More Than Gravity That Holds The World Together
Singing In The Dark - New Video & Reflection
"I once asked a bird,
"How do you fly in this gravity of darkness ?"
And she replied "Love lifts me" - Hafiz
Hi Folks,
On my new album, A Great Wild Mercy, is a song called “Singing In The Dark”. It was co-written with my friend John McCutcheon. It’s one of my favorite songs on the new collection. Last December I was invited to a poetry/ book reading at the The Abbey of Gethsemani, where the mystic monk/author/poet Thomas Merton lived and wrote. I was invited by my friends Judith Valente and Br. Paul Quenon, to sing at a small dedication and reading that happened with a few close friends around the warm hearth of the Merton Hermitage. While I was at the Abbey I also attended many of the Liturgy of the Hours including the earliest vigil that happens at 3:15am. I found gathering in community with the monks at that dark and quiet hour to sing and say the prayers was deeply moving and a powerful reminder that it is not just gravity that holds the world together.
The next day I had had the opportunity to speak with one of the monks, Br. Lawerence, and asked how he felt about getting up each and every night at darkest hour to sing the vigil. He told me the middle of the night is a very vulnerable time, and told me a story about a friend of his who ran an all night crisis hotline. His friend described that the phones were often quiet until 2 or 3am, for that was the time of the night when mothers are in labor or when people hit bottom or people wake from restless dreams and need to hear a comforting voice. Br. Lawerence sipped his tea and told me he believe it mattered, it was important that someone intentionally and faithfully sends prayers and songs into the world for those who might need courage or comfort. There is always someone singing in the dark at that vulnerable time of the night - for you, for me, for anyone awake or might need help at that hour.
I found the thought very comforting and very compelling. I went home and told John about the experience and together we wrote “Singing in the Dark.”
Right now it feels like there is a great darkness in the world as we face the challenges of these troubled times. We are inundated with news, stories and images of so much suffering. It weighs on our hearts and minds. Many of us wake in the night worried or afraid or just feeling in over our heads. Honestly, I don’t believe human hearts and spirits are designed to live in a 24/7 swirl of tragic or scary news- and deep down, something in our soul knows its too much.
And so what shall we do, and how shall we live? And so again, each day I bring it back to human size. Like the monks of Gethsemani, in times of trouble we must learn to sing in the dark for the seen and unseen, for ourselves, for one another and for the suffering world. I felt the power of those songs at that 3am vigil. I feel them now.
Yes, it is more than gravity that actually holds the world together. What sustains the world and maintains hope in the hardest time is the faithful practice of daily good intention, sharing with our kindred all that comes along - the glorious, the precarious, the opening and closing of doors.
There is still a great wild mercy that spools through the world, a song that still rings in the dark, a hope that is here and still evident. There is always someone singing in the dark for you.
Community Question -
What does singing in the dark mean to you? To balance the avalanche of troubling information we receive each day, it is so important to hear how we each, in large and small ways, contribute to a kinder world…how do you do ”sing in the dark” in your daily life?
Singing In The Dark
We gather in morning,
The darkest hour of night,
The darkest days of the winter,
Feeling for the light,
Sitting in the silence,
As all the world’s asleep,
The monks of Gethsemane,
The watch they daily keep.
Verse I am a wayfaring stranger,
Hungry for some grace,
I am a soul forever searching,
A pilgrim to this place,
I am here to meet whatever,
Is listening for me here,
While all the world is waiting,
At the turning of the year.
Singing in dark,
Calling up the day,
Joining with the voices,
Opening the way,
Sitting here in vigil,
Waiting for the spark,
That bursts into being,
Singing in the dark.
It is there at every hour,
It happens everywhere,
In the tenderest of times,
In faithful, common prayer,
Seen and unseen,
For the many by the few,
There is always someone,
Singing in the dark for you.
Singing in dark,
Calling up the day,
Joining with the voices,
Opening the way,
Sitting here in vigil,
Waiting for the spark,
That bursts into being,
Singing in the dark.
The prayer is never over,
The work is never done.
We each raise up our voice,
And our voices become one,
Voices become one,
Voices become one.
When we think that we are lost,
And out there on our own,
And the dawn is in the distance,
Still, we are not alone,
Heaven is right here,
If we open up our heart,
And join the far-flung choir,
That is singing in the dark
Singing in dark,
Calling up the day,
Joining with the voices,
Opening the way,
Sitting here in vigil,
Waiting for the spark,
That bursts into being,
Singing in the dark.
by John McCutcheon & Carrie Newcomer
Note & credits On The Record -
Loved working with this group of musicians. And always credit where credit is due!
Brittany Haas - mandolin
Paul Kowert - Bass
Jordan Tice - guitar & harmony vocal
Gary Walters - piano
Moi :-) - vocal & guitar
Recorded and Mixed at Airtime Studios by David Weber.
Just a Reminder
In November & December I am offering 2 very special In Gratitude Supporting Subscriber Events!
On November 24, 2023 I’ll be posting a new full concert on Vimeo, A Great Wild Mercy Live Release Concert - Carrie Newcomer with Gary Walters, Allie Summers & String Quartet. Join us for this beautiful string quartet presentation of new and favorite songs, filmed at the Buskirk Chumley Theater in front of a live audience. I so enjoyed this concert, showcasing string arrangements by Gary Walters. It was an evening of gratitude and it felt appropriate to premier it on A Gathering Of Spirits on Thanksgiving Day! If you miss the showing on Thanksgiving Day the link will be archived through February 28th so you can watch the full concert whenever you want.
Having had the luck to born with a voice that reminds me of the sound made when emptying a gravel truck, singing was never my long suit. But, I am a self taught piano player and I'm good enough to impress my close friends. Also, I am lucky enough to have married late in life and someone who did not want a ring for an engagement gift, but instead wanted a grand piano. (I think the two were related.) As older adults, we created no children but made a beautiful home and family for ourselves and the dog.
One night I was having trouble sleeping. I rolled and tossed for what seemed like hours. For some reason, I got up, went downstairs and found myself sitting at the piano. I put the top down, so as to be as quiet as I could. I stood on the soft pedal to add as much more quiet as possible, and I barely touched the keys. But, I did sit there, all alone, and played the piano in the pitch darkness. It felt so good that I remember also closing my eyes to add more darkness, but still I could play.
Suddenly I became aware of my bride sitting next to me on the bench. We never spoke. She put her arm around my shoulder and I went back to playing, still as quietly as possible. The dog came and crawled up in her lap in a not-so-little ball. And, there we were ... the three of us ... in the middle of the night...sitting at the piano ... in total quiet ... not a word spoken ... hearing "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" and "Green Dolphin Street" and "Misty" ... falling in love all over again ... sharing our souls singing in the dark.
That was 1986. She and the dog are both long gone now and have retained very little of my hearing. So is that beautiful house and the piano both a memory. But, it seems like yesterday we had our moment. I still find times when I have great difficulty going to sleep, even though I am well into my 80s and alone now. I wonder ... do you suppose I still have my Erroll Garner CDs?
Thank you so much for the reminder ... some of us are the fortunate ones who have our own personal Singing in the Dark moments over which we can shed a loving tear ... Thank You.
My singing in the dark isn’t in the physical darkness but in the darkness that seems to often deep into my heart, soul, being this time of year with the shortening of day light. My singing is looking for present moment joys, the sun rising behind the brown and golden leaves, the meow of the cat, the greeting from my husband, the encouragement of a friend by text. Knowing there are people sending out song and love in the darkness of hours is comforting especially when so many things are so hard in our world today. Thanks to you and John for your song