Rose of Sharon words and music by Eliza Gilkyson ©Gilkysongs/Bluewater Music BMI
I am a rose of Sharon
A lily of the valley
As a lily grows among the thorns
Love in this world has found me
As an apple tree among the trees
That grow deep in the forest
My lover’s form is comely
With life and limb most joyous
Rise up my love and come away
The rain is over and gone
Your love is the fruit of my darkest day
And I am your Rose of Sharon
His gentle hand lies under my head
His shoulders turned to face me
I shall not stir him from my bed
While he doth so embrace me
Oh, bring me wine to pass the time
Though none but him can soothe me
I am my beloved’s and he is mine
Desire for his pleasure moves me
Rise up my love and come away
The rain is over and gone
Your love is the fruit of my darkest day
And I am your Rose of Sharon
And I am your Rose of SharonThe Sabbath Queen words & music: Sharon Goldman ©2016 Sharon Goldman Music/BMI
The Sabbath Queen
Brushes her flowing hair
Washes her face clean
Everyone is waiting for her
She is dressed in pure white
To usher in the Sabbath night as the beloved bride
Her pearls shimmer in the candlelight
In the mirror’s reflection
Dark circles around her eyes
She powders them to perfection, the queen’s disguise
She woke at dawn to bake the bread
And prepare the evening meal
Sewed her gown with silken thread
She looks as tired as she feels
Lecha dodi likrat kala
Penei shabbat nekabla 2X
[**Traditional Hebrew prayer translation: “Come my beloved, to greet the bride, As we welcome the presence of the Sabbath”]
Behind her veil sometimes she wants to disappear
She bites her polished nails, her lipstick smears
She may have blisters on her feet
Still she must stand to meet their gaze
Be quiet and smile sweet
And receive their joyful praise
They open up the door
She brings them peace and rest
Like she did the week before
She always does her best
But underneath her sacred crown
She is not ideal
The Sabbath Queen can’t let them down
But she is real
Lecha dodi likrat kala
Penei Shabbat nekabla 2X
IN MY BONES
Whispers of prayer
Rhythms I understand
Shadows of souls swaying
Singing melodies old as the desert sand
I know them like the back of my hand
Echoes of blessings
Over spices and wine
The ghosts of my ancestors haunt me
They speak a language that used to be mine
I remember every line
It’s in my bones
In my bones
In my bones
Like names etched in brass cobblestones
I can’t erase what is my own
Braided candle flickers
As a new week begins
The wax drips like a sigh on my fingers
Burns with the memories sealed in my skin
I can’t scrape off who I have been
Voices of memory
Rise from their fate
Faces that wandered through centuries
Reflected in my grandmother’s silver plate
I feel the weight
It’s in my bones
In my bones
In my bones
I can’t run from all I’ve known
Because I’m already home
THE BRIDE
She is the bride
Standing underneath the wedding canopy
She stands beside
The handsome groom who breaks the glass joyfully
Everyone is laughing
Everyone is singing
As she dances
Whirling in a circle of family and friends
How could she know
This is the beginning of the end
The band is playing
Lifted in two chairs they are flying
Kol sasson ve kol simcha, kol chatan ve kol kallah
Voice of joy, voice of gladness, voice of the groom and voice of the bride
This is her day
Dressed in white, she is as beautiful as a queen
But years from now, with strands of gray
She’ll realize it was someone else’s dream
The sound of blessings
Echo with the ache of something missing
ohhh…..Someday she’ll stand in the doorway
ohhhh…..She will pray for the strength to walk away
Kol sasson ve kol simcha, kol chatan ve kol kallah
Voice of joy, voice of gladness, voice of regret and voice of sadness
Di-di-di-di-di
LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
The land of milk and honey
Is bittersweet
The taste of blood and berries on my bitten tongue
As I wander ancient streets
I am a stranger
In a strange place where everything is so familiar
It’s been so long since I’ve seen these faces
That look like mine but I don’t belong
In the land of milk and honey
Nothing is as it seems
War overlooks fields of wildflowers
Peace is buried in dreams
Every mother loves her sons and daughters
On whichever side she stands
But hate runs deep like hidden water
Flowing underneath the desert sand
Eretz zavat chalav, chalav u’dvash
Eretz zavat chalav, chalav u’dvash
2X
The land of milk and honey
Is filled with promise and fear
I ride the bus from the mountains to the sea
And wonder why I’m here
There’s a soldier sleeping next to me
With a gun across his shoulder
The sun shines on his face
As we pass olive trees and barbed wire
Eretz zavat chalav
Chalav u’dvash
2X
I COULD HAVE SWORN
I saw a falcon fly
It flew as fast as time
I thought it carried my memories
All my years on its wings
Across a mountainside
I saw the harvest moon rise
Autumn season in the night sky
The psalm says our days are like a breath
A fleeting shadow across our eyes
And I could have sworn
I saw you in the sea of stars
Dancing in the light
I heard a sycamore tree
Whisper as its leaves
Fell as slowly as a Sabbath day
Their work is done
They can finally rest in peace
I heard a chickadee
Calling out to me
Like a Kaddish echoed across the cold and barren woods
A prayer or a plea
And I could have sworn
I heard your voice in the wind
Singing in the breeze
I felt the drops of rain
Scatter down my face
As if all my tears were washed away
Just as summer has gone without a trace
And I could have sworn
I felt your hand in mine
We were together again in our place
KOL ISHA
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Kol Isha
A woman’s voice is naked, forbidden
Don’t raise that sweet sound in front of men
Silence, silence girls
Sit quietly
Don’t sing out loud
It might arouse attention
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol ISha
When I was twelve
I sat behind the great divide
On the women’s side I could only listen
How I wanted to be the one
Who sang for the many
The favorite son
But daughters were raised on modesty
I wanted to be free
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
The bible says Deborah sang in victory
And Miriam sang her song at the sea
A woman’s voice
Is the boundless force of life unhidden
We cry, we laugh, we shout, we sing
Let us sing
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Kol Isha, Kol Isha, Kol Isha
Three Stars
Searching for three stars
The sign of the end of the Sabbath day
She wonders if God is really everywhere
Does he hear her when she prays?
When Sabbath ends they blow out the flame
Every week is just the same
Searching for three stars, Three stars
She sits on the front steps
Looking for her future in the sky
Sometimes she thinks God hides behind the moon
If only she could fly
When Sabbath ends Daddy drinks the wine
But nothing moves as slow as time
When you’re searching for three stars
Three stars
Her mother says
“Someday you’ll miss having nothing to do but wait.”
But she knows this is not her destiny, nor her fate
Billions of stars hang in the universe
That we can’t see
These days I’m still searching the heavens
For what God means
And maybe I will never know
But I found my way in this world I had to go
Searching for three stars
Three stars