Sing Gently (Whitacre)

Words and music by Eric Whitacre.

May we sing together, always
May our voice be soft
May our singing be music for others
And may it keep others aloft
Sing, sing gently, always
Sing, sing as one (as one)
May we stand (may we stand) together, always
May our voice be strong
May we hear the singing and
May we always sing along (along)
Sing, sing gently, always
Sing, sing as one (as one)
Singing gently as one

—

Sing Me to Heaven (Gawthrop)

Poetry by Jane Griner.

In my heart’s sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets gloss.
Words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute.
In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices, and my soul finds primal eloquence and wraps me in song.
Wraps me in song.
If you would comfort me, sing me a lullaby.
If you would win my heart, sing me a love song.
If you would mourn me and bring me to God, sing me a requiem.
Sing me to heaven.
Touch in me all love and passion.
Pain and pleasure, touch.
Touch in me grief and comfort, love and passion, pain and pleasure.
Sing me a lullaby, a love song, a requiem.
Love me.
Comfort me.
Bring me to God.
Sing me a love song.
Sing me to heaven.

—

The Road Home (Paulus)

Poetry by Michael Dennis Browne.

Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Tell me, where is the road
I can call my own
That I left, that I lost
So long ago?
All these years I have wandered
Oh, when will I know
There′s a way, there’s a road
That will lead me home
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
After wind, after rain
When the dark is done
As I wake from a dream
In the gold of day
Through the air there′s a calling
From far away
There’s a voice I can hear
That will lead me home
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Rise up, follow me
Come away, is the call
With the love in your heart
As the only song
There is no such beauty
As where you belong
Rise up, follow me
I will lead you home
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo
Ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo

—

Afternoon on a Hill (Barnum)

Poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!

—

Good Night, Dear Heart (Forrest)

Poetry by Robert Richardson and Mark Twain.

Warm summer sun, shine kindly here
Warm southern wind, blow softly here
Green sod above lie light, lie light
Good night, dear heart
Good night, good night

Warm summer sun (Warm summer sun)
Shine kindly here (Shine kindly here)
Warm southern wind, blow softly here (Softly here)
Green sod above lie light, lie light
Good night, dear heart
Good night, good night

Ooo…

Good night, dear heart
Good night, good night

—

The Seal Lullaby (Whitacre)

Poetry by Emily Crocker.

Ooh…

Oh, hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us
And black are the waters that sparkled so green
The moon, o’er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between

Where billow meets billow, then soft be thy pillow
Oh weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee
Asleep in the arms of the slow swinging seas

Asleep in the arms
Of the slow swinging seas

Ooh…

—

Sure on this Shining Night (Barber)

Poetry by James Agee.

Sure on this shining night
Of starmade shadows round
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground

The late year lies down the north
All is healed, all is health
High summer holds the earth
Hearts all whole

Sure on this shining night
I weep for wonder
Wandering far alone
Of shadows on the stars

—

Ballade to the Moon (Elder)

Poetry and music by Daniel Elder.

On moonlit night I wander free,

my mind to roam on thoughts of thee.

With midnight darkness beckoning

my heart toward mystic fantasy:

Come, dream in me!

How beautiful, this night in June,

And here, upon the velvet dune;

I weep with joy beneath the moon.

​

The path lies dark before my sight, 

And yet, my feet with pure delight

trod onward through the blackened vale 

beneath the starry sky so bright.

O, share thy light!

These woods, their weary wanderer soon 

in awe and fearful wonder swoon;

I weep with joy beneath the moon.

​​

And as the darkened hours flee, 

my heart beats ever rapidly.

Though heavy hang my eyes with sleep, 

my singing soul, it cries to thee:

Come, sing with me!

The twinkling sky casts forth its tune—

O, must I leave thy charms so soon?

I weep with joy beneath the moon.

—

The Stars Stand Up in the Air (Barnum)

Poetry by Thomas MacDonaugh.

The stars up in the air
The sun and the moon are gone
The strand of its waters is bare
And her sway is swept from the swan
The cuckoo was calling all day
Hid in the branches above
How my stóirín is fled away
‘Tis my grief that I gave her my love
Three things through love I see—
Sorrow and sin and death—
And my mind reminding me
That this doom I breathe with my breath
But sweeter than violin or lute
Is my love—and she left me behind
I wish that all music were mute
And I to all beauty were blind
She’s morе shapely than swan by the strand
She’s morе radiant than grass after dew
She’s more fair than the stars where they stand—
‘Tis my grief that her ever I knew

—

Killing Me Softly With His Song (Sharon)

Poetry by Norman Gimbel. | Music by Charles Fox.

[Verse 1]
I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him
To listen for a while
And there he was, this young boy
A stranger to my eyes

[Chorus]
Strummin’ my pain with his fingers
Singin’ my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Tellin’ my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

[Verse 2]
I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
And read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish
But he just kept right on

[Chorus]
Strummin’ my pain with his fingers
Singin’ my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Tellin’ my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

[Bridge]
Oh, oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
La-la-la, la-la
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh-oh
La-ah, ah, la
La, ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah

[Verse 3]
He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me
As if I wasn’t there
And he just kept on singin’
Singin’ clear and strong

[Chorus]
Strummin’ my pain with his fingers
Singin’ my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Tellin’ my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

—