These songs are stories. Each story drew me toward a musical style – Andean pipes, Beethoven, Klezmer, rock – that would illuminate it and bring it to life. Wonderful musicians helped me. In some songs I reinterpret ideas from ancient traditions in light of science. I play with the border between science and spirit. I only speak of God metaphorically. As Alan Watts once put it, describing God is like painting a sun on your window that blocks out the sunlight.
ALIEN WISDOM SONGS
Alien Wisdom 5:50
a conversation with an astrophysicist/archbishop
Abraham Was Listening 4:45
a perspective on the Isaac story
All’s Well That Ends Well 6:13
a modern Faust story
The Book of Life 3:07
for the Day of Atonement
The Handwriting of God 5:48
patterns in the cosmic background radiation
Taking Care of Myself 3:52
waking up to reality in a relationship
The Monk and the Samurai 5:47
from a 13th century Zen Buddhist story
Third World Bind 7:40
for the 1st Conference on Global Sustainable Agriculture
The Fable of the Parrots 7:48
from an old Hindu story, as told by a yogi
Gem of the Universe 4:15
an anthem for the Earth
Total time 55:05
Words and music composed by Nancy Ellen Abrams, except The Monk and the Samurai – music by Beethoven.