We are the Ones

Free and innocent, indeed. Optimistic, idealistic... And yet this song still rings true today...

We are visionaries
We are dreamers
We are mystics
We are healers
And our love is strong
Love is the road we walk upon
Our love is strong
Like the river to the ocean, we sail along

And we are the ones to heal
We are the ones to heal the world
We are the ones to heal

We are prophets
We are seekers
We are students
We are teachers
And our love has grown
Love is the seed we have sown
Our love has grown
Let it flow, let it grow, the seeds that we sow

And we are the ones to heal
We are the ones to heal the world
We are the ones to heal

We are the new day
We are the setting sun
We are the elders
We are the children
And our love is wild
Like the heart of an innocent child
Our love is wild
Free and open like the heart of an innocent child

And we are the ones to heal
We are the ones to heal the world
We are the ones to heal

...
© December 1998, San Rafael, CA

Playin' with Fire

Playin' with finding my hip-hopin' spirit... Written in a blazing hot sauna at Harbin Hotsprings - where I spent several days this December visioning my future, purifying my past... This song felt like a breakthrough - simply because I could feel the truth of being infused with the power of Spirit.

“You can’t touch this, cuz I’m electric
And if you touch this, you’ll get shocked (shocked)
You’ll get shocked (shocked)”*

You’re playin’ with fire
You’re playin’ with fire child
Earth water and air
You’re playin’ with fire child
Earth water and air
You’re playin’ with...
Fire and air, fire and air
Earth water, earth water...
You’re playin’ with...

Thanks and praises
to the fire
to the father
to the mother
to the most high holy
Thanks and praises to the most high holy
Holy holy! Holy holy!

...
© December 1998, Harbin Hot Springs, CA, except *©Beastie Boys

Return

This song has more verses than would ever be sung in one sitting. Some of them are extraneous, but that's the way of the songwriting process - always something gets cut. In this case, I decided to keep them just for fun - and just in case any of them wanted to spontaneously come out... I think the first 4 are my faves :-)

This song shows the dichotomy of yearning for release and freedom, yet being of-this-world, in all its suffering joy...

The intro was written while walking the December streets of San Francisco...

Intro:
Sometimes I forget why I came to this place
Sometimes I wanna run away to another time, another space
Sometimes I ride on these wings of grace
And then somehow, whoh somehow
I’m torn asunder
being pulled down under
and I wonder, wonder why
I wonder wonder wawawawa wonder, wonder why
And then in awe and wonder, I remember
And I return, I return, I return
I remember and I return. . .

Verses:
And still I pray
Rise to meet another day
Where the children play
And our worries slip away

And still I cry
Teardrops of the salty sea
I will dive down deep
Into caverns where secrets sleep

And still I laugh
Through the joy and through the pain
Through the sun and rain
We will raise our song again

And still I die
Every night and every morn
I will be reborn
Released of sin and scorn

And still I aspire
Always reaching higher and higher
Getting burnt by the fire
Riding high on the wave of desire

And still I love
Like an angel from above
Like the wings of a dove
Will it ever be enough?

And still I share
Here, le’mme take your load for awhile
With a wink and a smile
I will walk the extra mile

And still I seek
Yet nothing is as it seems
You see what you believe
It’s all how you perceive

And still I breathe
Releasing what I do not need
Filling up with belief
Ah the sweet sigh of relief

And still I drown
Enveloped in a sea of sound
Spinning round and round
Till at last my soul is found

And still I dream
Images flow through my mind
Beyond space and time
Wisdom of the divine

And still I swim
In rivers running on and on
In lakes and ponds
As the ocean meets the dawn

And still I dance
With every step and every prance
I will take that chance
Unafraid of the deepest trance

And still I sing
Words are whispered in my ear
Melodies I hear
As the rhythm becomes clear

And still I laugh
And still I cry
And still I live
And still I die!

And I return, I return, I return
Oh your cities I will burn!
I return... Leaving no stone unturned
I return... Still got lessons here to learn
I return... Your love and trust I will earn
I return... I remember and I return

...
© December 1997, Boulder, CO / December 1998, San Francisco, CA

Sweet Devotion

Feeling the sweet pulsating ocean's tide... Feeling sadness for a love not returned... Yet feeling such fullness and contentment, ultimately...

Intro:
Don’t be afraid my friend
I’ll love you through the end
I just wanna fill your cup
C’mon open, open up
Can you feel, it is real
When I say love can heal

Chorus:
Sweet devotion
Our love, it is the ocean
Sweet devotion
Lemme fill you up (fulfill you up)
with this love potion
Sweet devotion
Sweet emotion

Verse 1:
Oh lover come to meeee...
You are the river, I am the ocean
We are one in perpetual motion
You are the river, I am the ocean
You give me love, I give you devotion

(Chorus)

Verse 2:
Great Spirit said to me
You are the river, I am the ocean
We are one in perpetual motion
You are the river, I am the ocean
You give me love, I give you devotion

(Chorus)

Outro:
Great Spirit sang to me (lalla hu...)

The ocean is deep and the river is wide
Oo oo risin’ with the tide(x2)
The ocean is deep and the river is wild
Oo oo water moonchild. . .

...
© December 1998, Bay Area

“The ocean is the beginning of the world
All life comes from the sea” (Starhawk)

Rambling

Indeed, still journeying along...

and so I ramble along
just singin’ this song
prayin’ for peace
and holdin’, holdin’ strong
to a vision that is true
a love of me and you
let’s gather together
and see this thing through
cuz a new world is near
c’mon, see through the fear
open up and realize
heaven’s right here!

...
© December 1998, San Rafael, CA

Let the Story be Told

Written over 2 states - during a journey of seeking I was on... Considering moving to the West coast, even though my roots were still in Boulder... Perhaps I felt the call of the ocean, of the creative subculture?... Either way, the song traveled with me - it seems no matter where I go...

We are the children
We are ancient souls
Blood of the ancestors
Let the story be told

Reveal the secrets
Sacred mysteries of old
The wisdom must be spoken
Let the stories be told

Rainbow serpent Grandmother
Aboriginal gold
The Dreamer has awoken
Let the story be told

Lay down your burdens
Release your fears
Bury the weapons
We’ve been building all these years

Turn back the veils
Look up and through the sun
Let the chain of illusion be broken
And a web of love be spun

My mama is the Goddess
Great Mother of All
My mama says awaken
Can you hear, can you hear her call?

Sacred is the mother
Sacred is the land
Sacred is her beauty
Held within our hands

Heal, heal the nations
Heal the world
Healing emanations
Heal our souls

...
© Nov 1998, Eugene, OR & Dec 1998, Bay Area, CA

Peace Chant

It's nice to have a song to sing that's simply a reminder... This one's good for walking...

Peace above me
Peace is below me
Peace in front of me
Peace is behind me
Peace to my right
Peace to my left
And all around
And radiating from me

...
© Ariana Saraha, all rights reserved. Fall 1998, Boulder, CO

Silver Soul

Silver soul
shine like the moon
singing of a new day
dawning soon
Silver soul
shine like the moon
singing of a new day
dawning soon

It may take some time
It may take some years
It may take some blood, sweat and tears
But if we keep on working through the night
Behold, we will rise to a brand new light

...
© Fall 1998, Boulder, CO

Let it Slip Away

Watching the sand slip through my fingers, witness to the eventual dissolution of all things... ...reminds me to let go, enjoy the moment!

I wanna love you and hold you so
I wanna squeeze you till you let it all go
And you know it’s in the flow
Just release and let your mind slow
And I know how you feel
Always asking, can this be real

And this crazy world is drivin’ you mad
One minute you’re happy, the next you are sad
And this crazy world keeps you runnin’ all day
Runnin’ to catch up, then runnin’ away

Let it slip away
Let it slip away yeah
Like the sand
through my hand
on a windy day
Let it slip away yeah

Outro: Everything fades to nothing anyway
Everything fades away...

...
© June 1998, Great Sand Dunes & fall 1998, Boulder, CO