HNV Tuesday – Fired Up; Ready to Go! ( A Musical Interlude) 2/13/18

February 13, 2018 DoReMI It Takes a Village 5

Sometimes a tweet is all you need to help you decide what to write. This tweet from Denise did it for me:


I’ve been sensing a great weariness in myself and others, and as I was thinking about that over the weekend, I realized that music had somehow become a neglected part of my routine. It was a startling revelation, since I have so often relied on music to help me access and embrace emotions that I generally hold inside. Music can make me feel vulnerable yet invincible; sad but determined; angry but joyous. Today I’m sharing some of the songs that have become part of the playlist of my life: sometimes to strengthen me for resistance; sometimes to calm me; sometimes for the sheer outpouring of joy. Please share some of your songs in the comments.
Milck: Quiet

Vienna Teng: Stray Italian Greyhound (written after attending an Obama rally in 2007)

Gabriel Fauré: “Les berceaux” (Cradles), Op. 23, No. 1 Souzay (I prefer this sung by a mezzo, but this version on YouTube, sung by the baritone Gerard Souzay, has the advantage of captions/translation; did I happen to mention that my taste in music is eclectic?)

Lin-Manual Miranda: Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down); (maybe not the song most people would pick from Hamilton, but it moves me every time)

Johnny Clegg: Asimbonanga, as performed by Soweto Gospel Choir (this “flash mob” performance was done two days after Tata Madiba (Nelson Mandela) died; lyric translation here: Asimbonanga. And if you ever get a chance to see them perform, do it. They’re even more amazing in person.)

The Corries: Flower of Scotland (now often referred to as the unofficial anthem of Scotland)

Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon: Ella’s Song as performed by Sweet Honey in the Rock (The lyrics are drawn from a speech by activist Ella Baker; I’ll be profiling her in a later post. Lyrics here: Ella’s Song)  Sweet Honey is another not-to-be-missed group.

Now it’s your turn…

About DoReMI 165 Articles
Now a Michigander, by way of Ohio, Illinois, Scotland, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania. Gardener. Sewer. Democrat. Resister.

5 Comments

  1. {{{DoReMI}}} – I have music in my head all the time – problem is I seldom know what it’s called or how to find it. These days I tend towards instrumental stuff rather than vocal – which I also frequently don’t know what it is or how to find it. LOL. This one always works though:

    • If you know even a few words, google is pretty good at “Name that tune”. I use it a lot. Love that song, though. It works for me, too.

    • I love what Playing for Change does, and that is one of my favorites. Here’s another one they did:

  2. Good morning, everybody and thanks for posting, DoReMi. Music has been a part of my entire life. In school. At home. I literally don’t leave home without it. My tastes are all over the map but not quite as eclectic as yours. ????

    I’ve got some things to do today that won’t do themselves (like a needs diary to write). Jtg wrote a book and I need to clip out enough to showcase his humanness and his need. I’m still waiting on MM to get back to me.

    I leave you to your musings…{{{GroupHug}}}

    • Ha! And here I thought I kept my selection relatively mainstream! Really, about the only type of music I stay clear of is country music, although I do like a lot of bluegrass. There’s a bluegrass mass by Carol Barnett that I just adore; my daughter got to know her when she was still writing the mass and was part of a choir that performed sections of it before it was finished…and yep, there are parts of the finished mass on YouTube:

Comments are closed.