
24 Oct Unseen Song (Birdsong)
A simply amazing song by talented singer/ songwriter/ songleader Samara Jade. You can hear her original produced version of this song on her album, Waves of Birdsong. It’s an ambitious song for oral-tradition chorus with it’s melodic range, complexity and lots of words, but we absolutely love it. Having several solos eases lyric learning.
If you’d like to share the love with Samara for her great gift of songwriting, as I did, you can support her work here.
Composer & Copyright
Original song by Samara Jade. Arranged for Wholehearted Chorus by Lisa G. Littlebird. ©2018 Samara Jade.
Recording
Recording by Lisa G. Littlebird, guitar by Aimee Ringle.
Lyrics
I listened to the silence
Till it was no longer silence
Till it was filled up with birdsong that had been there all along
Till it was filled up with birdsong that had been there all along
And I looked into the sunset
Till it was no longer sunset
Till the sky grew darker and it filled on up with stars
Till the sky grew darker and it filled on up with stars
That were there all along
It was there all along
It was there all along
The underlying, unseen song
SOLO:
And I stopped to smell the flowers, till they were no longer flowers
They began to wilt and droop and develop into fruit
That turned to seeds and back to flowers that had been there all along
SOLO:
And I searched the world for answers
Till they turned into questions
That shone light upon the answers that had been there all along
They shone light upon the answers that had been there all along
They were there all along
It was there all along
It was there all along
The underlying, unseen song
And the light obscures the darkness
and the darkness hides the light
And the stars are still a shining when the sun is shining bright
Oh how unimaginable how many layers go unseen
In this dream, in this dream
So much more than it seems
In this dream, in this dream
So much more than it, more than it seems
SOLO:
And I felt into my sadness, till it was no longer sadness
And it was filled up with fullness that had been there all along
Till it was filled up with fullness that had been there all along
And I cut through my aloneness
Until I melted into oneness
Of the web of shining dewdrops that connects us all as one
To the web of shining dewdrops that has been there all along
It was there all along
It was there all along
It was there all along
The underlying, unseen song (x3)
SOLO OUTRO: And I spoke my words till they were no longer words
Till they sounded no different than the songs sung by the birds
Still sing even when they can’t be heard
All of the symphonies get blurred
Into the colors of the world is turning
Powered by the birdsong that has been there all along
Yes the great wave of birdsong that has been there all along
Haven’t you heard the wave of birdsong that has been here all along
Teaching Notes
This is an ambitious song for oral tradition learning, but possible! And wonderful!
In our choir, High is equivalent to Soprano, Middle Alto/Tenor and Low is Bass. In this arrangement, Middle’s have the melody.
This recording is in the key of G.
Level of teaching speed/ difficulty (1 = very easy, 10 = very challenging)
I really love this-do you have the guitar chords written out? I’ve got most of it but it would be nice to be sure