ry crea-ture,
God of wind and God of sky,
God of old and new creation,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

2. God who moves across the water,
God who moves across all time,
God who moves within my walking,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

3. God who grieves the death of nature,
God who grieves this poisoned land,
God who grieves at our indifference,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

4. God who weaves each golden sunset,
God who weaves the web of life,
God who weaves us all together,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

5. God whose reign is ever budding,
God whose will is our delight,
God whose pow’r is invitation,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

6. God who calls us to be mindful,
God who calls us to make peace,
God who calls us to be healers,
Be with us now. Be with us now.

This song offers us some new imagery for the divine; not a white male sky god but rather a healer, a creator, an inviter, a presence within our own steps, a ever-budding beauty, a partner in our grieving. Feel free to add a new verse that helps you in your journey.

You can sing it in a driving upbeat style (this recording), or in a gentle rolling style along the lines of the old ballad, the Water is Wide.

The recording is from the 2006 album Justice Like a Base of Stone, by the group, Bread for the Journey

Were You There When We Sang at Corcoran

It was a great night of community singing at the community center over at Corcoran Park in Minneapolis, May 2012.

Were you there when we sang at Corcoran?

Were you there when we sang at Corcoran

Way last May?

Were you there when we sang at Corcoran

By my home?

(repeat)

It was sweet sweet singing

Way last May!

It was sweet sweet singing

By my home!

(repeat)

Other verses:

Were you strong on the Happy Wanderer?

Did you feel 34^th a-quaking?

Did you help Michael Row the Boat Ashore?

Did you shout on Salaam Aleikum?

Did you hear choirs of earthly angels?

Man at the Hardware Store

The Man at the Hardware Store

Come join me friends let us sing praise
Go take it to the man
Of him who lifts us from malaise
Go take it to the man
Come lay your problems at his door
Go take it to the man
Where Bloomington meets Twenty-four
Go take it to the man

Chorus: Go take it to the man
Go take it to the man
At the Welna Hardware Store.
You’ll find what you’re after
In one of those tiny drawers
Just take it to the man at the hardware store

2. All you who know the deep despair …
Of way-too-complex home repairs …
He know your needs and where to start …
Just bring in your broken parts …

3. He’ll spend ten minutes of his time …
To listen and to help you find …
A tiny nut in aisle ten …
And that’ll run you thirteen cents …

4. If your grandpa, like mine, has died …
and you need knowhow , he’s your guy …
you’ll feel a comfort deep within …
just looking at his weathered hands …

5. My toaster had a broken cord …
I got a new one at his store …
He smiled to hear my fix-it news
And he responded “good for you”

6. You could buy paint at Depot-Mart
And save nine cents on every quart
Then you could talk your project through
With someone there who’s got no clue, or take it to the man …

7. No, bring your list where we do throng …
To him who’s legacy is long …
Bring all your troubles to his door …
Where Bloomington meets Twenty-Four

Here’s a song to help support your local hardware store. Be sure to adapt this for gender, as it applies to who’s behind the counter.

I Will Not Be Passive

I Will Not Be Passive!

[tune trad: John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt]

Some folks sit squarely on their hands
When trouble falls.
They politely turn aside,
And tightly shut their eyes,
And they hold their tongue instead of speaking out.
But I will not be passive!

————————–

Written for the Kids Peace Camp in Minneapolis, to the tune of John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. The theme for the summer was peace heroes, heroes of nonviolence. They studied Ghandi, MLK, Dorothy Day, and others.

Hearts on Fire (Am)

Hearts on Fire

1. When you heard the silence broken in the square
Was your heart. was your heart on fire?
When you heard the great dream ringing in the air
Was your heart. was your heart on fire?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
We gather in the morning to clear the path of peace
We with our hearts on fire (2x)

2. When the common fabric was torn before your eyes
Was your tongue, was your tongue on fire?
When you watched the truth papered over with lies
Was your tongue, was your tongue on fire?
Was your tongue on fire like mine?
Was your tongue on fire like mine?
We gather in the sunshine and speak the truth to power
We with our tongues on fire. (2x)

3. Uniendote con mils de pie y con dignidad
Sientes fuego en tu alma como yo
Ganando y reclamando con solidaridad
Sientes fuego en tu alma como yo
Sientes fuego en tu alma como yo
Sientes fuego en tu alma como yo
Reunidos en la mesa gozando la amisatad
Con fuego en tu alma como yo
Con fuego en tu alma como yo

3. When you joined with thousands standing side by side
Was your soul, was your soul on fire?
When you knew you’d win what so long was denied
Was your soul, was your soul on fire?
Was your soul on fire like mine?
Was your soul on fire like mine?
We gather at the table and pass a cup of joy
We with our souls on fire.

4. When you dreamed a feast where everyone was fed
Was your heart, was your heart on fire?
When you dreamed a city where all had a bed
Was your heart, was your heart on fire?
Was your heart on fire like mine?
Sientes fuego en tu corazon
We gather in the evening and longing is our prayer
We with our hearts on fire.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Accpt. by Tom Witt.
Spanish translation: Jose Antonio Machado.
© 2008 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

I wrote this for a Lutherans Concerned gathering in San Francisco summer of 2008. It’s a group promoting equality for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Sadly, Proposition 8 passed shortly thereafter.

Nothing Worth Doing

Nothing Worth Doing

1. Nothing worth doing can we complete in our lifetime.
Can we complete in the span, the span of our days.
And so we are saved by hope.
We must be saved by hope,
The fuel of the heart.

2. Nothing of beauty is wholly seen at its birthing.
Is wholly seen at the dawn, the dawn of its day.
And so we are saved by trust
We must be saved by trust
The jewel of the soul.

3. Nothing we do can we achieve on our own.
Can we achieve on our own, no struggle won alone.
And so we are saved by love.
We must be saved by love,
The weaver of the whole.

4. Acting with virtue, we are not seen quite so pure.
We are not seen quite so pure by foe nor friend.
And so we must be saved by forgiveness.
In forgiveness we are saved
And shown the way of peace.

—————————————————————

Lyrics adapted from a passage (page 63) in The Irony of American History, by Reinhold Niebuhr (1952). Reprinted and adapted with the permission of the Estate of Reinhold Niebuhr.
Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2005 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Recorded with Linda Breitag (fiddle, vocal) and Tom Witt (piano), on What We Do (CD 2008)

Most of us would like to think that, on our better days, we and our organizations might embody one small piece of the long arc of history bending toward justice. But it’s sure easy to despair in the length of that arc. These words of Reinhold Neibuhr have helped me:
“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we are saved by love. No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”

Shoulder Next to Shoulder

Shoulder Next to Shoulder

1. Down on the streets of Minneapolis
I remember marching with you
Carrying signs about peace in our time
along Hennepin Avenue

2. I saw some friends but mostly strangers
same old crowd mixed with the new
I saw my future congressman there
along Hennepin Avenue

Chorus:
I felt the sun on my face
I smelled the promise of spring
My legs were tired when we got downtown
and heard the bells of the Basilica ring

3. The signs were good, I think we’re winning
Passing drivers sang with us too
Gust said he saw only one flip us off
along Hennepin Avenue

4. Three-thousand strong came to the stoplight
“Red or green, we’re marching through”
Peace was arriving with_the right of way
along Hennepin Avenue

(Ch)
I felt the sun on my face
I smelled the promise of spring
My legs were tired when we got downtown
and heard the bells of the Basilica ring
I was so happy to be
Shoulder next to shoulder with you

5. Right by my side I had a shouter
Bellowing, angry and blue
I almost changed my mind about peace
along Hennepin Avenue

6. Down on the streets of Minneapolis
Next time maybe we’ll see you….

(Chorus)

Recording features this song paired with French Canadian fiddle tune Reel de L’enfant

In Minneapolis, the annual spring march to protest the US invasion of Iraq goes down Hennepin Avenue. I think it was at last year’s march that one guy was going around mock-scolding the marchers, “Look serious now, the peace movement is not supposed to be fun.” Point taken. We might as well enjoy each other along the way.

Standing On The Bridge

Standing on the Bridge

1. Something’s going on, better check it out
Cars going by all beep and shout
Must be the peace vigil ’cause I saw friends
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.

2. With the river below, we gather here on top
Every week working for the war to stop
And till it does we’ll be back again
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.

4. Got a few too many things to do
I’m all played out when the day is through
But I don’t rue the time I spend
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.

Bridge:
I saw Larry there, Mary there, Kim and Pat
A gray-haired vet with a “Dump Bush” hat
A couple of kids from Buffalo Ridge
And the McDonald sisters at the Lake Street Bridge

4. Here’s a big fact that’ll break your heart
When this wars done another starts
Yup, we know it’s a long haul we’re in
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.

5. When people get together to do what’s right
You never have seen such a lovely sight
The meeting’s set, and I’ll attend
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.
Bridge:

One guy never stopped crossing the road and back
With a sign saying “US OUT OF IRAQ”
A bus driver waved, and I thought “Wow,
We’re not the fringe we’re in the mainstream now.”

6. When I die scatter my ashes high
Over the river in the city sky
So I’ll be there when you feel the wind
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war

Extra:

There’s one thing none of us here can stand
An Oval Office with a macho man.
There’s work to do that’s why we’ve been
Standing on the bridge where Lake Street ends
Saying 1,2, 3 & 4
Be patriotic, resist the war.

What: weekly peace vigil, since 1999. Still running in 2024.

When: every Wednesday at 5 pm

Where: the Lake Street Bridge spanning the Mississippi river between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

It started in 1999, when a bunch of Minnesota peace organizations got together to protest the war in Yugoslavia. When that war ended, they kept going, shifting their focus to the inhumane sanctions against Iraq. Ten years later, it was about the Iraq occupation and the war in Afghanistan. The crimes against humanity keep recurring, in new forms. The vigil continues. Recorded with Linda Breitag.

What We Do (song)

(heads up: the singing starts at the 0:57 mark on the above recording)

What We Do

We know waters are in trouble
And skies are losing blue
We know what we did to start it
And how the problem grew
We know elegant solutions
Where old ways join with new
But what we “know” we don’t know
Till it’s what we do.

We know war is not the answer
And fear is no excuse
We know organized nonviolence
Can shape this world anew
We know how to nod and speak of
What we all know is true
But what we “know” we don’t know
Till it’s what we do.

Chorus:
As we know, so may we do
So may we do
As we know, so may we do

We know every one is welcome
And every heart is true
We know every shape is equal
Where privilege can’t intrude
We know we are one great family
And justice will shine through
But what we “know” we don’t know
Till it’s what we do.

The recording, with singer/fiddle player Linda Breitag, features the song (at 0.54) preceded by fiddle tune, Reel du Gaucher.

Close to Home (song)

Close to home, close to home
Food tastes better when it’s local grown
Local grown on local land
I wanna place my money in a dirty hand
I wanna place my money in a dirty hand

Every spring with all my friends
We put a couple hundred each in a farmer’s hand
Then each week from June to fall
We get a big bag of vegetables one and all

California produce, No
I wanna buy what my neighbors grow
I can change, I can learn
To change my diet as the seasons turn

Keep your eyeballs on the fridge
Keep your veggies on the cutting edge
Use those greens in the drawer
Soon a bag’ll be delivered with a whole lot more

Some folks choose the discount fare
Cause they wanna help a little with the labor there
Early on they help plant the seeds
Then they’re back a little later helping hoe the weeds

Some folks choose to grow their own
Or hit the farmer’s market every Sunday morn
But here’s my scoop, here’s my news
I get a year’s worth of produce if I pay my dues.

This song is an ode to Community Supported Agriculture. What’s CSA? It’s a growing movement, where you pay the farmer in advance for a season’s worth of produce. Weekly deliveries right to your neighborhood, summer through fall. Eaters join growers to share the risk of farming. Eat local, buy direct from a local grower, delivered. That green stuff is arugula.

We, Too

1. We too. We too.
We too are the face of Jesus.
We too. We too are the body of Christ.

2..We too. We too.
We too are the image of the_eternal.

3. We too. We too.
We too have been called to service

4..We too. We too.
We too are the hands of healing.

5..We too. We too.
We too are the arms of compassion.

Celebrating the presence of our gay and lesbian and bisexual and transgender fellow members in positions of leadership in the church. Can also be used for other marginalized minority groups in the church. Repetitive, easy to sing with no-paper. Also nice SATB arrangement.

Slowly, Slowly the Evening Falls

1. Slowly, slowly the evening falls Till the stars appear.
Slowly, slowly my thoughts unwind; Clouds within me clear.
Slowly, slowly the silence grows Like a snowfall piling deep.
Slowly, slowly the darkness calls me to sleep.

Ch:
Praise the God of the evening, Mother of the fertile dark.
Praise the God of the silence in the void between the stars.
Send your holy shadows. Cover us, O God of might.
Make us whole and keep us in the womb of the night.

2. Softly, softly a graceful cat tiptoes o’er the ground.
Softly, softly a tiny bat flies without a sound.
Softly, softly the aspen leaves tremble in the midnight wind.
Softly, softly moves my breath in and out again.

3. Gently, gently the heavens turn. Galaxies recede.
Gently, gently a tender root reaches down in need.
Gently, gently the sweethearts play in the shadows of love.
Gently, gently the dew descends from the blackness above.

4. Sweetly, sweetly sings the moon from the eastern sky.
Sweetly, sweetly sleep comes and I close my eyes.
Sweetly, sweetly I walk in dreams, going where no feet have trod.
Sweetly, sweetly I rest my soul in the arms of God.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Tune based in part on Norwegian American folk tune, Kan du glemme gamle Norge. © 1992 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Admin Augsburg Fortress. Also licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

Back in 1994, I wrote of this song, “We need to stop demonizing the dark. In too many of our songs and language we use the worn-out metaphors of ‘day is good and night is bad’, or ‘God is light, evil is dark’ etc.”

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s still so true. I wrote this song to celebrate the sacred goodness of the dark, and the healing this that happen in the night. For the tune, I have blended some original melody lines with a heavy dose of fragments from a Norwegian-American folk tune which was one of my grandma’s favorites.

Note: For full keyboard accompaniment, see the songbook, “Global Songs, Local Voices.“

Lefse Time, Everybody

Hot off the electric grill.

Ch: You take a blob, blob, take a blob
Rake a little blob of potato dough.
You roll it out, out, roll it out
Roll a little out with a rolling pin
Then you fry it on a ‘lectric plate
‘Bout a minute’s all you got to wait
Butter up, sugar up, roll it up
Whoa! Lefse time everybody.

1. Boil the potatoes, peel the potatoes
Rice ’em while they’re good and hot
Let ’em cool as a rule till they’re cool as the room
Then you start mixing it up.
You drop a couple cups of spuds
And a cup of flour in the bowl
Quarter cup of cream, pinch of salt and sugar
& Take a dough blender to it all (ch)

2. Peter’s on the peeler, Rosie’s on the ricer
Mom is at the mixing bowl
We’ve got four on the boards and they’re rolling up a storm
Becca, Paul, Bonnie and Joe
And over on the lefse grill
Sam and Anna with remarkable skills
Beth has got your drinks, Greg has got your photo
And Jaimie’s got your chatter needs filled
———————————–
Big fun with the extended Hesla family, as they turn out their annual batch of lefse on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s all here: the recipe, the process, the people.

Peace, Peace

Peace, Peace

1. Peace, peace, the morning dew;
Ev’ry day it falls anew:
Bending low the knee-high grass.
Soaking all who wander past.
Peace perfumes the earth with spring.
Oh, what simple joy it brings!

2. Peace, peace, the call we heed
Shared abundance over greed.
Peace the plenty ‘mid the dearth.
Peace the heav’n upon the earth.
Peace that’s shining like the sun.
Would that all could live as one.

3. Peace, peace, the fearful prayer.
Peace that throngs the public square.
Peace that dares to face the power.
Peace the wail when bullets show’r.
Peace the pain we all must bear.
Peace the load we all must share.

4. Peace, peace, the careful plan,
On that firm foundation, stands.
Peace the awkward compromise.
Peace with those whom we despise.
Peace beyond our pure intent.
Peace the goal to which we bend.

5. Peace, peace, the hand of Christ
Healing what the sword has sliced
Peace the hand upending greed
Peace the hand to all in need
Peace the hand with skills to mend.
Peace the hand that we extend.

6. Peace, peace, the trail that winds;
Each new age must seek and find.
Born upon a movement’s thrill:
Peace the arc still unfulfilled.
Peace unmet our legacy.
Peace reborn our journey be.

————————-

7. Peace, peace, the gard’ner’s toil.
Peace the building of the soil.
Peace the placing of each seed.
Peace the eye that knows the weed.
Peace the neighbors sharing tools.
Peace the greens we gather new.

8. Peace, peace the vigil song
By the fact’ries making bombs.
Peace the guts to vote “no more”
When the flags are fanning war.
Peace the arc from age to age,
Born on risks we take each day.

9. Peace, peace, the quiet gaze.
Peace the lazy summer days.
Peace the resting damselfly.
Peace the swift who owns the sky.
Peace the song the willow played.
Peace to watch the moment fade.

Words and music by Bret Hesla. Written on commission for Faith Mennonite Church on their 50th Anniversary. © 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please. Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.

This 2011 hymn was part of a cycle I wrote on commission for Faith Mennonite Church of Minneapolis, titled River of Gladness. As a historic peace church, the congregation was wanting at least one song that could serve as both a Sunday hymn and also be sung out in the wider community. The song captures the many faces of peace, from nonviolence to courage to protest to justice to gentleness.

Don’t sing all nine verses; choose three or four that lift up themes that fit the moment. If you sing it several weeks in a row, you could swap in some new verses each time. The repetition will give folks a good chance to learn the song.

I’ve included a simple SATB, roughly attempted on the above demo, so you can hear that. Works well with a small choir, or a singing congregation of course.

There is also a really nice piano score with a vibrant hymn-like feel to it, by Tom Witt (Thanks Tom!).

Do, Do Justice

1. Do, do justice, oh, my beloved.
Oh, do, do justice.
What more is there to say?
Do, do justice, Oh, my beloved.
Oh, do, do justice.
What more is there to say?
What more? What more?

2. Show, show kindness, Oh, my beloved.
Oh, show, show kindness.
What more is there to say?
Show, show kindness, Oh, my beloved.
Oh, show, show kindness.
What more is there to say?
What more? What more?

3. Walk in beauty, Oh, my beloved.
Oh, walk in beauty.
What more is there to say?
Walk in beauty, Oh, my beloved.
Oh, walk in beauty.
What more is there to say?
What more? What more?

____________________

[Summer 2017 note from Martha Schwehn Bardwell]. South Minneapolis Day Camp kids loved embodying this song with some simple actions. And, an intergenerational congregation enjoyed using the same simple actions during Sunday morning worship. Here are the actions, verse by verse:

Verse 1: “Do, Do Justice”: We recognize that doing justice is communal work–we need each other to do justice together! During this verse, people walk around the space, giving each other high fives to express encouragement and a commitment to communal work.

Verse 2: “Show, show kindness”: We show kindness by recognizing the inherent dignity and worth of each person, and by being willing to serve one another. During this verse, people walk around the space with palms together in a prayer posture in front of the heart, bowing to one another.

Verse 3: “Walk in beauty”: We walk in beauty when we walk together in unity with God and each other. During this verse, people link arms with a neighbor or two and walk around. You can encourage people to link arms with as many people as possible, forming a great human chain. You can also sing this verse two times through as people keep joining arms.

Fill Us, Fill Us

Fill Us, Fill Us

Fill us. Fill us.
Fill us with your peace.
That we may live as sisters and brothers,
Harming no one.

Text: Pope Francis. © 2015 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Adapted and set to music by Bret Hesla.
Song © 2017 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Licensed via OneLicense.net. Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com

Urging Spirit, Fill us with your peace.
Peace that feels like the urge to share what we have.
Peace that feels like the urge to compassion for others.
Peace that feels like the urge to listen
Peace that feels like the urge to make room at the table
Peace that feels like the urge to find a difficult compromise
Peace that feels like the urge to take a risk to stop violence
Peace that feels like the urge to be kind
Fill us with your urging peace.

[sing]

Allowing Spirit, Fill us with your peace.
The Peace that allows us to let go of busyness
The Peace that allows us to be satisfied with what we have
The Peace that allows us to breathe deeply
The Peace that allows us to make space for other living things
The Peace that allows us to consider the common good
The Peace that allows us to question what’s not working
Fill us with your allowing peace.

[sing]

Inviting Spirit, Fill us with your peace.
Peace that invites us into cheerful partnership with all things.
Peace that invites us to walk in the direction of less harmful habits
Peace that invites us to honor the habitats of others
Peace that invites us to make butterfly gardens
Fill us with your inviting peace.

[sing]