I was a child who looked for magic doors. I knew, of course, that you can’t just go looking until you find one. The call will come to you, the story goes–but that means you must always be listening. So I tried to be ready as I spent my days dreaming of talking animals, of worthy quests, of being special.
Children can find magic almost anywhere. As dreamers grow into the world, we learn to make our own magic–to muddle through until we are old enough for fairy tales again. We make it through acts of creation, trying to get as close as we can to the worlds we see in dreams. We do our best to make it through deeds of kindness and courage, trying to make those worlds real.
"Courage, Dear Heart" is a love letter to magical lands, inspired by my childhood adventures through Narnia with Aslan and Lucy Pevensie. A song to hope and courage, innocence and love.
lyrics
It's been a long time coming
You know the days they pass so differently
A million miles from home
And there's a long line running
Down the years from where I've been
To where and when I still don't know
But oh,
I'm gonna roll in holy water,
I'm gonna dance like Eve's own daughter
At the dawning of creation
For a breath like ocean flowers came to me in lonely hours
And bid me rise above my station
And it cried: courage, dear heart of mine
There is a lioness in you and she is ready, It is time.
Let us ride to meet the morning, hear us singing as we go
We will wake the deepest magic sleeping underneath the stones
We will stir the soul rejoicing in the prison of its bones
And we will love like we have never known the meaning of alone
So take courage, dear heart of mine
There is a heroine in you and she has waited all this time
To hear you say
I can be brave
Say I can save this weary world
Say I believe we must be free
Who will believe again with me?
I will keep my faith in friendship, and be kind at any cost
And be a valiant protector of the little and the lost
We will seek the silver apple in the wilds of the west
Speak with bird and beast abounding in the land that we know best
And when the winter lay behind us
When the road has reached its end
We will find the hidden way
And we'll begin our dreams again
So take courage, dear heart of mine
You are a queen of once and always, now and ever, for all time
Courage, dear heart of mine
There is a lioness in you and she is ready, it is time.
credits
from Courage, Dear Heart,
released November 3, 2023
Summer Russell - lead vocals, guitar, sleigh bells
Eric Distad - 12-string guitar, bass
Sunnie Larsen - violin, viola
Cathy McManamon - recorder
Brenda Sutton - bodhrán
I could listen to Lauren sing forever. Her writing is vivid and sensitive, sweetly and painfully human--never apologizing for sharp corners and rough edges. The beauty of her spirit shines through. Summer Russell
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