Rivermass Song
Twelve thousand years of tears are standing in my throat
A hundred million fears are woven in my coat
Illusion and memory are all the same
Can you tell me, what is my name?
Beyond the mountains I move along
My voice is hidden, then my voice is strong
After so much silence and separation
Will you praise my beauty, my reparation?
Rising, falling, known, unknown
My water blossoms in your bone
I am the heart of tree and bird
I am the river, a holy word
c 2007 words and music by JoAnne Spies
Watershed Waltz
Come on, let’s dance
Can we skip? Can we prance?
I’ll try not to step on your toes
I saw you there with the clouds in your hair
In your shimmering, glimmering clothes
I didn’t know how the steps go
But you showed me every day
When the eagle flies back to her nest
Where the blue heron stands for her rest
When the salmon jump early in spring
Dance with me
In the river where the deer drink
In the middle of the woods by the muddy creek
In the way we listen and the way we speak
Dance with me
Come on, let’s dance
Can we skip? Can we prance?
I’ll try not to step on your toes
I saw you there
With the clouds in your hair
In your shimmering, glimmering clothes
I didn’t know how the steps go
But you showed me every day
When the eagle flies back to her nest
Where the blue heron stands for her rest
When the salmon jump early in spring
Dance with me
We’re doing the watershed waltz
c 2007 words and music by JoAnne Spies
By Water I Am Led
I am standing by the riverside
Lost and rambling in my pride
Never knowing in my heart and my head
That I am water and by water am led
Let the memory of the soft green ground
And the majesty of each simple sound
Hold me when I’m tumbling down
I am water, I am missing and found
Landlocked, full of fear
Sound your torrent that I may hear
Where I am stubborn, let me flow
Where I am ignorant, let me know
Let the spirit of the earth and sky
Keep me when I die
Carry me to the river and sea
I am water and I am free
c 2007 words and music by JoAnne Spies
