Get all 5 Sheila Nicholls releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
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1. |
God (A Commentary)
05:22
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God (A Commentary)
god
so much baggage on that word
means so many different things to so many people
yeah what is god?
god
maybe something infinite in all directions
those perceived and unperceived alike
those perceived and unperceived alike
Infinite directions
Infinite directions
dissolving into
love without resistance
love without a cure
love everlasting
love forever more
god
maybe something that was never born and never dies
yet contains every birth and every death
every birth and every death
across the multiverse
Beyond the boundaries of vocabulary
beyond the boundaries of dogma,
religion, philosophy, ownership, politics,
they all become temporary
in the oneness of this God
dissolving into
A love without resistance
a love without a cure
love everlasting
a love forever more,
it's always been here
so to this god
I can surrender into you
sitting still distills the binary
outside the mind
deep inside the senses
only sweetness
I love without resistance
love without a cure
love everlasting
love forever more
it's always been here,
it'll always be here
god
© sheila nicholls
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2. |
Thrum
04:30
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Thrum
where am I from
and what is my name?
an intricate story to tell
in myriad forms
the one is the same
water, the same well.
where is the drum
that strikes up the beat
of all of this music and noise?
the sigh and the hum
that my heart repeats
in all of its sorrows and joys?
the hiss and the scream
in a whistle of steam
a tidal chorus swells
imprinted in me
like the sound of the sea in a shell
listen! it springs
with a rustle of wings
as a hush falls on a crowd
I hear it whispering so loud
as I’m breathing in
the murmuring strum
of the wind in the trees
the chimes that mark the days
the throb and thrum
and cacophony
as every atom plays
the hammer is swung
with bellowing lungs
the primal forges yell
‘til the anthem is sung
in the tremolo tongue of a bell
listen! it rings
in the tension of strings
in magnetic dust it drones
in my heart and guts and bones
resounding and shimmering
there is the source
of the psalm that I sing
of all of my pleasures and cares
the intimate pulse
that drives everything
always, everywhere
© dave stringer
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3. |
Weightless
04:48
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Weightless
I'm flying on a crazy swing
can't find a point of balance in
this teeter-totter world of mood I ride
the cradle falls and baby breaks
his heart, a ball of bliss and ache
a pendulum of being, moon and tide
weightless
I want to be
weightless
simple and free
weightless
as pure energy
weightless
my life's a course of dizzy rings
what turning force is governing
this clock that slows the beat as it unwinds?
it spins in figure-skating girls
as galaxies of snowflakes whirl
a dervish dance of chaos and design
weightless
I want to be
weightless
simple and free
weightless
as pure energy
weightless
my heart's too full of heavy things
desires pull, and worries cling
there's gravity in every string held tight
in letting go I celebrate
true love and know a boundless state
alive in me where all this weight is light
weightless
I want to be
weightless
simple and free
weightless
as pure energy
weightless
© dave stringer
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4. |
Ghosts of Steel
06:22
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Ghosts of Steel
whispering darts
I barely feel
stun my heart
with ghosts of steel
blue slow poisons
quietly creep
in fear, I'm frozen
stagger to sleep
in camouflage
of blanketing snow
the fang-lipped jaws
that gnaw the soul
desire's howl
refusal's chill
and piercing doubt
that numbs the will
barren miles of tranquil ice
the years of slumber in your eyes
paralyzing lullabies
and mournful cries
when are you gonna wake up, weary soul?
when you can offer the pain up, then you'll know
breathe on, give voice a warm wind
a murmur from the hearth
that glows within
it hurt
more than I realized
I've spent my life
anesthetized
from failure's stab
and memory's sting
and every little buzzing thing
barren miles of tranquil ice
the years of slumber in your eyes
paralyzing lullabies
and mournful cries
when are you gonna wake up, weary soul?
when you can offer the pain up, then you'll know
breathe on, give voice a warm wind
a murmur from the hearth
that glows within
© dave stringer
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5. |
River
04:35
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River
river, where will I be
when the ashes have scattered and gone?
forever the music
and the mystery
that splashes in water moves on
river, in thy melody
a voice is laughing and crying
for all I have been
and all I will be
in the course of living and dying
in this moment
the current is flowing fast
but it holds on to nothing
as it's going past
when I reach my limit
with travels infinite
the empty places to fill
I slow down a minute
and look at what's in it
'til everything seems to stand still
river, in my memory
I drift in the shimmering sun
deliver me please
from my miseries
when all of my dreaming is done
river, is it my destiny
to journey back where I've begun
through the geography
of my heart to the sea
where everything flows into one
in this moment
the future hurtles toward the past
to vanish and return
going nowhere fast
when I reach my limit
with travels infinite
the empty places to fill
I slow down a minute
and look at what's in it
'til everything seems to stand still
© dave stringer
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6. |
The Satellite Sky
06:08
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The Satellite Sky
I'm calling
an impulse of light
in the vacuum of night
can you hear me?
I'm swallowed in
the heavens so bright
but no one in sight
is near me
the satellite sky
vast and empty
the silence of existence
that we signal through
await your reply
lost and lonely
a siren in the distance
sounding deepest blue
calling for you
for conversation
linking up and signing off
never getting close enough
to quiet my heart
howling the blues
of separation
a longing we can't satisfy
we are satellites, you and I
echoes apart
I'm trying
to reach you inside
but anger and pride
interfere with me
I'm crying
across the divide
the satellite sky
is here in me
the satellite sky
vast and empty
the silence of existence
that we signal through
await your reply
lost and lonely
a siren in the distance
sounding deepest blue
calling for you
for conversation
linking up and signing off
never getting close enough
to quiet my heart
howling the blues
of separation
a longing we can't satisfy
we are satellites, you and I
echoes apart
I'm calling
an impulse of light
in the vacuum of night
can you hear me?
© dave stringer
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7. |
At My Window
05:40
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At My Window
illumined and blind
I dream untroubled
washing my mind
a stream of bubbles
endlessly rise
forming, breaking
ascending the skies
as I awaken
at my window, in my chair
to watch the clouds go by
to sit and ponder
a mind that wonders
why it wonders why
at my window, anywhere
in the world I go
I'm in the best seat
no view is complete
but it's the only view I know
I focus my eyes
where the mirror of sea
and the prism of sky
draw a thin blue line
across the horizon
to vanish in me
at my window
on the grand design
what gives me sight?
and who is seeing
the radiant delight
that thrills my being?
at my window, I stare
but do I really see?
the filtered lenses
of all my senses
distort reality
at my window, I'm aware
but never really know
from pained projection
to vain reflection,
I'm just a picture show
connecting the dots
that appear on the screen
exposing the plot
in the evidence
selecting the shots
and composing a scene
at my window
of experience
replay, eyes closed
watching myself again
the only thing I know
is I am
and all that I see
all I feel, all I think
resolve to a glimmer
of dark and light
the flash of my life
gone in a blink
at my window
on the infinite
© dave stringer
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8. |
Lift Up the Veil
07:05
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Lift Up the Veil
gunghata ke pata khola re!
to he piya milenge
lift up the veil and meet your beloved!
ghata ghata me vaha sai ramata,
katuka vachana mata bola re
when love dwells in every heart,
why do you say such bitter things?
speak sweetly,
and you will meet your beloved!
dhana jobana ko garab na kijai
jhutha pacharanga chola re
your money and your good looks make you so proud!
but when the masquerade is over,
this costume you call your body
will unravel into the elements again
sunna mahala me diyana barile,
asana se mata dola re
a lamp is shining in the heart’s palace,
and in its light the world becomes divine.
once you’ve found that lamp,
don’t ever lose it!
jaga jugatase ranga-mahal me
piya payo anamola re
wake up! wake up!
explore the palace there within you!
go and meet your beloved!
this love is the love no one sells or buys
--- kabir
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9. |
Reveal
04:10
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Reveal
reveal
the universe is here to
reveal
unlimited splendor
reveal
the infinite diversity of expression
no one can withstand her allure
reveal
adore the colors and the shapes
reveal
her enchantment
reveal
the one who permeates us all
the one great lover
one great lover
no one can withstand her allure
one great lover
one great lover
reveal
above and below
reveal
mortal and immortal
reveal
transient and eternal
the one great lover
one great lover
no one can withstand her allure
one great lover
one great lover
perceive the terrifying beauty
be free to suffer and be thrilled
by the one great lover
one great lover
no one can withstand her allure
one great lover
one great lover
maayaa vi-mohinee naama
kalaayaah kalanam sthitam
iti aadi dharmam–tattvanaam
kalayan na prithak bhavet
--- from the radiance sutras
© lorin roche
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Sheila Nicholls Los Angeles, California
Sheila Nicholls is an English singer songwriter based in Los Angeles. Sheila has released five albums and her songs have been featured in the films High Fidelity and Jackie & Ryan. Sheila has toured extensively, charted in the US top 10 in college radio and the Billboard top 40, and appeared on the Tonight show. ... more
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