Song Lyrics, Plus One Rewrite of Beethoven
We'd better start with Beethoven. This is a new-and-improved verse for his "Ode to Joy," © Copyright 2008, Pamela Woll: Hast der tension Fiste clenchen Uberload Jeepers creepers Ach du lieber Starve a fever Feed a cold Knock der clocken Off der blocken Keep yer schlocken Offa me Moiste streudel Mit der noodle Ally ally oxen free! (The rest of the songs are a little more serious.) |
Pam started writing songs very early in life, in the pre-school years. Her first effort was a very operatic three-line aria for bovine soprano, written in collaboration with her sister Judy (a wonderful musician in her own right), called "Whatever goes up comes down." The next one she remembers—a steamy torch song called "Blue Indigo"—popped out of her head in the fourth grade. (Out of kindness and respect, the lyrics of these two are not included in the sample that follows.)
In the early 1980s, Pam started singing in the incredible choir at St. Pauls UCC Church on the North side of Chicago, and fell in love with choral music. About the same time, she met Igor, a beautiful little neo-Celtic harp made by a gentleman named Bob Welland (neo-Celtic means it's bigger than the little lap harps and has gut or nylon strings instead of wire). She also met Liz Cifani, Principal Harpist for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, who had a passion for Celtic music and was willing to teach and mentor and encourage Pam even though Pam couldn't read music and was way too lazy to learn. Under Liz's guidance, and that of Dr. Ron Price of Northern Illinois University (now retired), Pam began to study the healing power of music and first learned that she was fascinated with neurobiology. (Go figure.)
Since then, Pam has written several songs and begun to learn how to put her songs and choral arrangements into the computer and make them come out in musical notation. The human choir is and will always be her favorite instrument. She's also begun to learn how to sing in front of people (GAAAAAK!), with the patient help and encouragement of her teacher Sandra Benedict and vocal coach Steven Swedish. So at some point she'll be able to post MP3 files, but for now we'll have to settle for lyrics.
Here goes.
Red Blood of the Somme
© Copyright 2010, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
Note: The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of World War I.
This song is written in the voice of a British Soldier who survived that battle,
only to find that it had followed him home.
I keep my Janie's picture in a pocket near my heart
And often try to see her eyes before the mortars start
And I must join the waves of men who crash upon the guns
And leave their broken bodies by the red blood of the Somme
I walked with her in Winter, and I kissed her in the snow
And watched the colour leave her face when I told her I must go
She promised she would wait for me until the war was done
Her words were all but washed away in the red blood of the Somme
My body is a stranger since it brought me back from Hell
It cannot laugh, or sleep, or stop the dreams I dare not tell
I watch my words, a thousand ghosts, impaled upon my tongue
Washed down to a whisper in the red blood of the Somme
Only Janie's hand can still the shaking in my bones
And only Janie's heart can fill my hunger for a home
I know that she will stay with me until our battle's won
And we have traveled far beyond the red blood of the Somme
Long-Stemmed Rose
© Copyright 2006, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
Long-stemmed rose by the roadside, oh I
Love to watch you grow
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
When beauty came to visit me
I could not see her end
I never knew what time could do
When time was still my friend
I never knew what time could do
When time was still my friend
Once my mirror had clear eyes
And smooth and supple skin
But now it cracks between the brows
And sags beneath the chin
But now it cracks between the brows
And sags beneath the chin
They say that men are shallow
Who choose beauty over heart
But beauty's arrow strikes so deep
It splits some men apart
But beauty's arrow strikes so deep
It splits some men apart
Beauty used to weave me a net
For catching foolish men
Now she just weaves me melodies
And guides my foolish pen
Now she just weaves me melodies
And guides my foolish pen
Long-stemmed rose by the roadside, oh I
Love to watch you grow
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
God Wants All His Children to be Free
© Copyright 1997, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
God makes the child with a loving heart
And a mind that likes to take things apart
Who can tell me why?
I hand Him the pieces a hundred times, then I
Take 'em back as if they were mine
Who can tell me why?
All the trouble no one else can see
All the love that hides inside me
I can let them go
God wants all His children to be free
I live in a world that sweats and soars
Joy and despair in a tug-of-war
Who can tell me why?
I learned to survive by dividing my heart
Knowing only the easy part
Who can tell me why?
All the missing pieces of my soul
All the lost returning to the fold
I can let them in
God wants all His children to be whole
God starts the tree with a tiny seed
Gives it life, then He buries it deep
Who can tell me why?
Blind little life struggles down there
Fights through the dirt 'till it reaches the air
Who can tell me why?
All the prayers that rise inside me
Reaching for a God they can't see
I can let them fly
I can let them fly
God wants all His children to be free
Dream Catcher
© Copyright 2007, all rights reserved
For Cathleen Culbert-Aguilar
I have the best dream catcher in the world
Kathleen made from twigs she found in the woods
Little red beads she had lying around
Little white feathers she found on the ground
Dental floss instead of thread
Wound and bound in a spider web
Some old bone and a fishing lure
And a little brass bell on the end
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
Everything was beautiful to Kathleen
Sticks and stones and bones and hopes and dreams
Ran away on a midnight train
Learned to paint and dance in the rain
Met Jose, the love of her life
Forty years as a good man's wife
Carved her heart on every eye
With a brush and a lens and a pen
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
I still talk to her sometimes
When I think she's watching, I act a little nicer
I know she's with her sweetheart now
Always said she'd come back as a cloud
But I think she came back as a light
One little star in every night
See her laughing, blue eyes bright
Shining 'till the end
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
Mystery
© Copyright 2006, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
For Patrick and Joan Keleher
One night, one prayer
One soul worn thin
What keeps you trying
When it all comes closing in?
I see your fumbling hand
I hear your stumbling heart
But I know the love that walks with you
When all your paths grow dark
This is the mystery
This is the mystery
His love's enough to carry you
Even through nights like these
So much beauty
So many tears
The world holds enough of both
To fill a billion years
The sky climbs up so high
The ground bows down so low
And every day you find your way
With just His hand to hold
This is the mystery
This is the mystery
His love's enough to carry you
Even through nights like these
Your Dreams
© Copyright 2007, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
May your dreams attend you gently
Rise when you awake
May you see their face in every face
You meet along the way
May your dreams attend your every hour
Waiting for the day
The day you rise to meet them
And their way becomes your way
Sometimes I
I feel like
I was born to live my dreams, but
What if I wasn't
And it doesn't
Even matter anyway?
I wish my wish on every star
Though I know the stars I see tonight
All died a while ago
I know it's not too late
I know it's not too late
May your dreams attend you gently
Rise when you awake
May you see their face in every face
You meet along the way
May your dreams attend your every hour
Waiting for the day
The day you rise to meet them
And their way becomes your way
And their way becomes your way
In the early 1980s, Pam started singing in the incredible choir at St. Pauls UCC Church on the North side of Chicago, and fell in love with choral music. About the same time, she met Igor, a beautiful little neo-Celtic harp made by a gentleman named Bob Welland (neo-Celtic means it's bigger than the little lap harps and has gut or nylon strings instead of wire). She also met Liz Cifani, Principal Harpist for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, who had a passion for Celtic music and was willing to teach and mentor and encourage Pam even though Pam couldn't read music and was way too lazy to learn. Under Liz's guidance, and that of Dr. Ron Price of Northern Illinois University (now retired), Pam began to study the healing power of music and first learned that she was fascinated with neurobiology. (Go figure.)
Since then, Pam has written several songs and begun to learn how to put her songs and choral arrangements into the computer and make them come out in musical notation. The human choir is and will always be her favorite instrument. She's also begun to learn how to sing in front of people (GAAAAAK!), with the patient help and encouragement of her teacher Sandra Benedict and vocal coach Steven Swedish. So at some point she'll be able to post MP3 files, but for now we'll have to settle for lyrics.
Here goes.
Red Blood of the Somme
© Copyright 2010, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
Note: The Battle of the Somme was one of the bloodiest battles of World War I.
This song is written in the voice of a British Soldier who survived that battle,
only to find that it had followed him home.
I keep my Janie's picture in a pocket near my heart
And often try to see her eyes before the mortars start
And I must join the waves of men who crash upon the guns
And leave their broken bodies by the red blood of the Somme
I walked with her in Winter, and I kissed her in the snow
And watched the colour leave her face when I told her I must go
She promised she would wait for me until the war was done
Her words were all but washed away in the red blood of the Somme
My body is a stranger since it brought me back from Hell
It cannot laugh, or sleep, or stop the dreams I dare not tell
I watch my words, a thousand ghosts, impaled upon my tongue
Washed down to a whisper in the red blood of the Somme
Only Janie's hand can still the shaking in my bones
And only Janie's heart can fill my hunger for a home
I know that she will stay with me until our battle's won
And we have traveled far beyond the red blood of the Somme
Long-Stemmed Rose
© Copyright 2006, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
Long-stemmed rose by the roadside, oh I
Love to watch you grow
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
When beauty came to visit me
I could not see her end
I never knew what time could do
When time was still my friend
I never knew what time could do
When time was still my friend
Once my mirror had clear eyes
And smooth and supple skin
But now it cracks between the brows
And sags beneath the chin
But now it cracks between the brows
And sags beneath the chin
They say that men are shallow
Who choose beauty over heart
But beauty's arrow strikes so deep
It splits some men apart
But beauty's arrow strikes so deep
It splits some men apart
Beauty used to weave me a net
For catching foolish men
Now she just weaves me melodies
And guides my foolish pen
Now she just weaves me melodies
And guides my foolish pen
Long-stemmed rose by the roadside, oh I
Love to watch you grow
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
I would not see your petals fall
For everything I own
God Wants All His Children to be Free
© Copyright 1997, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
God makes the child with a loving heart
And a mind that likes to take things apart
Who can tell me why?
I hand Him the pieces a hundred times, then I
Take 'em back as if they were mine
Who can tell me why?
All the trouble no one else can see
All the love that hides inside me
I can let them go
God wants all His children to be free
I live in a world that sweats and soars
Joy and despair in a tug-of-war
Who can tell me why?
I learned to survive by dividing my heart
Knowing only the easy part
Who can tell me why?
All the missing pieces of my soul
All the lost returning to the fold
I can let them in
God wants all His children to be whole
God starts the tree with a tiny seed
Gives it life, then He buries it deep
Who can tell me why?
Blind little life struggles down there
Fights through the dirt 'till it reaches the air
Who can tell me why?
All the prayers that rise inside me
Reaching for a God they can't see
I can let them fly
I can let them fly
God wants all His children to be free
Dream Catcher
© Copyright 2007, all rights reserved
For Cathleen Culbert-Aguilar
I have the best dream catcher in the world
Kathleen made from twigs she found in the woods
Little red beads she had lying around
Little white feathers she found on the ground
Dental floss instead of thread
Wound and bound in a spider web
Some old bone and a fishing lure
And a little brass bell on the end
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
Everything was beautiful to Kathleen
Sticks and stones and bones and hopes and dreams
Ran away on a midnight train
Learned to paint and dance in the rain
Met Jose, the love of her life
Forty years as a good man's wife
Carved her heart on every eye
With a brush and a lens and a pen
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
I still talk to her sometimes
When I think she's watching, I act a little nicer
I know she's with her sweetheart now
Always said she'd come back as a cloud
But I think she came back as a light
One little star in every night
See her laughing, blue eyes bright
Shining 'till the end
Oh,
Wish you could have known my friend
Mystery
© Copyright 2006, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
For Patrick and Joan Keleher
One night, one prayer
One soul worn thin
What keeps you trying
When it all comes closing in?
I see your fumbling hand
I hear your stumbling heart
But I know the love that walks with you
When all your paths grow dark
This is the mystery
This is the mystery
His love's enough to carry you
Even through nights like these
So much beauty
So many tears
The world holds enough of both
To fill a billion years
The sky climbs up so high
The ground bows down so low
And every day you find your way
With just His hand to hold
This is the mystery
This is the mystery
His love's enough to carry you
Even through nights like these
Your Dreams
© Copyright 2007, Pamela Woll, all rights reserved
May your dreams attend you gently
Rise when you awake
May you see their face in every face
You meet along the way
May your dreams attend your every hour
Waiting for the day
The day you rise to meet them
And their way becomes your way
Sometimes I
I feel like
I was born to live my dreams, but
What if I wasn't
And it doesn't
Even matter anyway?
I wish my wish on every star
Though I know the stars I see tonight
All died a while ago
I know it's not too late
I know it's not too late
May your dreams attend you gently
Rise when you awake
May you see their face in every face
You meet along the way
May your dreams attend your every hour
Waiting for the day
The day you rise to meet them
And their way becomes your way
And their way becomes your way