THE LEVINS

ALBUM: An Alternate Refrain © 2026

1. Morning is the Mercy

Spring has come again, come in like a friend, 

flowers in its arms as an offering.

Crying in the rain, laughing with the pain, 

let it flow and away from me.

Winds are going to blow, summer’s gonna show, 

everything we know is an opening.

Chorus:

Every time I wake up, there’s a new day ahead.    

Get the chance to live before I lay down my head. 

When I’m wrestling with the weight of the world, 

Can’t let it keep me down.

I won’t let it keep me down. I won’t let it bring me down.

Color’s in the air, change is everywhere, 

embers in the ashes are glistening.

There’s no holding on, life is moving on, 

offering a song that is lingering. Chorus.

Finding what is still, in the midst of the bitter chill.

Morning is the Mercy of Welcoming.  

Everything we know is an opening.

Everything we know is an opening.  Chorus.

Every time I wake up there’s a new day ahead.

2. Pocketful of Sighs

Where we are is a hidden star, Beyond these growing pains

We strain to hear ourselves grown clear, an alternate refrain.

Where we are from day to gray, echoes of amnesia

Can we take the day to play to waken poor Ophelia.

Chorus:

Sing a song of sweetness, a pocketful of sighs

One too many lifetimes, has simply drifted by.  

A labyrinth of signposts, winding through the streets

Brides and guides and festive ghosts, all calling for a feast.

There’s a ringing in the counting house, of courtiers and money

We dream the dream of being free, we long to taste the honey. Chorus                                                                  

There’s poetry in faces and melodies leave traces of the 

beautiful places you’ve been.

All that is between us, brings us round again. Chorus 
 

3. Knowing When

I don’t know how to see this world.    

Wondering how it all unfurls.      

I can’t tell if I’m lost or found

So call me up and talk me down.    

So call me up and talk me down.

I don’t know how to hold all this

Should I surrender or resist?

I’ve wandered out where the feels ice thin

Seek me out and reel me in.

please seek me out and reel me in.

You don’t have to know my name

Maybe you have felt the same

But If you understand this pain

Then meet me where there is no shame.

Meet me there. 

I don’t think that I am afraid

I feel my path has been mislaid                 

Point to where and I’ll know then

I thank you now for knowing when. 

I’ll thank you now for knowing when.

4. Wellspring

When ruthless winds suggest the bitter, 

renew my courage and consider

More than brace against the gale, 

somehow I could tip the scale.

Come on, let’s sing for more than ourselves. 

Sing a wisdom from our shelves

Which need our voices to incite 

a justice not defined by might.

 Chorus:

The wellspring of all we are… when we are open

Wider than banyans, deeper than oceans.

Making amends for mistakes and regrets

To join in forgiveness of all love forgets.

I’ll be content to play my part, 

pass the torch from hand to heart

Chorus

The Well-spring of all we are when we are open 

wider than canyons deeper than oceans

I’ll be content to play my part, 

pass the torch from hand to heart. Chorus

5. Closer Interaction

Roll through the flood onto the dance floor

Somehow we knew we’d make it through 

Into the core of what we yearn for- we turn to something new.

So many chapters, all of these pages

Could read like a struggle if you can’t see our faces

We’ve come to trust when we’re lost in these places

That we’ll find our way again.

Chorus:

Lean into me. Lean into the time

Understand a single life with two

Harmony in passion, an alchemical reaction

A closer interaction with you.  

When we sing, we can remember - We are the players and the dancers

Finding a way to bend together. Knowing the question holds the answers.

We’re lifted up from somewhere inside

With all that we have and all that’s denied.

With every step we get to decide what is ours to give. Chorus

So many chapters, all of these pages

Could read like a struggle if you can’t see our faces

We’ve come to trust when we’re lost in these places

That we’ll find our way again.

Harmony in passion, an alchemical reaction

A closer interaction …with you.
 

6. Honest Smile lyrics by The Levins and George Doherty

I remember riding out- into the open, around the bend.

All of my longing, ambitions like letters ready to send.

Hidden destinations, didn’t stop me from carrying on.

All of my wanderings, leading me to where I belong. 

Chorus:

Water on the stone, wears away the edges

Everything we’ve known, somehow rearranges.

No-one wins imaginary races, mile after mile       

There’s so much more between the markers,                  

Like an honest smile. Like an honest smile.

How long, before I yield, into the balance of the blue?

I went in search of… my arrival is with you. :I 2x

Chorus

Like an honest smile. Like an honest smile.

7. Inside- Jethro Tull

All the places I've been make it hard to begin

To enjoy life again on the inside, but I mean to.

Take a walk around the block and be glad that I've got, got me some time

to be in from the outside, and inside with you.

I’m sitting on the corner feeling glad.

(A little) money coming in (and) I can't be sad.                                                  

That was the best cup of coffee I ever had.

And I won't worry about a thing because we've got it made,

Here on the inside, outside so far away.

And we'll laugh and we'll sing get someone to bring 

Our friends here for tea in the evening- old Jeffrey makes three.                  

Take a walk in the park, hear the wind in the dark. 

Does it sound like music to you?   Well I'm thinking, it does to me.  Chorus      

Counting lambs, counting sheep, we will fall into sleep

And awake to a new day of living, and loving you so. Chorus

And I won't worry about a thing because we've got it made,

Here on the inside, outside so far away.

8. Across the Miles

Forty-four years ago. You stood in front of God and everyone you know.

You said “I Love You” til death do us part And that was a very good start.

Sister two and Brothers one. The two girls came along, but you had to have that son. 

You waited seven years and then you tried again.  And I’m so glad I came along, before him.

But that was many years ago. You’ve shown us more love than you know 

And that’s why… that’s why its so hard to go.

Across the Miles

We’ll send our love to you Across the miles.

I know you wish we were all home. Instead we’re taking turns picking up the phone. We say we’re doing fine.  We tend to re-assure; but we never say how much we miss, the way things were.

Cuz you knew…there was more to life for us, more for us to do

So til then, we’ll send, our love to you…

Across the Miles…We’ll send our love to you. Across the miles

Thanks for all that you’ve done for me.

If I’d only known then, If I’d only known then…

9. Soul of Love- 

lyrics by Sant Darshan Singh and The Levins

I started alone on the journey of love, 

turning and turning around on the wheel

With every step travelers joined us, 

singing out what can’t be concealed:

Chorus: I am, I am, I am, the Soul of Love! The Soul of Love!

We are communing with the moon and the stars,

But we have not reached the heart of our neighbor.

I’m reaching out, no matter how far, 

to offer relief from the pain of your labors.

Chorus

Why dread the spread of darkness 

When your heart is on fire

With endless light?

Chorus

10. Welcome -

- lyrics by Teresa of Avila and The Levins

Here is the moment our paths intertwine. 

Here is the moment our stories align.

Sets my head buzzing, it seems like an old song.

A song that enfolds me and says, “you belong!”

We welcome you heartily! 

Welcome you heartily!

Here’s to the patience that wins all it seeks.

Brings a light to your eye and a rose to your cheeks.

Love paints a portrait of love deep inside you.

Here’s to the wonder that can’t be denied you. 

We welcome you heartily! 

Welcome you heartily!

Here is the moment our paths intertwine. (Welcome you heartily)

Here is the moment our stories align. (Welcome you heartily)

Sets my head buzzing, it seems like an old song. (Welcome you heartily)

A song that enfolds me and says, “you belong!” (Welcome you heartily)

We welcome you heartily! 

Welcome you heartily!

THE LEVINS

ALBUM: CARAVAN OF DAWN: © 2019

All music/lyrics written by Ira Scott Levin and Julia Bordenaro 

(except #5- Silence- lyrics by Carl Sandburg and the quote: "Eternity's in love with the productions of time" by William Blake in #1- Story I Can Hear)

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The Story I can Hear (inspired by Joseph Campbell) -Music and Lyrics* The Levins, © 2019

If we see it all as literal it might end up in a fight,   
But if we see it as a story, it might work out alright.

Let's go out to meet the modern, willing to embrace 
See the gold inside the dust…   Be the change that's taking place.  

PRE-CHORUS :   
I long to tell the story I can hear. One that fills my eyes, opens up the skies.
I long to tell the story I can hear. One that fills the skies, opens up my eyes.

CHORUS:  
Not just for believers or those that think it's true- 
But that holds me in its arms as it reaches out for you.
Reaching out. 

Something beyond name - something beyond measure    
Sings inside this temporal house  built of pain and pleasure.        

Inside understanding shines the poet's rhyme:
Eternity's in love with the productions of time.

PRE-CHORUS 
I long to tell the story I can hear. One that fills my eyes, opens up the skies.
I long to tell the story I can hear. One that fills the skies, opens up my eyes.

CHORUS
Not just for believers or those that think it's true- 
But that holds me in its arms as it reaches out for you.
Reaching out. It reaches out for you.

BRIDGE: 
We’re busy telling stories and meanwhile life plays on.
It’s listening to our verses, it sings all of our songs.
Our songs. One song. It sings all of our songs.

CHORUS + Our songs, One song

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Caravan of Dawn - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

Side by Side- wide as the horizon. Giddy as a bride, the universe inside them.

There’s a caravan of dawn, lighting up the curve, always moving on… Breaking up the darkness with an aviary song.

Singing: “Beauty has claimed you. Seasons have changed you.  This moment reveals you. Nothing conceals you!”

Lighting up the streets, lighting up the fields. Splash the sky in streaks, of azure, lilac, gold and teal.

“Beauty has claimed you. Seasons have changed you.  This moment reveals you. Nothing conceals you!”

Gather up all of the broken hearts. Put them in a river of seamless starts.

Set them in motion, lighten their burden. Head for the ocean, flowing out over, Away from the falls.

Rising like mist, until they can’t recall… not being kissed by sunbeams.

“Beauty has claimed you. Seasons will change you.  This moment reveals you. Nothing conceals you!” 

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Let’s Be Big - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

If Al were here, I’m sure he would agree, 
if you want to move around at light’s velocity
You’ve got to think big, as infinity. 
So, take the afternoon and come along with me.

Hey! Let’s be big today. We’ll travel all around chasing troubles away.
They’ll never see us coming. They’ll wonder why they’re humming. 
Come on, what ya say?  Let’s be big today!

Sitting on a moving mountain of gold. 
Riding out past everything that I’ve been told.
Internal navigation, blindsided by degrees. 
Fear of not succeeding was defining me.

I’d rather think big. So I’m getting out of my way. 
Out into the open where it’s not so gray.  

Hey! Let’s be big today. We’ll travel all around chasing troubles away.
They’ll never see us coming. They’ll wonder why they’re humming. 
Come on, what ya say?  Let’s be big today!

Bigger than heart-ache, bigger than strife. Breaking the chains of darkness and light.
When I am in tatters and about to cave, in elementary matters, be the particle and the wave.

When you’re scared and loose your way, be the particle and the wave.
Stand and be brave- be the particle and the wave!

Hey! Let’s be big today. We’ll travel all around chasing troubles away.
They’ll never see us coming. They’ll wonder why they’re humming. 
Come on, what ya say?  Let’s be big today!

Bigger than heart-ache, bigger than strife.
We’re breaking the chains of darkness and light. (Be the particle and the wave).
Bigger than heart-ache, bigger than strife.
We’re breaking the chains- Be the particle and the wave.

Hey! Let’s be big today. We’ll travel all around chasing troubles away. 
They’ll never see us coming. They’ll wonder why they’re humming. 
Come on, what ya say?  Let’s be big today!

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Leela - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

Leela's got her face on the magazine. Leela's got her face on everything that you've seen.

Dancing on the streets of the Champs-Élysées, Out beyond the lights of the Milky Way.

Leela, Leela play. Leela, Leela play.

Blinded by the lights of the paparazzi. Singing the song of the new born baby.

Leela tends the sick in the heart of Bombay. She’s lifting the ocean every time she waves.

Leela, Leela play. Leela, Leela play.

She's the ivy on the wall. Leela, Leela play.

She's the rise and fall. Leela, Leela play.

She’s the answer, she’s the call. Leela, Leela play.

She’s the impulse of it all. Leela, Leela play.

Riotous elation, a mother's lamentation,  

river flowing drowning daughter, hand that pulls her from the water.

In hopeless darkness Leela shouts: “No one puts this candle out!”

Leela, Leela play.Leela, Leela play. Leela, Leela play. 

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Silence -  lyrics from “To Know Silence Perfectly” by Carl Sandburg Music -The Levins, © 2019

There is a music for lonely hearts.

Nearly always If The music dies down,

There is a Silence

Almost the same as the movement Of Music (almost the same)

To know silence perfectly is to know music. 

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Indivisible - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

It’s like knowing the password when I see you.

A secret part of me opens to greet you.

When I see the gleam still in your eye, I could laugh until, until I cry

Wondrous strange, in the midst of all this change…

Chorus: Indivisible, our bond Invisible in plain sight.

Indivisible, our bond, Sending never-ending songs into the night.

No need to recreate the past. Open the endless part of us that lasts.

The loyalty our love affords, finds the notes and forms accord.  

Wondrous strange, in the midst of all this change… Chorus 

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Life Comes Pouring - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

Without warning, the skies are pouring. But I don’t need a reason to complain

Cause I can find fault with just about anything, again and again -again and again.  

But even when things aren’t going my way. I can smile on the grayest of days

CHORUS:  More than I can understand, I’m cheered on by the rain.

Even in darkness, moonlight on the land, soothes me like a sweet refrain.

I thought I knew, what dances all around me & the troubles that confound me through the day.  

But holding on tightly, thinking of what might be, leaves the child I used to be no time for play.

Even though, I’m riding in the hourglass, I can stretch these moments as they pass.. on .. by.

CHORUS

Life comes pouring into everything.  Sometimes it’s  bound to overflow

All within a sigh, or the turning of the trees, watching sorrow as it goes.

CHORUS:

Round inside the sound we go, learning to sing the song again.

Round inside the sound we go, learning to sing the song whose end, we’ll never know. 

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Sing Along - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019

With nostalgic conviction we gather for the legend. He hits the stage and smiles from within.                                                  

And points the way to where we’ve been. His banter leaves us hazy, he’s gone out there completely.  

When he speaks he’s crazy but then he sings so sweetly.  It makes us wonder where he’s been,

Makes us wonder, wonder where he’s been.

We all long to sing along with you.  Give us something we can hold onto.  

He’s left the sadness and the cynical yoke. He’s laughing at punch lines  but we don’t know the jokes. (We don’t know.)

His logic makes no sense, we strain to catch a strand.   The concepts are too dense. When he sings we understand.                                                

If you sing, we’ll understand.  We’ve been waiting, waiting for so long.

We all long to sing along with you.  Give us something we can hold onto.

“How can I speak to you of freedom with everything I’ve seen? I stand here before you like a broken figurine.              

So, I go to the stars, far away from the pain but when I sing it brings me back again.”    

“For I long to sing along with you.  Give you something you can hold onto.    I long to sing along with you.  Give you something

Do we come back again and again? Are we prisoners of fate?  Do we fly past the horizon?  

I finally found an internal gate that opens up with song and guitar.”

Here you are!- “I’ve been waiting for so long.” Here you are! “I’ve been waiting and waiting.”

“Here we are.”

I long to sing along with you.  Give you something that will see you through.

I sing along with you, I sing along, sing along...with you. 

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Sorrow Inside Joy (Joy Inside Sorrow) -Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019 

Sorrow, inside joy.  Joy, inside sorrow. 
Navigate the ever changing ocean with the swallow.
Life is sweet. It overflows our cup.
It can tear us down and it can build us up.

I cried, because I lost you. I lived, because I loved you. 
I laughed, because I knew you. I’m vast because you are with me.

We all want to be happy. No one wants to suffer.
I am keeping myself open, to see what can occur.

I have colored myself in before, with shades of certainty. 
This time, I won’t be so sure, I’ll keep a space inside of me. 

Last time we talked on the phone, you said you were finally going home. 
I tried to read you a psalm, you said, “No, no time for that now.”
“Be at peace. You don’t have to be my priest. I am past the point of fear. 
If you need me, I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

I cried, because I lost you. I lived, because I loved you. 
I laughed, because I knew you. I’m vast because you are with me.

I have colored myself in before, with shades of certainty.
This time, I won’t be so sure, I’ll keep a space inside of me.

Sorrow, inside joy. Joy, inside sorrow. 
Navigate the ever changing ocean with the swallow.

Life is sweet. It overflows our cup.
It can tear us down and it can build us up.

I cried, because I lost you. I lived, because I loved you. 
I laughed, because I knew you. I’m vast because you are with me.

I cry because I lost you. I live because I love you
I laugh because I knew you. I am vast, because you are with me. 

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Brighter Day - Music and Lyrics The Levins, © 2019 

It’s a brighter day, brighter right away.
It’s a brighter day.

All of us were crowded in a public place
singing a song we all knew.  
As I looked around me from face to face
a vision of the future grew brighter.

It’s a brighter day, brighter right away. 
It’s a brighter day.

I was standing on the tracks and I was dragging my heels. 
Until I looked up at the sky.
A heartbeat of birds, like a wave on the sea  
waving hello and goodbye.

It’s a brighter day, brighter right away. It’s a brighter day. 
It’s a brighter day, brighter right away. It’s a brighter day.

We sang in a room, we sang a new song. 
When it was through, we all sang along.
We don’t need to wait for the end of the world.
When we need a revolution, it’s right here, right now. 
Right here, right now, right here, right now!

It’s a brighter day, brighter right away. It’s a brighter day. 
It’s a brighter day, brighter right away. It’s a brighter day. 
It’s a brighter day. It’s a brighter day. 

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THE LEVINS

TRUST : Lyrics

© 2015 - All music/lyrics written by Ira Scott Levin and Julia Bordenaro Levin except #3 - Love Song by Bruce Cockburn

Contact:

thelevins@yahoo.com

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TRUST

I read a quote of Eleanor’s at the Cafe:

“Do something that scares you everyday.”

Ever since then, I have stopped hiding away.

I can’t keep this light to myself… on my way, on my way.

You’ve got to move to change the state you’re in. You’ve got to roll

to strike all the pins. You’ve got to get on

if you’re driving the bus. The race has begun

and we must trust.

When I find myself in an unknown place,

I can see old friends in each new face.

And when the fear takes hold, you will find

I am beside you.The road may curve

but we’ll just have to ride; we’ll just have to ride through...

You can hide from your fate, you can hide from your day. You can hide from your pain ‘til your light goes away.

If you don’t like what you’re thinking about,

then you can shift. You can turn it around.

Hope brings motion, motion brings change; Change is your friend when the going gets strange. When the going gets strange...

...and we must trust.

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I AM HERE

It's so isolating

to ride up on this cycle with fear of being idle, with my anger on parade.

In saying that I have no time, I limit my lucidity,

become an addict to validity, take myself out of my prime. I have time, I have time

If I step out of the story

then I get the chance to see- There's a bigger picture here, something more for me.

I am here and I am needed.

I will stand up and be greeted by what comes my way.

I will fill my day with love; with love, with love, with love.

Always justifing my existence, always chained to my reactions, In a moment of resistance,

I might get some satisfaction.

In saying that there’s not enough, I’m holding on to scarcity, clinging to adversity

as if I’ve got it rough.

I have enough. I am enough.

If I step out of the story, then I get the chance to see here's a bigger picture here. Something more than me...

www.thelevinsmusic.com

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LOVE SONG ( Lyrics and Music by Bruce Cockburn)

In the place my wonder comes from, there, I find you. Your face shines in my sky.

In your heart where the world comes from, there, you will find me. Your eyes dance in my mind.

So, come with me. We will sail on the wind. We will sway among the yellow grass. When you be beside me, I am real.

Though my eyes be closed forever, still, I would find you. You shine across my time.

So come with me. We will sail on the wind. We will sway among the yellow grass. When you be beside me, I am real.

In the place my wonder comes from, there...I find you.

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LINES IN THE LAND

Traipsing the Michael-Mary as the sky lanterns rise

in an arc-aligned sign

over Glastonbury.

We feel the power

going into our hands

on this New Year’s night.

It’s the land’s way of saying

“hello, I’ve got so much to tell you, there’s so much to know.”

There’s a circle of stones

in a green carpet field,

there’s something inside us

that’s starting to yield.

Standing over us... watching over us.

The red and white springs rising. Tiny candles, they guard.

they are holding a space when our hearts becomes hard.

When our hopes become barren, the branches of trees

reach out to embrace us,

before our souls freeze.

Go out past the ruins

and see what this means. There’s an intricate weave between seen and unseen, pulsing life into Winter until white becomes green.

Standing over us, Watching over us

There are lines in the land that are unmarred by time. They hum to us softly converging in rhyme.

Like the song that we sing at the start of the year,

it was penned in the past and it calls us to hear.

Standing over us, Watching over us

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STUCK

I was stuck sitting inside self pity

in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me. Peace came along

saying you can be strong.

Look inside and see.

But I ran away saying that’s okay,

I will see you another day;

Too many things that I must do. Until then, there’s no time for you.

So I climbed a ladder and I scaled a wall, and I reached the top and I began to fall.

I was losing power, I was losing steam,

I was so unhappy, I had lost my dream...

So I wrote a book and then I sang a song, 

and I painted a picture but before too long

my thoughts ran dry and I started to cry,

I’m stuck in the desert and I don’t know why.

I was stuck sitting inside self pity

in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me. Peace came along saying

you can be strong…Look inside and see.

So I heaved a big sigh and I opened wide

and I let peace come inside.

Well, all at once I was feeling strong, time was sweet and life was long. There’s so many things that I’d like to do,

but with peace inside they can all ring true.

So if you’re stuck sitting inside self-pity

in the heart of the city of Woe-Is-Me, when peace comes along

saying you can be strong… don’t wait as long as me.

Look inside and see. Look inside.

Contact:

thelevins@yahoo.com

www.thelevinsmusic.com

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GOD’S SPIES

(King Lear:Act 5, scene 3)

(Inspired by Shakespeare / King Lear)

Sometimes love's depths can find no words

to paint the picture properly. Break the silence,

speak your truth,

or court uncertain misery.

For some it's all a battleground; reaping sorrow from mock rage. But the two of us,

together we’ll sing like birds; even when we're feeling caged.

As we head off, it occurs to me there are so many ways to give, like in King Lear act 5 scene 3... “So we’ll live...

and we’ll pray and sing and tell old tales

and laugh at gilded butterflies,

and take upon us the mystery of things,

as if we were God's spies.”

We can rail against the storm, keep the fool for company. Be sad, go mad,

become a crown-less king, Still, it's down to you and me.

The news is like the tide,

with who loses and who wins. Pacts and sects of great ones,

who is out and who is in,

ebbs and flows like the moon

while we’re wandering on the heath. Oh, that fickle changing loon

with us playing underneath!

As we head off it occurs to me, there’s still time to forgive.

Like in King Lear act 5 scene 3... “So we’ll live...

We are telling different tales; secrets falling from our lips.

When our eyes are free from scales, we can see what was eclipsed.

“So, we’ll pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh At gilded butterflies, And take upon's the mystery of things,

as if we were God's spies.”

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DREAM UNSPOKEN

Driving in my car today, trying to find some color in a world gone gray.

I heard an old song, made me leap inside;

I thought of you and

I laughed, and then I cried. I remember, I remember the twinkle in your eye, the fire in my heart.

A bond of understanding that can't be torn apart. Remember a time when

your lungs filled with song? It was a new sensation...

you knew that you belonged!

I remember, I remember,

a dream unspoken by us all,

a love that broke down every wall. I remember,

I remember it all.

It seems so easy to forget

the splendor of a single sunset,

the importance and the beauty of friendship.

It keeps us alive. We can never let it slip.

I remember, I remember, photographs and phone calls,

visits and the letters, help repaint the pictures which over time

have weathered.

I sing to you now of who we were then, all that we are

and what we’ll be when we meet again...

_______________________________________________

A WORLD OF PEACE

Sometimes I am afraid of change. I want things just to stay the same. I think that we’re moving too fast when we say forgive the past.

There’s so much to learn from each other;

we can only make it together.

I’ll give you smile; a smile is for giving. Now is the time for living.

A world of peace, war will cease.

I can see you are me in disguise. Let me open up my eyes.

A world of peace, war will cease. I can see you are me in disguise.

Let me wipe the tears from your eyes.

Sometimes, I think that there’s a way, only one way to play the game. Holding onto the dark of night,

trying to hold back the incoming light. There’s so much to learn

from each other. We can only make it together.

I’ll give you a smile; a smile is forgiving. Now is the time for living…We can only make it together. 

We can only make it a world of peace...

Sometimes I am afraid of change.

I want things just to stay the same. But what if peace could come at last, if we chose to forgive the past?

Contact:

thelevins@yahoo.com

www.thelevinsmusic.com

_______________________________________

THE GREAT CONSTELLATION

For Madmen Only (Inspired by Hermann Hesse / Steppenwolf)

“If I had the pieces in my pocket and

I could change my life, would I change my life?”

Harry Haller and Hermann Hesse sat down

in Hermann’s mind to play a game of chess. Harry did the foxtrot while Hermann made his move and he spoke about Siddartha

and the need for solitude, inside.

Harry is half-wolf and with his queen

denies the bishop access to the castle, which is where he keeps his pride.

“I will take your queen but then I’ll be your pawn. Cheer up, Harry; sing a madman’s song tonight!”

“You are the Great Constellation!

Not just one soul in isolation.”

Your King is in check, and your life is a wreck. Leave the razor and blaze a new trail.

Harry loves the knight and he is seeking second sight. “Don’t be so worried that you’re life is going to fail. Listen to life’s music on the radio.

This sadness is a tyrant you can overthrow.” ...

“Laugh with the immortals, overcome the hurdles! Handel is disfigured by the radio

but it doesn’t bring him down.

You know that genius isn’t tarnished by technology. Play this little game with me, you’ll see. Listen to life’s music on the radio.

This sadness is a tyrant we can overthrow.”...

A sky full of souls, you play all the roles.”

You are the great constellation!

“I have the pieces in my pocket. I can change my life.”

____________________________________________

CHILD IN SPACE

We are all part of a child in space.

One body, one heart, one race.

We are all atoms dancing face to face, and the bond that we can’t see between us, keeps us in this place.

While the left hand wrestles with the right, the belly goes hungry, eyes shut tight.

If I could reach across the great divide, our tears would become nourishment and heal us from inside.

And the darkness would fade... if I could hasten the day.

We are all part of a child in space. One body, one heart, one race.

We are all atoms dancing face to face, and the bond that we can see between us, keeps us in this place.

One body, one heart, one race.

_______________________________________

RELIEF

I was empty, I was tired.

I was drowning there in grief.

But I know If I had to hate you,

I would never know relief.

You silenced every mother singing, “Safe from harm.”

Sisters, friends and brothers, they were stolen from our arms. Now, we are lights cast into darkness. We are hope from love’s lost strength. But I know I must have hope for you. I must believe we all can change.

I must let Mercy lead the way. 

_______________________________________________

LAUGH WITH ME

I used to think that life was just a race to reach a point called win; to be happy in the end, but the point is to begin.

Every day’s a lifetime, another chance to choose

how I’ll be remembered; as a blessing or the blues.

What I have to give inside becomes the portion that I’ll keep. The love that I receive becomes the harvest that I’ll reap.

Let me be remembered for something true.

Not for what I am alone, but for who I am with you.

Laugh with me and life bursts open into Spring.

Sing with me and see what harmony we’re bringing. Hold my hand and I’ll lead you to a quiet stream. Together we will understand the meaning of this dream...the meaning of this.

Without you I’m a shadow dancing in the frame of time, a scribbled line of prose but with you, an endless rhyme. Every day’s a lifetime, another chance to choose

how I’ll be remembered; as a blessing or the blues...

A book, a song, a story, without love there’s no glory. What is the center of it all? ...

Contact:

thelevins@yahoo.com

www.thelevinsmusic.com

So grateful to everyone

Sid and Sally Levin, Marilyn Bordenaro, Barbara Roehrer, Mark Dann, Nancy and George Doherty, Brody Lowe, Kari Estrin, John Platt, Ellen Dreskin, Carolyn Honey, Peter Kasturas, Susan Katz, Shakespeare, Hermann Hesse. And all of our amazing fans, listeners and supporters.

Trust Funder

Andrew Shaw

Trust Fund Executives

Sidney and Sally Levin, Barbara and Gordon Roehrer

Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by

Mark Dann / Mark Dann Studios New York City and Woodstock, NY

Produced by

The Levins

MUSICIANS

Ira Scott Levin- vocals, guitar

Julia Bordenaro Levin- vocals, piano

Dan Hickey- Drums (1,2)

Sean Dixon- percussion

Sara Milonovich- violin (5, 8)

David Moss- cello (2, 9, 10, 12)

Aharon Bolsta- tabla, (9,10) Indian Bansuri flute- (10) Mark Dann- stand up bass, tenor guitar (5), acoustic guitar (4,7)

nylon guitar (6), 12 string (10), octive mandolin (7)

CD Artwork and Layout

Brody Lowe

All music/lyrics written by

Ira Scott Levin and Julia Bordenaro Levin; except #3 - Love Song by Bruce Cockburn and #5 Chorus - words of Shakespeare

Contact, Like, Connect, Share

thelevins@yahoo.com

www.thelevinsmusic.com www.twitter.com/thelevins www.facebook.com/thelevins www.reverbnation.com/thelevins www.sonicbids.com/band/thelevins

Booking: Acoustic Music Agency broehrer@optonline.net

© 2015 All rights reserved

Album: My Friend Hafiz  by The Levins
Music: Ira Scott Levin & Julia Bordenaro Levin
Lyrics:  Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013
- inspired by the poetry of Hafiz of Shiraz as rendered by Daniel Ladinsky

Dropping Keys  : Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

I am one of many, I’m not one alone.
When I sing from the center of my soul
I shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne.  Ah –ha!  Hey, hey!
I shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne.

The small minded man locks up everyone he knows
But the sage ducks his head when the moon is low.
And all night long he’s dropping keys,
To the beautiful prisoners at his knees.
All those beautiful rowdy prisoners must be freed!  

Doubt came along and captured me
he stuck me in a trunk at the bottom of the sea.
The wise old sage had mercy on me
and his words of wisdom set me free.
All those beautiful words of wisdom set me free. Chorus

The king takes a diamond off his throne
and he sticks it in the ground where the seeds are sown
and up from the ground comes a groove of trees
sprouting words to the wise in the shape of keys.

The poet and the wise man climbing trees
so they can sing us songs like these. Chorus
END: Ah-ha, hey, hey- Shine like a diamond in the old king’s throne!

The Sun Never Says

Even after all this time, the sun never says to the earth: “
You owe me!”, “You owe me!”
Look what you can do with a love like that… I
t lights up the whole sky – hi hi- hi hi – hi hiiii

Chorus -

I give to you and you give to me, it raises us up and allows us to see
When I give to you and you give too, then it frees me
―I can see me and you.

Even after all this time, the river never says to the sea,
“You owe me!”, “You owe me!”
Look what you can do with a love like that…
It covers the whole earth with life- hi hi- hi hi- hi hiii  Chorus

 Bridge: When I give then I get so much more than I give
when I give then I get so much more.                (4x)

Look what you can do with a love like this . . .
it covers the whole sky with bliss  Hi hi- hi hi- hi hiiii
Chorus + And it frees me, I can see me and you. 
Even after all this time…

Your Mother and My Mother

We’re all renting rooms in this house,
fear is the cheapest one here.
I’d like to see you in a room in this house, 
one with a little more cheer.
For I know the Inn Keeper who runs this galaxy,
happy to help you with one word from me.
Tonight get some rest and let your heart mend,
sing me tomorrow, we’ll go see my friend

Chorus:

For your mother and my mother
are good friends who care for each other
Your heart and my heart
belonged to each other right here from the start.
Old, old friends, very, very old friends

We’re all renting rooms in this house,
joy is the finest one here.
We can explore all the rooms in this house,
with a view that is forever clear.

For I know the Inn Keeper who runs this galaxy,
the drinks will be flowing tonight and they’re free.

To leave a tip of a generous size
—let love and playfulness show in your eyes.

END: Send that thought up with your heart wide open,
somewhere, something good will happen (2x)

When the Violin    Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

When the violin can begin to forgive the past
- it starts singing.When the violin can begin to stop worrying
what the future will bring - it starts laughing.

Lean down and comb me into your hair. 
Let me know, let me know you are there.

When the violin, can begin
to forgive all the wounds
that the others are bringing - it starts singing:
Yi li yi li li li li- Yi li li li li li li            
When the violin can begin

A Root In Each Act and Creature (Sun’s Eyes)
Hafiz/Ladinsky/ Levin © 2013

Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.
Disguised eyelashes sweep the land.
Embraced by sunlight’s masquerade,
the Earth’s a canvas on parade. 

Chorus -
If just a little clay and water in a bowl
reveals these wonders to behold.
What new delights will soon unfold?
The endless petals of the soul.

One heart resides in everything
Renew your body, hear it sing.
Each act and creature we perceive
has roots in one who can conceive. Chorus -

The endless petals of the soul (3x)

Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.
Disguised eyelashes sweep the land.
Illuminated scents and sounds
Exquisite whirling forms abound. Chorus –

The endless petals of the soul (3x)
END: Sun’s eyes are painting fields again.

Like a Life-Giving Sun
Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin  © 2013

You could be, you could be a Wild Horseman
Help to free, help to free us all from the state that we're in…
What if you and love become sweet lovers?
What if you and prayer become one?
It’s naïve to believe we’re not in battle.

And I grieve, as the brave are falling like cattle.
Fall in pain, gone insane
Oh, the brave are falling like rain.
You could be, you could be a victorious horseman.
And carry your heart through this world.  Free yourself and this world.
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.

What if you and love became sweet lovers? 
What if you and love became one?
So below as above Sweet love

Don’t sit grieving.  Go where you’re needed
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.
You could be, you could be a great horseman.
Carry your heart through this world.  (Help to) free yourself and this world
Carry your heart through this world like a life giving sun.

What if you and love became sweet lovers? 
What if you and love became one?

Act Great
Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

What is the key to unlock your mind to untie the knot of suffering blind?
What is the secret to silence the madness?
That tramples the landscape, the heart’s tender bliss?
That imprisons the eye with all its denied, from the cold golden idol to the forbidden kiss?

Chorus: 
Act great!  Act great!  Act great!  Act —great!
Whatever life hands you, you don’t have to wait.
Act great!  Act great!  Act great!  Act —great!
One act of kindness can overcome fate.
...Always act great my dear.  Act great!

What is the cure to this poisoned well?
Where is the ladder set here when we fell?
What is now sacred and how shall I care?
What can I cling to as true as my true love’s hair?

My Friend Hafiz he whispers two words
Two little words with the beauty of birds
with the beauty of emeralds of angels and light.
two words that restored me and gave my eyes sight.
Chorus
Benevolent thought, benevolent sound,
benevolent movement around and around  (2x)

Always act great my dears.  Always act great my dear.
 Always act great my dears.  Act great!

Forgive the Dream
Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

I see your sky is winter and know your wounds that will not heal
You long for the warmth of a perfect one’s circle
Only complete when love becomes real.  –when love becomes real.

Your hands and feet and heart are wise
Still the tears they sting your eyes
Allow yourself to view the brow that allows this universe to rise
this universe to rise   this universe to rise

Chorus:

Are you still listening to that old alley song?

It brings you such pain and it goes on far too long.

Train your ears to hear this gentle stream

until you can forgive —forgive this dream.

We can drink wine from a gourd that I hollowed in my house.

We can eat cheese from a calf that I raised up by myself.

We can feast upon this truth throughout the night

We can break bread on a carpet made of light.    Chorus

A saint is an Earth in eternal spring.  Hafiz is a poet whose song I sing

Inside the veins of a petal of a redbud tree are hidden worlds where he may be.

I see your sky is winter —forgive this dream.

Know your wounds will finally heal —forgive this dream.  And become real.

I see your sky is winter —Oh, forgive this dream.

Wounds of love will finally heal —forgive this dream.  And become real.

A saint is an Earth in eternal spring.  Hafiz is a poet whose song I sing

Inside the veins of a petal of a redbud tree are hidden worlds where he may be.

Forgive this dream ―and become real.  Forgive this dream ―and become real.
 

Every Child

Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

Every child has known God.  That’s quite a claim.

For they don’t know God

as a ‘God of Names’   as a ‘God of Don’ts’   a ‘God of Shame,’

of stormy moods or any strange behavior.  Not a king or a queen, a giant, tyrant or savior.

But every child knows God.  Not as someone you can see,

But the God who only knows four words:

Come Dance with me!  Come Dance with me!

Come Dance!  Come Dance!  Come Dance!           2x

END:  —with me.  Oh, Come Dance with me!

The first chord is an open one on the 3rd and 4th strings 3rd string on fret 9 and the 4th string on fret 11. 

The second chord is a minor interval  on the 10th and 11th fret on the 2nd and 3rd strings.

the 3rd chord is an open E 5.  

Troubled

Hafiz/Ladinsky/Levin © 2013

Troubled?  Stay with me   I’m not.  Lonely?  Play with me.

I’ve got two ancient caves behind my eyes where true love lies.

Chorus:

Write them all down all your worries and your fears
even from a thousand yearsI will lean into today,
and the flame inside my heart will burn them all away.

Frightened?  Be with me ―and cope. 
Weary?  Dance with me —there’s hope.
“If I wrote my troubles down, they would wind this earth around.”

Offer them in prayer and in a flash
―they’re holy ash, incense in the air-
And we’ll rise and we’ll rise until all the earth and sky
disappear with your fear
And we’ll sing and be the space containing everything.       Chorus

Old Sweet Beggar

Lyric: Hafiz/ Ladinsky/ Levin  Music- The Levins  © 2013

Once I was envied as having what seemed to be all you could want to possess

People revered me, Powerful feared me, but soon all I wanted was less. 

I gave up privilege, feathers of vanity

Begging for change and filled with desire to be:

Kindness, humility, peace, and tranquility - Kindness, humility, peace, and tranquility

Chorus:

Love turned me into a sweet old beggar.

Love itself fell into my bowl

I rose from the ditch, infinitely rich

All that is left is one goal –one goal, -one goal . . .

All I want to do is empty my emerald filled pockets on this tear stained world for you.

—empty my emerald filled pockets on this tear stained world for you

Chorus -  END:  For you, for you, for you.   (2x)    This love, this love, this love. (3x)

The Chorus in the Eye

lyrics: Hafiz/ Ladinsky/ Levin    Music: The Levins © 2013

Your eye has a melody we want to hear.

The sun and moon will gladly wear robes and sway like children at play;

when the Pir directs light, when the saint conducts sight.

Slipping magic into sounds, won’t you pour them in the ground?

into the earth’s bruised ear.  Can’t you hear?

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq!  Sweetheart, Sweetheart, you are my counterpart.

Hafiz won’t you whisper of luminous bliss

that kisses each traveller through time

won’t you tell all the world of nature sublime?

“Yes” (he says,) “I will.”  (Listen,) he is whispering still.

Slipping magic into sounds, won’t you pour them in the ground?

of the earth’s bruised ear.  Can’t you hear?

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq!  Sweetheart, Sweetheart, you are my counterpart.

Love is royalty moving ceaselessly.  The chorus in the heart needs to sing

like the tuned clay drum humming all day long to everything:

Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq!   Mashuq, Mashuq ―Mashuq!     Mashuq!    Mashuq!

From The Gift Poems by Hafiz as rendered by Daniel Ladinsky – Penguin Compass books

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

ALBUM: Barely Contained
 

Barely Contained - Lyrics & Music- Ira and Julia Levin

© 2010 The Levins
 

My thoughts and my body are not me.

I can play them both like a violin.

Their melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.

I once saw a fish in a tall tree, when she saw me she began to grin

She said, “Your melody reminds me, there’s water in air” and she started to swim.

Chorus:

I’m barely contained, you can’t buy how I feel.

I give it away, I’m a bright summer’s day with the 

Colors of Fall.  

I’m all things at once, and I’m nothing at all.

I used to think power was outside, and that strength was just a muscle show.

Strength funnels through from the inside.

I can bench press the world by just letting go.

I once saw a rose in an old book, when she saw me she began to grin.

She said, “Your melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.”

I’m barely contained, you can’t buy how I feel.

I give it away, I’m a bright summer’s day with the Colors of Fall. 

 I’m all things at once, and I’m nothing at all.

Breathing is more than a pastime, it’s a fine line

And you can’t hold on.

Laughing is healing and loving is really a wind chime;

It’s a song.

Chorus.  I’m all things at once and I’m nothing at all.

I’m all things at once and I’m nothing.

I’m all things at once…

My thoughts and my body are not me.

I can play them both like a violin.

Their melody reminds me of who I am and where I’ve been.

 Blue skies- Irving Berlin © 1926

The Levins arrangement © 2010

Blue skies Smiling at me

Nothing but blue skies Do I see

Bluebirds Singing a song

Nothing but bluebirds All day long

I Never saw the sun shining so bright

Never saw things going so right

Noticing the days hurrying by

When you're in love, my how they fly

Blue days All of them gone

Nothing but blue skies From now on

Coffee my Love- Lyrics & Music- Ira and Julia Levin

© 2010 The Levins

I’d like to see you, early in the morning.

I like to hold out, hold out till noon.

I might go crazy, crazy if I see you.

I might go crazy if I see you too soon.

But it’s a love affair, when your perfume’s in the air

I love this love affair, you perk me up!             Oh!

Pre-chorus:

Coffee, you’re my cure-all, you’re my panacea paramour.

An ounce of hope in every cup, you pick me up from shore to shore.

If I never had another sip from today, I would love you – ever more.

Chorus: Coffee my love, black as the night.

You make me- bright as the sun- ar-o-matic delight!

If I’m on the run or at my leisure, it’s a pleasure to be together.

It’s a pleasure to be together.  Do- doo do dooo.  Do Do Do Dooo Do Doo Dooo.

When we meet at your house, atmosphere is everything.

Linger over Whitman while the songwriter sings.

At the diner in a booth, at a counter in Deluth, 

Local history as decure, beehive waitress: Want some more?

At the café, you and I will steal away.  Grab a quick bite, catch up with friends,

Find time to write for hours on end…Oh.. Pre-chorus/Chorus but after… ‘It’s a pleasure to be together’ the 2^nd time straight into:

Viennese is such a tease, Costa Rica love to see you; Fly to Paris- sit outside, Go to 

Venice- take a ride, why Rome?  When we can make our own at home?

Pre-chorus/ Chorus

It’s a pleasure to be together.

Not as Dark as it Seems -Lyrics and Music: Ira Levin & Julia Levin

© 2010 The Levins

Were we all aware that every dish was made with care?

A symphonic rendezvous, and when the time is through

you’re doing dishes after midnight.

It’s not an unfamiliar sight.

And your cup of coffee 

says: “Do they ever think of me?”

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream,

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems.

Keeping busy all the time

To scale this mountain that you climb;

You’ve got a yearning and a longing there that’s burning.

Burning late into the night, it’s not an unfamiliar sight.

And your coffee cup 

says: “I’m full but fill me up.”

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems  Yi di di di…yi di didi

The bottom’s an opportunity to see what you are made of 

and your own divinity.

A cup that’s made of clay is bound to hit the ground one day,

but don’t let that bring you down.

All that’s lost is found.

We’ll meet one day at eternity’s café.

It’s not as dark as it seems

Just put in some cream

and add some sweet memories

It’s not as dark as it seems.  Yi di di di…yi di didi

Time To Go- Lyrics & Music- Ira & Julia Levin

© 2010 The Levins

It’s all one big day.  The sun is a maypole and we are winding away.

How many moments, reflected like diamonds, gather around you

to light up your way? 

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Laughter that rises up from the center.

Tears that are taken away to the sea.

A house without walls, open to enter.

That is the time that you spend with me.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Raise your glass. Raise up your hope.

Raise your courage up high.

All that we share will not be forgotten.

We’ll see you again by and by.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Time to go. Time to go on our way.

Ale Brider – The Levins’ version

© 2010 The Levins

We are all together and we sing and dance forever 

Ale brider, ale shvester, michbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

When we sing we’re not divided.  When we dance we are delighted- 

Ale Shvester, ale brider, mishbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Un mir zinen ale brider- un mir zingen frelich lider

(We sing happy songs as brothers. We stick together like nobody else does!)

Ale shvester, ale brider- mishbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Oy, Oy, oy, OY, oy yoy yoy, yoy yoy!

La la la la… 

Because we are a family, we treat each other joyously       

Forgetting all our quarrels and our cares.      

No matter what we have we share and when we sing we care                    

For one another, sister brother, mishbucha! (Family)

Un mir halten zeekin anum

Azelkis is nito bi canum

(We are all united whether we are many of few and we love each other.)

Ale brider, ale shvester- Mischbucha!

(We are all brothers, we are all sisters- family!)

Ya la li li li li li li li – yay li li

Oy, Oy, oy, OY, oy yoy yoy, yoy yoy!

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________