ONCE AND FUTURE AMAZONS - Lyrics, Musician Credits, Notes (c) 2020, Dancing Tree Music
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From Ruth Barrett:
My new recording, ONCE AND FUTURE AMAZONS, is a celebration of women’s embodied mysteries, ancient sovereign goddesses, and the seasonal cycle of Mother Nature. The music incorporates African, Middle Eastern and Celtic folk rhythms, with original and traditional folk songs and chants. A number of the pieces were written by friends and elders who have passed. Their memories live on in their music inspiring a spiritual trail to follow. For those of you that seek music that affirms and fills your sense of the sacred through the magic of sounds and words, I leave my legacy to you.
It was an honor and pleasure to once again co-produce this project with Scott Fraser, my long-time recording engineer, and to play with such talented musicians from California and the Midwest. It was especially joyful to record again with my daughter Amanda and my two brothers, Joel and Daniel. Playing folk music together was always an important part of family life growing up, bringing us together in ways that only music can. I am deeply thankful to Pele, Jenn, Shawna, Samantha, Jacqueline, Edward, Rachel, Falcon, and Doug for bringing their sensitive talents to this project. They made the music come alive.
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As an independent artist, being able to raise funds necessary to produce a high quality recording depends on friends, fans, and family.
My heartfelt THANKS to the supporters of this project who pre-purchased copies and made donations great and small. You made this recording possible.
WITH SPECIAL THANKS to Mar Martin and She Who Wishes To Remain Anonymous
Hag of Winter was sponsored by Nicki Harris
Scythe To The Grain was sponsored by Arborel LizardTongue
Brigid Lead Me Home was sponsored by Tess Meuer
You all have my thanks and my heart. I could not have done this without you.
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DEDICATED to the memory of my beloved mother, Florence Bienenfeld, and to the memory of these wise elders and wild loved ones – Sparky T. Rabbit, Brigit Silverbranch, Nora Cedarwind, Kay Gardner, Shekhinah Mountainwater, Helen Farias, and Patricia Monaghan.
MY GRATITUDE to Claudia Kunin, Ursula Hoppe, and Rachel Alexander for their invaluable specialized support.
Scott Fraser, my sound engineer and co-producer for forty years. You are the best. I am thankful to recording engineer Corey DeRusha for our Lansing sessions, Cedar Kindy for allowing me to use her iconic painting “Moonspinner” for the cover, Ursula Hoppe for photographing me as “Crone Amazon,” and to Rick Whitmore for pure artistic genius in the graphics design. To my beloved wife, Falcon River, for everything.
THE MUSICIANS
Ruth Barrett – vocals, mountain dulcimer
Rachel Alexander – alto recorder
Amanda Barrett- vocals
Doug Berch – hammer dulcimer, harmonium
Joel Bienenfeld – flute
Daniel Bienenfeld – concertina
Scott Fraser – drones
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Falcon River – mouth harp
Shawna Selline – Celtic harp
Samantha Cooper – fiddle
Pele Yemaya – percussion
Jennifer Vallely – percussion
Edward Willett - cello
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1. Hag Of Winter (2:53)
Ruth Barrett
Hag of Winter, Crone of Time
Your sap held still in silent rhyme
as visions bud on frozen vine
and wait for Spring’s return
Hag of Winter fast asleep
Neath withered tree stump dreaming deep
From shrunken womb Her daughter seeds
Awake for Spring’s renewal
She rests within the frozen bark,
Contained within her hidden spark
of seeds long held within the dark
To wake at Spring’s return
Conceiving self within herself
The barren one, She carries wealth
Of all revealed or once beheld
As old springs new again
Boney fingers reaching out
from fertile soil sleeping sound
Til season’s time comes round about
And She springs new again
She waits and breathes patient and slow
Her heart beat drums beneath the snow
She’ll bide her time til she let’s go
To welcome Spring’s return
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Edward Willett - cello
Pele Yemaya - frame, chime, toenails
2. I Summon Her (3:30)
Kiki Williamson
By the Air, I summon Her breath
I draw Her into my lungs
By the Fire, I summon Her spirit
I draw Her into my soul
By the Water, I summon Her blood
I draw Her into my veins
By the Earth, I summon Her body
I draw Her into my flesh
I am, She is, we are together
I am, She is, we are together
I am, She is, we are together
Together as one.
I stretch my wings
I spark the flame
I ride the waves
I climb the mountain range
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Jennifer Vallely - riqq
Pele Yemaya - frame, djembe, shaker, claves, kin kini
3. Song Of Brigid (Gabhaim molta Brigid) (3:44)
Traditional Irish. Words adapted by Steven Posch
Gabhaim molta Bride
Ionmhain í le hÉireann
Ionmhain le gach tír í
Molaimis go léir í
I will sing praise to Brigid,
Beloved is she in Eirinn,
Beloved is she in all lands,
Let us all praise her.
Bright torch of Leincester,
Shining throughout the land,
Pride of youth of Eirinn,
Pride of gentle women.
Dark the house of Winter,
Cutting with its sharpness,
But on the Eve of Brigid
Spring is near to Eirinn.
Ruth Barrett - vocal, mountain dulcimer
Daniel Bienenfeld - concertina
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Scott Fraser - drone
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp, hurdy gurdy
Samantha Cooper - fiddle
4. Brigid, Lead Me Home (3:13)
Tradition Irish prayer translated from the Gaelic by Patricia Monaghan,
adapted with original music by Ruth Barrett
Brigid, red-gold woman
Brigid, blaze and honeycomb
Brigid, sun of womanhood
Brigid, lead me home
You are a branch in blossom
You are a sheltering dome
Bright precious freedom,
Brigid, lead me home.
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp
Edward Willett - cello
5. Triple Goddess Chant (3:02)
Sparky T. Rabbit aka: Peter Bruner Soderberg
Holy Maiden Huntress, Artemis
New Moon, come to us.
Silver shining wheel of radiance
Mother, come to us
Ancient Queen of Wisdom, Hecate
Old One, come to us
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Jennifer Vallely - riqq
Pele Yemaya - djembe, bell
6. Brigid Upon The Highland (4:03)
Melody and lyrics adapted from the traditional song, Brigit O’ Malley
Original words by Helen Farias and Craig Olson
Oh Brigid Upon the Highland, 'tis you've left my heart shaken,
with joyous adoration as before you I stand.
'Tis wonders of admiration your quiet face has
taken, and your beauty can awaken the ones of the Golden Land.
Oh the white moon above the pale sands, the pale stars above the thorn tree,
are cold beside my darling but no purer than she.
I gaze upon the cold moon 'til stars drown in the warm seas,
and the bright eyes of my Darling, are ever on me.
Oh Brigid of the Mantle, sweet nectar from the bees, now.
My heart is thrown open, my heartbreak is healed.
Oh, joy springs forth within me, as apple blossoms on the trees, now.
Forever will I love thee in green Avalon fields.
Oh Brigid upon the highland, 'tis you've left my heart shaken,
With fires of inspiration, and the Promise of Spring.
Please stay with me, my darling, to never be forsaken.
Of your beauty and mystery I ever shall sing.
Of your beauty and mystery, I ever shall sing.
In the last years of my mother’s life, she loved to sing along to this melody, even when she was unable to sing the words. This is for mom.
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Doug Berch - hammer dulcimer
Daniel Bienenfeld - concertina
Joel Bienenfeld – flute
Samantha Cooper – fiddle
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp
7. I Enter In Love (2:42)
Ruth Barrett
I enter in love
To all that shall be
Blessed is the Mystery
Opening me
Variations you can sing include "I open to love", etc.
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Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp
Pele Yemaya - frame drum
8. Spring Song (4:25)
Bill Thorpe (Billy Bardo) lyrics, Traditional Breton melody
What was white and grey, cold and gleaming
Feels the longer day, and Spring is greening
What was white and grey, cold and gleaming
Feels the longer day, and Spring is greening
Snowdrops budding and birdsong chattering
Mud wind scented and sun upon skin
Lovers and strangers are flirting and flattering
Give a deep breath and take it all in
Feel the change that’s on its way
It’s in your blood, it’s in your play
Awaken to the longer day,
This is the season’s turning
Rising up within you roots
The rhythm flows like sap to shoots
The recent seeds of ancient fruits
It’s life itself returning
What was white and grey, cold and gleaming
Feels the longer day, and Spring is greening
What was white and grey, cold and gleaming
Feels the longer day, and Spring is greening
Thunderstorm claps and the clouds are rumbling
Wind is winging like a wondrous song
Ice is broken and the waters are tumbling
Spring is coming it won’t be long
Feel the change that’s on its way
It’s in your blood, it’s in your play
Awaken to the longer day,
This is the season’s turning
Rising up within you roots
The rhythm flows like sap to shoots
The recent seeds of ancient fruits
It’s life itself returning
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Rachel Alexander - alto recorder
Joel Bienenfeld – flute
Samantha Cooper - fiddle
Falcon River - mouth harp
Jennifer Vallely - darbuka, riqq
Pele Yemaya - frame drum
9. Breton Dances (3:06)
Traditional. I learned these dances from the playing of the great pipe band, Brezeus.
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Falcon River - mouth harp
Shawna Selline - hurdy gurdy
Jennifer Vallely - darbuka, riqq, zils
Pele Yemaya - frame drum
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10. Queen of the Starry Night (2:10)
Ruth Barrett
Diana, Diana, Diana, Diana,
Queen of the Starry Night, starry night
Touch your daughters with your love
In your holy light
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Jennifer Vallely - shaker
Pele Yemaya - duns, samba, kin kini, frame
11. Whole Unto Myself (2:52)
Ruth Barrett
I am whole unto myself,
One with goddess, as are we
Mothers, sisters, daughters three
Spinning life eternally
Can I take you to the stream
Where the waters tumble down
And the source of that hidden spring
Lives within us underground
There are many who are lost
Yet many more now who have found
That our power lies within
Rising from the Mother’s sound
From the rhythm of my heart
I can feel the pulse of time
Drumming constant to the beat
Dancing to our Mother’s rhyme
We are gentle, we are strong
In our rage and tranquility
Joining hands and hearts as one
Let us raise our sovereignty
In the temple of myself
Is the mirror where I see
That my body is the source
Of a sacred reality
From this source from deep within
lives the ancient mystery
I can give birth to myself
from my womb, the primal sea
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Samantha Cooper - fiddle
Pele Yemaya - frame drum
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12. Woman’s Blood (1:32)
Ruth Barrett
Born of woman’s blood
Born of woman’s body
Born with woman’s blood
We are holy
We are whole.
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Pele Yemaya - djembe, samba, ken kini, dum, bells, shaker
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13. Packington’s Pound (2:27)
Anonymous. Written in the 16th century for the lute, and was purportedly one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorites. Adapted from a Dulcimer arrangement by Randy Wilkenson.
Ruth Barrett - mountain dulcimer
Rachel Alexander - alto recorder
Jennifer Vallely - dumbek, riqq, tar
14. Holy Door (1:45)
Ruth Barrett
Blessed is my womb
The jewel at my core
Waxing, waning
Holy door
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Pele Yemaya - frame drum, shaker
Jennifer Vallely - daf
15. Diana’s Calling (1:25)
Jules Assata
It is my intention that shapes the arrow
It is you as my source that powers its flight
Together we strive to right the balance
That the Wheel cycles on, as day into night
Diana, Artemis, Amazon Womyn
Your daughters, we gather, we heed your call
With our efforts and magic in Her service
For the love of the Mother, and life for us all
Now in this moment, I shape an arrow
Name it, knock it, draw in my source
For it is my intention and my magic
And the Goddess within that gives flight to its course
Ruth Barrett - vocal
16. Once And Future Amazons (5:45)
Words by Ruth Barrett, Traditional melody
Daughters of Artemis, we raise our voice in song
With bow and arrows on your back, riding proud and strong
We reach for you through herstory, we dream of you and long
For we are you in present time, once and future Amazons
Your myths are carved in granite stone, your power all can see.
Refusing of Apollo’s light, you set your sisters free
We feel you rising in our breasts, when Themis holds her scales
And we’ll speak our truth with urgent voice that justice will prevail
Each breath we take and step we make, recalls your sacred stride
Across the desert wilderness and down the mountainside
We will refuse the master’s tools, and set our own selves free
And we’ll find and follow where you lead on the path to liberty
Daughters of Artemis, we claim your holy name
The bright torch of our sisterhood burns as sacred flame
Upon our breast, upon our bloods, we swear a secret bond
For we are you and you are we, once and future Amazons
Priestess, Prophet, Warrior, Queen, and Daughter of the Torch
You loose the arrow in our souls to run the wild course
We reach for you through herstory, we dream of you and long
For we are you in present time, once and future Amazons
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Rachel Alexander - alto recorder
Doug Berch - hammer dulcimer, harmonium
Dan Bienenfeld - concertina
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Falcon River - mouth harp
Pele Yemaya - djembe
17. Scythe To The Grain/ Fear Not The Dark (2:41)
Brigit Silverbranch/Ruth Barrett
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Scythe to the grain
The Great Wheel is turning
Scythe to the grain
The summer sun fades
Scythe to the grain
Ripening to harvest
Scythe to the grain
Mother to Crone
Fear not the dark
The womb of creation
Reach for the dark
And find revelation
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jennifer Vallely - darbuka, tar
18. Before the Snow (3:13)
Ruth Barrett
Ruth Barrett - mountain dulcimer
Doug Berch - hammer dulcimer
Daniel Bienenfeld - concertina
Joel Bienenfeld - flute
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp
Edward Willett - cello
19. Rozhanitza (2:46)
Helen Farias
Rozhanitza of the snows
Rozhanitza of the barren trees
Rozhanitza of the hungry birds,
Come near our fire.
When the killing blizzard blows,
When the berries on the bushes freeze,
Rozhanitza, hear our tender words,
Come near our fire,
Stay by us till spring breaks through.
Little Mother of the deer
Little Mother of the winter sun,
Little Mother of the starry night,
Come near our fire.
When the fields are bleak and sere,
When the icy streams forget to run,
Rozhanitza , hold aloft your light,
come near our fire,
Stay by us till spring breaks through.
Ruth Barrett - vocals, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Doug Berch - hammer dulcimer, harmonium
Pele Yemaya - toys, chimes
Edward Willett - cello
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20. We’ve Already Begun (2:18)
Ruth Barrett
Like the new moon,
We’ve already begun
To be what we’re becoming.
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Pele Yemaya - dum dum ba, frame, concert drum
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21. The Star (Tarot Key #17) (3:25)
Shekhinah Mountainwater
Gently truth will touch you when she comes
No loud fanfare blares her forth
But in the deepest space of silence
Angels' silver calls embrace the earth
Now I lie beneath her loving gaze
And I the open lake receive her cup
Now I float within her gentle heart
And I the open earth am filled with hope
Now I take my lady’s form
And pour out all my love on bended knee
Seven temples open seven doors
And hope forever changed to certainty
Gently truth will touch you when she comes
No loud fanfare blares her forth
But in the deepest space of silence
Angels' silver calls embrace the earth
Ruth Barrett - vocals
Scott Fraser - drones
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22. Mother, Listen (3:56)
Trevor Wentworth and William Rowan
Mother listen as I sing
Keep me in your thoughts
Mother watching over me
Guard me in the night
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Ancient voices sing your praise
On this sacred night
Silent through the winter’s dark
Streaming to be heard
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Now forgotten rites renew
Praise we sing again
Honor to the Mothers all
Hail their holy names
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Holy Mothers guard us
Guide us
Ruth Barrett - low vocal, mountain dulcimer
Amanda Barrett - lead vocal
Doug Berch - hammer dulcimer
Shawna Selline - Celtic harp
Edward Willett - cello
23. Back To The Bones (3:16)
Steven Wehmeyer
The skin is a mask that we shed with the season
Inside hides a secret that’s older than stone
Enmeshed in the flesh is the door of deliverance
If you would know freedom, go back to the bones.
Chorus:
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
The dead know the names of all things that are hidden
Of secrets unspoken and tidings unknown
For the brave every grave holds the knowledge of ages
If you would know wisdom, go back to the bones
Chorus:
The dead have a voice that can never be silenced
A power more potent than pulpit or throne
To attend and defend at the call of the righteous
If you would know justice, go back to the bones
Chorus:
We are bound to the dead by the cords of communion
They abide by our side we are never alone
They continue within you forever beginning
To know who we are, we go back to the bones.
Chorus:
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
We go back, we go back, we go back to the bones.
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Ruth Barrett - vocals
Amanda Barrett - vocals
Jacqueline Fuentes - vocals
Jennifer Vallely - riqq, daf
Pele Yemaya - djembe, shaker, claves
