One By One Everyone Comes To Remember
By Michael Stillwater, Inner Harmony Music, BMI
Please check out his site, rich with many more songs and recordings.
As sung by Bennett & the Bennett Brothers (me, overdubbed)
One by one everyone comes to remember we're healing
The world one heart at a time
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This is another one I learned at Maine Fiddle Camp, not sure who from, maybe Ethan Tischler? and it hit me right away just how powerful it is. Once you learn the melody you can hop in at the easy spots (the breath after healing), or if you want to plus it up there are other places to try jumping in, like right after "one by one". Or other spots! It can all get pretty far out pretty quickly if you let it. Or you can keep it relatively restrained and let the built in harmonies emerge. Incredible.
Songs have an interesting effect on people. I encounter a lot of talk about "kumbaya moments" and how embarrassing they are. For a long time I shared that perspective. But this song and several other truly beautiful songs like it allow me to push through my shyness, my embarrassment to be expressing feelings, and allow the song and its sentiment to take hold. If you choose the right moment, and that is key, it can be transformative.
If you're going to try this out while walking, it requires a slow, meditative pace, much slower than your average "walking about town" pace. More like monk-mode walking. give it a try and remember that you can keep your legs swinging and feet going at a certain pace, but cover less ground. It's interesting to play around with. Give it a try.
About the author:
Michael Stillwater is an American songwriter and healing-music practitioner now based in Switzerland. He founded Inner Harmony and has spent four decades writing chants and rounds for singing circles, interfaith gatherings, and community groups worldwide.