Singing Our Stories was a monthlong self exploration through song, sponsored by the University of Maine’s Jack Pine Project. Participants used song choice and lyric discussion to choose music that represents our identities, and then write lyrics to create original songs that describe our dreams and goals. This allowed people to process the difficulties brought on by this year while looking to the future with hope. Each week included an assignment to help guide the process, and there was a drop-in weekly meeting for reflection and discussion.

This group included a mixture of people who had never picked up an instrument to professional musicians who wanted some motivation to get re-started in a new way. Please enjoy some of our songs and lyrics below!

This song actually came to me in a dream, which has only happened one other time. A few weeks ago, I dreamt that my grandfather was teaching me (a child-version of me) a song, line by line. When I woke up, I quickly wrote down all the words and the melody was memorable enough that I sang it to a few people to make sure it wasn't already a song. One of the lines he sang in the dream was, "Look up, look up, the storm is passing over." When my grandfather was alive, he sang with the Portland Community Chorus and when I was in high school and college I played drums with them for concerts. They ended the shows with the song, "The Storm is Passing Over"- so I included a melody similar to his tenor part on this song in the end of the song. I also included some marimba improvisation, since that is my main instrument. I tried to sing the parts in a similar energy as the dream- gently. One line, I recorded separately to try to sound like the little girl version of me in the dream. Lyrically, all of these words were from the dream except for the second verse- which are words from my journaling about the experience of the pandemic as an artist.

When the pain is all around you / and it seeps into your bones
When the music has been silenced / and you're sure that you're alone

Look up, look up, the storm is passing over you are safe -
Look out, look out, horizon's calling you (gulls flying over as you lay)

When you have a sinking feeling, and you hate that you are right
The hustle and the worry - you're voting to retire
Creative, resilient.. in it all the time

Look up, look up, the storm is passing over you are safe -
Look out, look out, horizon's calling you (gulls flying over where you lay)

“I could keep “perfecting” it ad nauseum. Instead, I am being vulnerable and sharing it unfinished, too dramatic at times, a little slow in tempo, and altogether quite imperfect. Yet the process was powerful for me and re-awakened some parts of me that have been quiet for a couple of decades.”

Everything’s changed, but nothing’s changed. Everything’s changed, but I’m still the same
Everything’s changed, but now I see The incredible lightness of being.

COVID, Trump, and Fauci were the markers of my days. Money, time, and status went their way.
Everything I thought was me was thrown to the wind. Illusions were delusions in this play.
Resisting the temptation to believe I was no more, I rode upon the breath that is my Source.
“Breathing will be easy” and reveal my “who I am,” But it challenged my illusions with such force.

Everything’s changed, but nothing’s changed. Everything’s changed, but I’m still the same
Everything’s changed, but now I see The incredible lightness of being.

My heaviness, it clung to me, as if it thought I’d die- Without its loving hold on my “I am.”
So I held it in my arms and let it know its job was done And my lightness would relieve it of its pain.
And so it lies exhausted, like a slug out in the sun I let it know it always will be seen.
My illusions rest inside it and now lightness calls my name
As I step into the future, as I step into the present, as I step into the lightness…

Everything’s changed, but nothing’s changed. Everything’s changed, but I’m still the same
Everything’s changed, but now I see The incredible lightness… of me.

“My song is dedicated to my family. I wrote it because I love my family and I never thought we’d have to celebrate Christmas apart. Writing this song brought out a lot of emotion and was at times, very stressful, but also rewarding. Song-writing is one of the hardest things I’ve ever attempted. I have always admired musicians, but now even more so!”

Christmas will be different this year, No loud laughter or cheer
Try not to despair, And keep faith and prayer
Christmas will still arrive
Traditions that we hold dear, We hope won’t disappear
Carolers may not be heard, Decorations may seem absurd
Christmas will still arrive
We’ll get through, I know we will- We’ll be together next year… Christmas will still arrive

No more cookies will we share, No silly sweaters will we wear
Virtual hugs are not the same, There is no one that we can blame
Christmas will still arrive
Yearning for family and friends, Hope the pandemic soon ends
Even though we are apart, You’ll always be in my heart
Christmas will still arrive
Merry Christmas Merry Christmas
Cause We’ll get through, I know we will, we’ll be together next year… Christmas will still arrive

“Caregiver” lyrics by LJ

As the world around me, Grinds to a stop, Adrenaline shoots through me, The person at the top.
All these precious children... Their families counting on me, To care for & protect them, Safe as safe can be.
The high-fives & the hugs, Comforts now withdrawn.Kids sobbing to each other, “My visits are all gone!”
Screening, masking, distance— Orders in their places. But increased sanitation, Won’t clean up tear-stained faces.
My daughter urgently calling, “When will you be home?” This is a pandemic, And I’ve left her home alone.
Longer & longer work days, Sleep quality diminished. Everything, at work & home, Nothing can get finished.
My automatic pilot is what Keeps this shop afloat. I try to keep perspective,” “We’re all in the same boat.”
The curve will start to flatten, They’ll find a working vaccine. I’ll navigate choppy waters, Dodge the rocks here in between.
Wearily I land home, My daughter, in bed sleeping. I watch her rhythmic breathing, Find peace inside my head.
With a gentle rustling, Eyes opening, and a smile, I softly begin singing, As I sit with her awhile.“
Sometimes the world is scary. Sometimes we don’t feel free. But here we are together, And we’ll navigate this sea
Here we are together, We’ll navigate this sea.

lyrics by Kerri B.

With everything I drop my weights
With every breath that grows deeper, I shed what was, for what is great.
With every outreach, a connection that’s new. With every motion forward, I step farther from you.
From confined and caged to free and untethered.
I open my arms and dry out the feathers. They unstick from the primordial ooze, and give me flight and the power to choose.