Gaia’s Voice is an original collaborative piece referring to the Goddess, Gaia.
I understand that Gaia was the ancient Greek Goddess of Earth. According to Hesiod’s Theogony of 700 BC, she was the ‘first to arise from chaos’. In the Homeric Hymn to Gaia of 500 BC, she was called ‘Mother of all, the oldest one, the foundation’. Apparently, Gaia even pre-dates Greek culture. In Hinduism, the Mother of all creation is called Gayatri. In Sanskrit, Gaya means ‘Moving Song.’ The Gayatri Mantra was the first hymn to arise from the original seed sound of Om. (Source: gaiafoundation.org)
Nature Spirits
I am reminded by the Nature imagery in the lyrics of this song: All living beings are interconnected in the great web of life on Mother Earth. On my spiritual journey, I have learned that it’s very common in the many indigenous cultures on this planet to have animal spirit totems. Webster’s Dictionary defines a totem as:
“A natural object, usually an animal that serves as a distinctive, often venerated emblem or symbol; a means of personal or spiritual identity.”
I have had various animal Spirit names with Sacred Meadowlark being one of them.
Hear Gaia’s Voice as a meadowlark:
Sacred Singing Circle
Doug Von Koss, the artistic director of the Noah Project, has been leading this singing circle with folks in the San Francisco Bay area for about 20 years. It has been my great pleasure to join him and others in the circle for the last 16 years. We have sung beautiful chants and songs from various cultures in an acapella format.
My experience of being one of the Noah Project brothers reignited and deepened my passion for singing from the soul in community. I appreciate Doug’s invitation to everyone in the circle to find a harmony and sing in “a perfection-free zone.”
The Seed for Gaia’s Voice
A while back, I was singing in the Noah Project circle on a lovely Sunday evening in Berkeley. Doug introduced a new song to us that night that became the seed for a song I later titled, Gaia’s Voice.
I am a small green plant, I am a lake on the plain, I am alive, I am alive
I am a flying bird, I am a diving fish, I am alive, I am alive
I was so inspired by this short piece that I was compelled to flesh it out. So, I wound up making it the chorus for a larger song that included verses and a bridge. I’ve had this experience before. When I hear a great short song, it just begs to be expanded on. I like to give it more elbow room in this big musical universe.
Gaia’s Voice is the second song that I’ve co-written with Doug, as the direct result of Noah Project inspiration. It will appear on my new album, In This Circle. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Doug and the men of the Noah Project. “I have had singing!”
