Spiral Muse
Our updated, anniversary edition of our first original album, She Is Here, was released November 14th, 2024, exactly 10 years to the day after the release of the original. On this new album, we have modified many of the tracks and recorded a couple of new ones. A lot of the songs received mild to moderate tune-ups- Hold You Near, Look Into the Eyes, Ma Durga/She Will Arise and She is Here. A few songs underwent major vocal additions. A Blind Woman Decides She's Not a Sinner was original a solo sung by Kathleen. In this updated edition, Dionne and Alison have added vocal parts. Similarly, Herlove, originally a duet by Alison and Dionne, now has Kathleen's part as well as some addition vocals by Alison, creating five-part harmony at one point in the song. We re-recorded Mother of Us All which was originally a song about Kathleen's grandmother. The new recording is a more general version of the same song and also includes Lana's violin. There is also a live version of "She Will Arise," recorded in 2023 that is in a different key that the original album track, has a different opening and has Lana's violin additions. There is an additional bonus track, "Love Dear Love," recorded by Dionne and Alison in 2013. Several tracks remain untouched-Paint Us Into Being, More and More, Tell Me, Amma and Spirit Walk.
We have eliminated the song "Kundalini Mantra Medley." This was a difficult decision because we love this song and know many of our fans do as well. This song incorporated mantras from the Sikh tradition that were hijacked by the violent, criminal founder of Kundalini Yoga taught in the west. The usage of these mantras in connection to yoga is an invention of this man and has no historical foundation. Because of both the appropriation of these mantras and the violent misogynist crimes committed by the founder, both of which we were not aware of at the time we released the original album, this track has been eliminated. For the same reason, the track formerly known as "Rakhe Goddess," has been reworked to remove the Sikh mantra and is now entitled "Rock of Goddess."
1. Hold You Near
Lyrics by Alison Newvine
Music by Alison Newvine and Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
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I lift up my voice up my voice to Devi, to the Mother who created all
I lift up my voice to Devi. And she says, “Come with your singing”
“Come with your singing and I will hold you near.”
I lift up my voice in sorrow, to the Mother who mends all wounds
I lift up my voice in sorrow. And she says, “Come with your crying”
“Come with your crying and I will hold you near.”
I call out in anger, to the Mother who heals all harm
I call out in anger. And she says, “Come with your shouting”
“Come with your shouting and I will hold you near.”
I lift up my voice in praise, to the Mother who created all
I lift up my voice in praise. And she says, “Come rejoicing”
“Come rejoicing and I will hold you near.”
The Words of "SHE IS HERE"
2. Paint Us Into Being
Lyrics by Alison Newvine
Music by Alison Newvine and Dionne Kohler
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Paint us into being, your brush stroke gives us life
Sing us into being, with the drum beat we arise
Out of the depths of the blue sea roll the waves of the sweet Earth
I see Her body before me opening wide as She gives birth
Grandmother wise, you are watching your hands and your eyes are upon us
Like the child in your arms we are listening, patient and loving you guide us
Let flow from our depths what’s been waiting, this ancient power withing us
Sustaining, destroying, creating, we radiate love and justice
Paint us into being, your brush stroke gives us life
Sing us into being, with the drum beat we arise
Paint us into being
3. More and More
Lyrics and Music by Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
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They told me love was everywhere I was going
But then I found right where I wanted it to be
They told me I would have to trust without knowing
Oh, but I knew, I knew just how much I couldn’t see
Oh, I knew I could never see any other way for things to be
Between you and me
Now the saint inside me wants nothing to do with your mansions
But the wanderer can no longer cling to your poor
It was midnight when I stepped out into that ocean
Never afraid til the day the winds took me back to shore
Ooh, and I prayed I would drown before I go there and lost
This fire forever more and more…
And more and more is what I cannot give you
When with every turn of the Earth you’re asking for a brand new me
More and more is what I’m coming to need now
Ooh, Love, you’re no longer there where we used to meet
Yeah and all I need isn’t coming anymore now from where it used to be
An old man with a long white beard fell out of the sky today
But the autopsy revealed he’d never been alive
But I saw God as She quietly turned and walked away
Into the city while the bishops and politicians kept up their fights
Ooh, and I followed after Her laughing and we lost ourselves
Playing hide and seek in the foggy lights…
And more and more is all I I know how to give you
When with every turn of the Earth you’re asking for a brand new me
More and more is what I’m coming to need now
Ooh, Love, you’re no longer there where we used to meet
Yeah and all I need isn’t coming anymore now from where it used to be
Tell Me
Lyrics and Music by Dionne Kohler
I was walking along the beach, no one there
Looking for a way to talk to you, I got down on my knees
As I closed my eyes, closed my eyes, and I cried inside as I said
Tell me which way do I go. I’ve seen so much I believe you will show me more
Tell me which way do I go. I’ve seen so much I believe you will show me more
When the sun comes up love will be here waiting tomorrow
When the sun comes up love will be here waiting tomorrow
Sun comes up, love will be here tomorrow, on the beach
Follow….follow….see…Its love you find within you
Some say hidden, somewhere out there
To believe, yes, it makes me wonder
Yes, I believe love has filled my heart with thunder
Oh, tell me is this the way I go? Is love a way to go?
Oh, will you tell me so I may know. Oh, tell me, do I go?
Oh, tell me, Love, yes, what way do I go?
Tell me which way do I go. Tell me which way do I go
When the sun comes up love will be here waiting tomorrow
Sun comes up, love will be here tomorrow
Sun comes up, love will be here tomorrow, on the beach
On the beach
HerLove
Lyrics and Music by Alison Newvine
She saw me at the crossroads, she heard me call out in my need
She poured her radiance upon me, and I become her seed
She placed me on her path, like lightening I’m remade
Now I’m filling with her tenderness and strength and I will never be the same
Divine One, Beloved One, I hear my heartbeat in your call
Beautiful One, Loving Mother, Loving All
What no one else can see you touch and love in me
I’ve traveled for so long to find the voice to sing your song
Divine One, Beloved One, I hear my heartbeat in your call
Beautiful One, Loving Mother, Loving All
How can I know where this will lead?
All I need to know is you are here with me
This is the most amazing grace
To see Her Love face to face
I met you at the crossroads, you called upon me to be strong
I’m still filling with your radiance and love and I am hear to sing your song
Divine One, Beloved One, I hear my heartbeat in your call
Beautiful One, Loving Mother, Loving All
A Blind Woman Decides She’s Not a Sinner
Lyrics and Music by Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
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This song is based on the story of the man born blind whom Jesus heals in the ninth chapter of John’s gospel. In that story, the religious authorities pressure the healed man to take back his story and call Jesus a sinner. The one who has been healed must trust his own experience of the goodness of God/dess and resist being bullied into calling good evil. Similarly, in patriarchal religious traditions, women must learn to trust our own experience of God/dess’ liberating goodness, resisting the voices that would convince us our experience is not valid or that we are inherently “blind” or sinful. This song tells the story of a woman claiming that empowerment.
In the second verse, the speaker also sings in the voice of Mary Magdalene.
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Day after day I hear you speak
You say you’re talking about you but you mean it for me
And all that I need I hear you throw it away
Like grass on the fire, you must be the wise ones
You know where I’ve been and what I’ve seen
You know better than me, my own memory
Well, I could tell you a story, but do I dare to speak?
If I’ve made mistakes, well, you’ll say it’s cause I’m weak
You name your temptations and you tell me their mine
And that I have to rely on you to be my eyes
Cause you know you’ve never been blind
Well, I live by the feel of longing to know what its like to be real
And if I couldn’t keep all my love had to give
Surely I know its no sin, no sin to have lived
Could you be jealous of the lover I knew?
I heard you been wishing you could keep him all for you
You pry and you question and ask what went on
In a quiet hotel, in a garden at dawn
When the one thing I ever did wrong was trying too hard to hold on
See, I live by the feel of longing to know what its like to be real
And if I couldn’t keep all my love had to give
Surely I know its no sin, no sin to have lived
Well, its better to have loved and have lost and have messed up
Than never to have loved at all
So excuse me but I think I’ll just have to get up
From where you sat me down against this wall
And all of the wires that you strung at my feet
Well, I think I just might have to FALL….
Just to live by the feel of longing to know what its like to be real
And if I couldn’t keep all my love had to give
Surely I know its no sin, no sin to have lived
So get out of my temple, get out of my head
I’m kicking you out of my prayers and out of my bed
See, I may be blind but I know what I’ve lived
And longing to see, I’ll wash in the water
The one who has sent you and me
Said that I’ll be in him, and he’ll be in me…
And I believe
Look Into the Eyes
Lyrics and Music by Dionne Kohler
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They have no idea the pain and fear that is surrounding her
They don’t see her cry or hear her scream
There’s a force that is drowning me, drowning me, drowning me
If you want to know the whole story
Look into the eyes of someone in fear
Look into the eyes of a young woman in fear
Look into the eyes of a child in fear
Her silence shatters me
Her closed mouth says everything
What do you hear there?
I hear this happens to one in every three
How can this happen to one in every three? One in every three.
This is not the whole story
Life moves on, her mind grows strong
Her heart finds song
We all know she’s not alone,. (You’re not alone.)
Yeah, yeah, her voice is screaming through me
Look into the eyes
Look into the eyes
Look into the eyes of a child in fear
Look into the eyes
Amma
Lyrics and Music by Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
Dedicated with love to Amma, my first real image of Goddess.
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(Devi Mahadevi – Kali Mahakali)
I can’t believe that this is real
I can’t believe how good you are to me, how good I am in your eyes
(Devi Mahadevi)
I can’t believe the only thing you want
The light of your eyes, the fire of your soul
Is to hold me in your arms and call me darling
(Devi Mahadevi – Kali Mahakali)
Mother I feel so full of fear
Seems like all I hear is what I’m not supposed to do, to want, to be
(Kali, Mahakali)
Then I come to your embrace, only longing to draw near
To see love face to face and see myself the way that you see me
(Adi Parashakti Te Namaste)
You are all good, you are every good
Mother of Creation and Source of Love
Destroyer of Evil, Mistress of Time
Breaking down the walls between your heart and mine
If yours is the world that I’m living in, what should I fear?
Goddess loves her children, oooh…
And Goddess is here
(Devi Mahadevi – Kali Mahakali)
Mother teach me to be like you
When I can’t even breathe for fear, oh help me to remember I am here
(Kali, Mahakali)
Because you loved me I have life
You formed me from the Earth and the sea and the sky
A perfect child in your eyes
Oh Mother teach me to love as you do. With everything, with everything I am
And your love, your love is all I’ll ever need, if you’ll take my hand
I’ll live as you created me to be
(Adi Parashakti Te Namaste)
You are all good, you are every good
Mother of Creation and Source of Love
Destroyer of Evil, Mistress of Time
Breaking down the walls between your heart and mine
If yours are the arms that I’m resting in what should I fear?
Goddess loves her children, oooh…
And Goddess is here
(Adi Parashakti Te Namaste…)
Ma Durga
Lyrics and Music by Alison Newvine
The Goddess Durga is one of the fiercest Hindu Goddesses. She is the Protector of all that is peaceful and good and She actively fights against forces of evil and harm. She is the Destroyer of the illusions that keep in place systems of oppression and harm.
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Ma Durga
Mother of the Dark, you shatter all our lies
Invincible One, help us to see with your eyes
Mother of the Dark, you hear every child’s cry
You saw me, you held me, there’s still more
Oh Mother hear them cry
Once the world was made of love
Then God stormed in from somewhere far above
Now we rape and kill in his holy name
And you are still here to hold us in our shame
Mother hear me cry
What will it take to see our poor?
We’re full but ever wanting more and more and more
Bombs raining down from one God’s sky
Oh mother hear me cry
Oh Mother there’s so much pain
And I can’t hold it anymore
If I hear one more story of children burned alive
I won’t be able to go on anymore
What will it take for us to see?
To end this suffering?
We need you now to shatter our illusions
Oh Mother hear me cry
Ma Durga
Oh Mother hear me cry
She Will Arise
Lyrics and Music by Alison Newvine
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She will arise
Six thousands years She has been discarded
This is the century of Her rebirth
If we only knew Her power
She is arising inside of you
You can feel Her
You can hear Her voice whispering in your ear
Most sacred one, adoring one
Be near me now and forever more
She is arising
Spirit Walk
Lyrics and Music by Dionne Kohler
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The eagle within me speaks of peace and courage
The mountain within me speaks of strength and solitude
Blue skies, mountains, the child and the rain…
Mother Of Us All
Lyrics and Music by Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
Dedicated with love to my grandmother, Barbara Jean Fritz (1922-2013)
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of mercy, blessed are you
Our life, our sweetness and our hope
Oh clement, oh loving, oh sweet and tender one
To you we cry, to you we run, as we mourn and weep
For you are the Mother of us All, you are the Mother of us All
Grandmother, I drove to your house today
I never saw the old road that way before
Summer’s warmth and autumn’s fire reminded me of the way
It always felt to know that you’d be waiting at your door
With a hug, a kiss, a coffee, a crossword or a game of bridge
All the news we all could tell you no one wanted more to hear
Now I’m standing in your empty place
Off a plane that came five hours too late
And the one thing that I didn’t get to say
Was, “Hail Nana, Holy Queen, Hail Barbara Jean, Mother of us All.”
You never went to college but your love and wisdom taught us
Grandpa’s partner and his equal in love until your death
Turn toward us oh Mother, your eyes of mercy
And show us the face of the Goddess
For you are the Mother of us All (Seven children say that…)
You are the Mother of us All (Eighteen grandkids, five great grandbabies)
You are the Mother of us All
Hail Mother, full of grace, the Goddess is with you
(A rosary every day, a card every birthday, 91 years of a life lived in love)
Blessed are you and blessed are all the fruits of your womb
(You ran the race, you kept the faith, and because of the woman you became, all of us have known that we are loved)
Pray for your children (Holy Mother)
Bless your children
Now and at the hour of our death (until we see you again, we say…)
Hail Nana, Holy Queen,
Hail Barbara Jean, Mother of us all
You are the Mother of us all
Rock of Goddess
Music and Words by Alison Newvine
Instrumental Introduction by Dionne Kohler
Goddess herself is looking out for us
Goddess gives us her life and she takes care of us
Goddess is merciful and never forgets us
Goddess is guiding us and giving us help
Goddess does not allow true harm to come to us
I take comfort in the thought of Goddess
When I remember her I feel happiness
And all my pain departs and I can be at peace
Goddess gives us her light and she takes care of us
She Is Here
Lyrics and Music by Kathleen Joan Neville-Shinn
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She is here, She is here, our Mother, She is here
She embraces us, She embraces us, our Mother, She embraces us
Return, return again to me, to the God who gave you life
Return, return to my arms, rest in my light
I give you new life
She is here, She is here, our Mother, She is here
For I have known the paths I laid before you
Before ever you were born
I have known each road that you will travel
Let me lead you on
I bring you to your home
She is here, She is here, our Mother, She is here
For I am all, all in all that is, what have you to fear?
I am all that was, that is, that shall be
Trust yourself to me, my love will make you free!
She is here, She is here, our Mother, She is here
