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MP3 Gail Erwin - Blessings & Lullabyes
26 MP3 Songs
EASY LISTENING: Love Songs, KIDS/FAMILY: Children''s Pop
Details:
Notes from Gail Erwin
When I heard a famous woman artist singing in a concert years ago, I raved about her. I was really a fan. But her choice of songs disappointed me. I thought they were boring. So my companions bet me that I couldn''t write anything better. I went to work. I started with a simple Christmas carol, and when I took it to my former college music professor, he not only liked it, he offered to arrange it.
I kept writing, and took my songs to more people. They encouraged me to tell the stories that the songs hinted at. (I was kind of surprised they hinted at much of anything.) But I heeded their advice.
Since then, I''ve had fifteen musicals or plays with music produced. Some of them have gone on tour: THE GINGERBREAD BOY in Georgia, Nebraska and Iowa, THUMBELINA (from the Hans Christian Andersen story) on national tour by the Omaha Theater Company for Young People in 1994.
I was Playwright-in-Residence for that theater for fifteen years. That''s a lot of stories! I love writing for young audiences. They either like it or they don''t, and they''re not shy about telling you their reactions. Most of my plays for youngsters and their families were adaptations of well known stories. Invariably there is a time in these stories when the little ones are put to bed by their parents. Naturally, that''s where I put a lullabye.
Even when I write more adult material, I seem to sneak a lullaby in here and there. There''s something purely simple about a lullaby. It is often a blessing too, bestowed on the child''s whole life to come. In these troubled times, we try our best to surround our children with talismans of our love and protection.
Some of my friends who had young children complained that it was hard to find a good lullaby CD, and wondered if I had ever thought of doing one. I decided it was worth a try.
I enlisted my friend and collaborator Kate Schrader to arrange the songs, and I recorded them. We recorded all the songs with and without vocals so that moms and dads could sing along if they wanted. The lyrics are printed on the J-card.
I gave some of the CD''s to friends who had new babies to try them out. The response was great! While all the songs encourage relaxation and downright sleepiness, there are many styles of music. And I can vouch for the fact that lots of babies, big and little, have gone to sleep listening to these lullabies.
BLESSINGS & LULLABIES
by Gail Erwin
(Copyright Gail Erwin, 1995)
*Songs sampled on CD Baby
MY LOVE TO KEEP
(sung by Igraine to her son Arthur, future King)
Remember love can heal the hurt you feel
Your heart will find the way--
Whatever else you know, you''ll find it so,
There''s love.
See my face, hear my voice rock you to sleep.
Always there, everywhere, my love to keep.
And though the night seem long,
You will be strong,
And soon, new days will dawn.
No matter what the future brings,
There''s always love.
See my face, hear my voice rock you to sleep.
Always there, everywhere, my love to keep.
THE ELK DOG SONG*
(from HUMPTY DUMPTY, Putting the Planet Together)
(from the Blackfoot story)
Far beneath the water, lives the mighty elk dog.
Lives the mighty elk dog.
He will be my elk dog.
I must travel farther, I must dive down deeper,
Take the mighty elk dog home.
TWILIGHT LULLABY
(sung by Mother Duck to her ducklings, including the Ugly one.)
The sun has gone down, the moon has come smiling,
The wind is asleep at last.
The flow''rs nod their heads and close all their petals,
The sleepy old owl awakes.
The ducklings and goslings and cygnets and starlings
Must find their way home again.
Good night, sleep tight.
Put your head under your wing.
I''ll watch you sleep as I sing.
TREE HOUSE*
(from White Woman''s Blues)
Alli alli in, alli alli in, alli alli in free!
Whatever dream you dream comes true,
Up in my tree house.
Hang upside down above the ground,
Up in my tree house.
Put on the stuff of growing up
And think of a happy end.
Dress up the dolls and close the walls,
We''ll sit pretending.
Picture your favorite movie star
Up on the wall there.
Turn on the radio and dance
Up in my tree house.
Think of the bliss of his first kiss,
And wonder how love will be.
Then when the babies go to sleep,
We''ll sit pretending.
SOMETIMES WHEN I''M DREAMING
(from Thumbelina)
Sometimes when I''m dreaming, I can see so far.
I can see a flower--on a mountain, near a misty star.
Here''s a silver shoe. It will carry me.
Over the waves, I''ll sail through the night.
Down to the sea. It''s calling, it''s calling.
Follow the river, faster and faster.
Finally I''ll find a field of flowers!
Sometimes when I''m dreaming, I can find the way.
I can see the flowers gently bowing, sweetly swaying,
And waiting for me!
Sometimes when I''m dreaming, I can really see!
COUNTRY LULLABIES
(from Mom''s Motel)
When the day dwindles down,
And the porch swing sighs,
Come right here,
Sit yourself down,
You''ll hear lullabies.
When the stars dapple the sky
And the moon leans down.
Watch the clouds driftin'' by,
Let the sky hold you tight--
You''ll hear lullabies.
IN SOME LITTLE CORNER OF MYSELF
(from Arthur, the Future King)
In some little corner of myself
I sit frightened of the dark,
I wait for the day to start--
To light the night.
In some little corner of myself
I''m only a little child,
Watching from the shadows
''Til the courage comes to stand,
To speak, to leave
That one little corner of myself.
In some little corner of myself
I wish for a hand to hold.
My heart shivers in the cold,
Lonesome and lost.
In some little corner of myself,
I feel very much afraid.
Hoping though and wishing so
Will only make it hard to speak,
To stand, to leave
That one little corner of myself.
LOOK INSIDE A MOTHER''S HEART*
(from Little Lord Fauntleroy)
Look inside a mother''s heart,
You''ll see a child smile
Through years, through life, through tears.
Safe from all the world''s alarms,
Protected from the storms,
He smiles, he''ll always smile.
Holding him heart close,
Calming his cries.
Crawling, walking, running, dancing,
Ever changing.
Inside your heart, he smiles.
He''ll always smile.
Look inside a mother''s heart,
You''ll see a child smile
Through years, through life, through tears.
Crawling, walking, running, dancing,
Ever changing.
Inside your heart, he smiles.
You hold his hand.
He''ll always smile.
LOVE IS A BURDEN
(sung by the Father in The Prodigal)
Love is a burden, love is a flame.
Carry it with you, remember its name.
When you are lonely, when you are sad,
Think of the love you have.
Carry the burden in your heart,
Though it''s a heavy load.
When you are lost and all alone,
Love''s flame will light the road.
Love is a burden, love is a cloak.
Wrap it around you, its shelter is hope.
When you are lonely, when you are sad,
Think of the love you''ve had.
Wrap it around you in the storm,
When life is full of pain.
When you are lost and all alone,
Love leads you home again.
THE RIVER SONG
(from The Little Match Girl)
Rivers wind through loneliness,
Finding their way to the sea.
Look into the water''s mirror,
There you will see what you''ll be.
Sail along the bright silver waves of the river,
Sing summer''s sweet new song.
And when the winter comes,
Blowing the waves into glass.
Look into the water''s mirror,
And you will see what will pass.
Slide along the ice on the cold breath of winter,
Sing winter''s warm lullaby.
CHOCTAW LULLABY*
(from Big Daddy''s Cajun Christmas)
There''s a moon up above.
We will be just as close as our love lets us be.
Waters fall, waters rise.
We''ll be as safe as our hope lets us be.
''Til the lightning tears open a patch of dark sky,
And the stars tumble into your hands.
''Til the howl of the wind softens into a sigh,
Hold on as tight as you can,
Hold on as tight as you can.
You are never alone.
I will guard you and keep you as warm as can be.
Let the moon weave its spell.
Moss covered branches have secrets to tell.
''Til the lightning tears open a patch of dark sky,
And the stars tumble into your hands.
''Til the howl of the wind softens into a sight,
Hold on as tight as you can,
Hold on as tight as you can.
GO WHERE THE WIND WILL TAKE YOU
(from The Ugly Duckling)
Go where the wind will take you,
Soar to the sun.
Disappear into the far blue sky,
Spread your wings and you will fly.
Far beneath the world turns.
All its creatures long to be
Climbing up into the cluttered clouds,
Ever flying, ever free.
SEASONG LULLABY
(from The Hunt for the Black Unicorn)
I''ll sing a song, season lullaby,
Keep the night right here next to you,
Like a charm.
Moonlight misting down among the trees,
Stars so close they tumble in the sea.
I will keep you warm,
Safe from every storm.
Hold on tight.
Sea foam swallows up the cares of day,
Crashing waves will carry them away.
I will keep you warm,
Safe from every storm.
Hold on tight--right here next to me,
Through the night.
Blessings & Lull byes
Copyright Gail Erwin, 1995
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