Just Earth CD Lyrics
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. World Turned Upside Down (The Diggers' Song)
by Leon Rosselson, © 1974. (Used with permission.) In 1649 To St. George's Hill, A ragged band they called the Diggers Came to show the people's will. They defied the landlords, They defied the laws; They were the dispossessed reclaiming what was theirs. We come in peace they said To dig and sow. We come to work the lands in common And to make the waste ground grow. This earth divided We will make whole, So it will be A common treasury for all. The sin of property We do disdain; No man has any right to buy and sell The earth for private gain. By theft and murder They took the land; Now everywhere the walls Spring up at their command. They make the laws To chain us well; The clergy dazzle us with heaven Or they damn us into hell. We will not worship The God they serve, The God of greed who feed the rich While poor folk starve. We work we eat together, We need no swords. We will not bow to the masters Or pay rent to the lords. Still we are free men Though we are poor, You Diggers all stand up for glory Stand up now! From the men of property The orders came; They sent the hired men and troopers To wipe out the Diggers' claim, Tear down their cottages Destroy their corn. They were dispersed But still the vision carries on. You poor take courage You rich take care. This earth was made a common treasury For everyone to share. All things in common, All people one, We come in peace; We'll organize until it's done! * *original lyric: "The orders came to cut them down." 2. Why Do We? (Paulette Meier) and Power (John and Johanna Hall) Intro: Why do we pump oil from under the ground? Why do we dig uranium from under the ground? Why do we pump oil deep from under the ground? When we have sunshine abundant from the sky, And we have the power of the wind soaring by, And we have endless water flowing down. Why do we destroy our sacred ground? Chorus: Just give me the warm power of the sun Give me the steady flow of a waterfall Give me the spirit of living things as they return to clay Just give me the restless power of the wind Give me the comforting glow of a wood fire But won't you take all your toxic fossil fuel power away 1) Everybody needs some power I'm told To shield them from the darkness and the cold Some may seek a way to take control when it's bought and sold I know that lives are at stake Yours and mine of our descendants in time There's so much to gain and so much to lose Everyone of us has to choose Chorus 2) We are only now beginning to see how delicate the balance of nature can be. The limits of her ways have been defined, and we've crossed that line. Some don't even care or know that we'll pay But we have seen the face of death in our day So little time to change our ways, If only we together could say: Chorus 3. Litany (Mother Help Us to take Heed) (words & music, ©2000 Jamie Fota) Her tears are spilling over, her tears flow endlessly; She’s crying for the hungry, and the homeless on the streets. Mother, help us to take heed! Help us regain dignity! Mother listen to our plea! Help us restore sanctity! Her sorrow’s spilling over, her sorrow grows endlessly; She’s aching for the lonely and oppressed minorities. Mother, help us to take heed! Help us regain dignity! Mother listen to our plea! Help us restore sanctity! With the voices of our ancestors, speaking of responsibility, She’s saddened for the future as the air gets harder to breathe. She watches as we plunder the earth beneath our feet, And she sobs for all the wild things displaced by insanity! Mother, help us to take heed! Help us regain dignity! Mother listen to our plea! Help us restore sanctity! 4. Rediscovery (I'm Glad I Found You) by Paulette Meier, © 2007 1. Rushing stream, you are still here How many years have you been gushing by? Cascading over these ancient stones, Whispering tales in mystical tones? I’m glad I found you. 2. Old beech grove, you are still here. Dappling the light from the warm noon day sun. I’ve missed the sweet scent of your life giving leaves. Forgotten the grandeur of high canopies. I’m glad I found you. Chorus: The fate of the natural world's in our hands; We mourn for the loss of our farms and woodlands But while we do all that we can for our earth, We need this communion To treasure it’s worth. 3. Meadow bright, you are still here. Teeming with life on this fine autumn day. Butterflies flitting from aster to gold. Song of the bob white brings memories of old. I’m glad I found you. 4. Quiet pond, You are still here. Restful oasis for geese on their flight. Now I remember your minnows and frogs, And blue dragonflies and turtles on logs. I’m glad I found you. Chorus Bridge: Why did I let so much time go by? Caught in the grip of technology’s lie? When I was young we would roam fields of green. Pick pails of blackberries and wade in the stream. But our house was part of new suburban sprawl. And my love of nature came linked with its fall. 5. Stars at night, You are still here. Shining so clear in celestial skies. I feared your numbers had dwindled to few. But lights of the city just dim them from view. I’m so glad I found you. Dance, Dance, Take a Chance (words & music © 1990 Jamie Fota) Chorus: Dance, dance, take a chance; let the rhythms flow through you! We’ll join our hands, hands, in a circle dance As we glide in the light of the moon, whooh whooh! !. The time has come for us to be counted upon For bringing in the new with our music and our song. So you say you cannot sing and you don’t think you can do anything, I beg to differ, there’s something we all can do! Yeah! Chorus 2. We are like a puzzle that’s about to unfold, Each part disguised until the picture is whole. And each tiny jigsaw piece helps to make the scene complete; In the melding of us together we shall all be strong! Yeah! Chorus 3. The hour is here, it’s time to reach out and be bold; Celebrate the new age, help to push out the old. A new beginning for history, a time of caring, not bloodthirsty; Let us gather together and bring in the new with a song! Yeah! Chorus |
Born to Love © Paulette Meier, 1998
CHORUS: We were born to love, and love is what we’re here for. We were born to love, and love is what we’re here for. No baby is born to the earth, expecting to be hurt at the hand of another human being. No child comes into the world, expecting to find hate among fellow human beings. 1. Generations oppressed, Passing on the distress. A mother lashes out in anger; A father beats his son in rage, And the heart of a child is slowly broken. CHORUS (First two lines) 2. An estranged one stalks the night, Filled with ancient cruelty. He kills your loved one cold; The bullet rips your heart in two, And you wonder what it means To go on living. CHORUS (First two lines) 3. Your trust in life betrayed, You think his death will help heal you. But it doesn’t stop the pain, And it doesn’t mend your soul. And it doesn’t help us all Be more fully human. CHORUS (first two lines) 4. We will hold you close; You are safe to feel your rage. Through the storms of grief and anger, And the unleashed terror of the night. The tears break through like rain, heal your pain. Heal your pain. Tears break through like rain, Healing your pain. We will hold you close. Again and again. All the time it takes to heal your pain. Healing your pain. Final CHORUS (all lines) Hawk and Owl by Paulette Meier © 2004 Chorus: Hawk and owl, two birds of prey One by night, and one by day. Make clear my vision, oh help me see. Guide me along my soul’s journey. 1. O great horned owl, you with your eyes so yellow, You can see what’s behind every shadow. You bring the sun into the night. And with your keen sight and your silent flight You obtain that which you need. Help me attain what I need. 2. O red tailed hawk, you with your rust red feathers, You connect earth and heaven together. You scan the ground from such great heights. And with your broad wing span and your agile flight You soar on the currents of life. Help me ride the currents of life. Chorus 3. And great horned owl, you with your hidden ears, The slightest sound in the woods you can hear, You know the secrets of the dark. And with your wisdom and your listening heart, You discern what you must do. Help me discern what to do. 4. And red tailed hawk, you with your far reaching vision That holds you on course with your mission. You see ahead to what may come. And with your talons strong and your wings wide flung You see which way to go. Help me see the way to go. Chorus I Want to Know by Paulette Meier © 2010 Chorus: I want to know where all the things that I use come from. I want to know whose hands produced them all and brought them. I want to see the faces of the ones who labored, So I can know to whom I owe my gratitude. 1. Sitting in the kitchen of her daughter’s suburban home Tears pouring down her cheeks, Reema tells me her heart’s woes. She aches with longing for the life she’d left in Iran, The connecting ways of her village life, seem forever gone. Chorus 2. Now stranded in the U.S.A., where her children want to be The neighbors all stay locked inside; are they really free? No outdoor markets filled with food, the farmers brought with pride, No people gathered trading goods, with hearts all open wide. Chorus 3. Reema goes to work each day, sewing hats in a factory. Her hopes for more community are dashed with every seam. She asks me why no one knows the fabric of their lives, the web that holds us all together, from which we all survive. Bridge: Sometimes in life you meet someone who opens up your eyes. Now I see how much we’ve lost by severing the ties, That link us to the source and truth of everything we use. Instead we live in veiled deceit; is this the world we choose? Final Chorus Teach Peace (words & music, ©2000 Jamie Fota) Chorus: Teach peace, unlearn the violence, respect each other’s dignity Teach peace, unearn the violence, live peace wherever you be. 1. Corporate greed’s spread war through many nations; Let the poor live on rations while using their land. We need to seek justice, justice for all nations, Justice for all races on Earth. Chorus 2. People beware! We’ve waged war on our surroundings, In our poisons we are drowning, can’t we understand? We need to seek peace, seek peace with God’s creation, Learn to give, not just be taking from Earth. Chorus 3. It seems everywhere the seeds of war are ragin’, One upmanship is takin’ us over the edge. We need to settle down, sit down at the table, Solve a conflict when we’re able, agree. Chorus (2x) Put The Old Ways on the Run (words & music, © 1990 Jamie Fota) 1. There’s a kind of revolution reshaping thought today It’s a kind of evolution, bound to bring another way. Yes, it’s time to find solutions, can’t make the same mistakes; Obsolete institutions we cannot tolerate. Chorus: And we’ve only just begun to undo the damage that was done; A new age philosophy, bringing hope for you and me; Put the old ways on the run. 2. It’s time for new beginnings if we’re all to survive; Let’s try and keep the earth clean and keep the waters alive. The old order will be changing, bring in the new with pride, A quiet rearranging, taking place from inside. Chorus 3. Time to get off the porch swing and make an active start. If you’re not into the solving, then of the problem you’re a part. If you try to keep from choosing, then you choose the other side; To keep the world from losing, we can no longer hide. Chorus And we’ve only just begun to undo the damage that was done; A new age philosophy, bringing hope for you and me; Put the old ways on the run. Put the old ways on the run. Put the old ways on the run. |