Top Ten YRUU Songs!
By Nan MooreSinging songs in youth worship feels like the heartbeat of the community. It is the sound and the vibration that resonates in my mind, my heart, my physical being. In youth worship nothing is written down to read…everything is about inspiration, feeling, and listening. For those of us who have challenges with memorization, the learning of a song can be difficult, so the learning becomes intentional. When you sing a song over and over and over again there is a point, or a place, where your mind lets go and your heart remembers.
Over the past nine years I would say that youth worship has been one of my most sacred places that I experience authenticity and the R in Young Religious Unitarian Universalist (YRUU). The songs are what I remember and the people I remember are those who brought spirit to the YRUU groups of which I have been a part. It is the people and places to whom I owe the memories. Thank you, everyone, for all that you have taught me and all that you have given to the YRUU community.
Here are my Top Ten YRUU songs picks!
I Will Be Gentle with Myself
(Author Unknown, appears on the album Fire Within by Libana)
I will be gentle with myself; I will love myself;
I am a
child of Universe; being born each moment.
Come, Come Whoever You Are
(#188 Singing the Living Tradition)Adapted
from the original words by Jalal al-Din Rumi, Sufi poet;
Tune by Lynn Adair
Ungar, Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister
Come, Come whoever you are;
Wanderer, worshipper, lover
of leaving;
Ours is no caravan of despair;
Come yet again come.
I Open My Eyes to You
(Source Unknown; used in Neo-Pagan and Wiccan circles)
I open my eyes to you; I open my heart to you;
together we raise
our arms to the sun; together may our loving hearts be one.
Over My Head
(#30 Singing the Living Tradition)African American
spiritual ca. 1750-1875;
Arranged by Horace Clarence Boyer
Over my head
there's music in the air; Over my head there's music in the air;
Over my head
there's music in the air; There must (*stomp*) be a God somewhere. (music,
singing, trouble, gladness, angels)
There is More Love Somewhere
(#95 Singing the Living Tradition)
African American hymn
There is more love somewhere; There is more love
somewhere;
I'm gonna keep on 'til I find it; There is more love
somewhere.
(love, hope, peace, joy)
Dear Friends / Brother, Sister
(Source Unknown)
Dear friends, Dear
friends; Let me tell you how I feel;
You have given me such treasures; I love
you so.
Alternate Lyrics:
Brother, Sister; Take your time go
slowly;
listen deep inside yourself; simple things are holy.
Spiraling into the Center / We Are the Weavers
(Source Unknown; used in Neo-Pagan and Wiccan circles)
Spiraling into the Center (*stomp*), the Center
of the Web;
Spiraling into the Center (*stomp*), the Center of the Web;
We
are the Weavers; We are the Woven Ones;
We are the Dreamers; We are the
Dream.
Listen to My Heart Song
Words by Paramahansa Yogananda
Listen,
Listen, Listen to my heart song;
Listen, Listen, Listen to my heart
song;
I will never forget you; I will never forsake you;
I will never
forget you; I will never forsake you.
We Come From the Goddess
(Source Unknown; used in Neo-Pagan and Wiccan circles)
We come from the Goddess; And to her we shall return;
like a drop
of rain; flowing to the ocean.
Now Let Us Sing
(#368 Singing the Living Tradition)
Anonymous
Now let us sing, sing, sing, sing. Now let us sing, sing, sing, sing. Lift up your voice, be not afraid; now let us sing to the power of the (*clap*) faith with-in. (faith, hope, love, joy)
Honorable Mention: We Are Gentle Angry People
(#170 Singing the Living Tradition)
Words by Holly Near; Arranged by Patrick L. Rickey
We are
gentle angry people and we are singing, singing for our lives;
We are gentle
angry people and we are singing, singing for our lives.
(gentle, angry
people; justice-seeking people; young and old together;
land of many colors;
gay and straight together; gentle, loving)
As you see, there are many songs that have authors unknown to me because these songs are passed down like old stories. Part of my spiritual journey and learning about "worship with respect" is to mention the writers of the songs when offering the song to the community. I want to become familiar with writers and learn about the inspiration of their music. When I have done my research the music has a deeper meaning and I can give the deserved honor to those who have gifted us with these beautiful songs…
In peace and harmony,
nan moore
Nan Moore is a long-time youth advisor and religious educator in Chatham, MA. She also serves as the adult-at-large on the 2005-06 YRUU Steering Committee.
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
