Awake

I burned a bunch of CDs for an old friend and her family this past weekend. I was listening to the songs and noticed one by Conrad Lambert. Lambert had a CD of Baha'i music with a strong southern African influence in its style that came out in the early 1990s (Heathrow Terminal One). I remember many years ago being frustrated that there were so few good Baha'i popular or folk singers (Seals and Crofts were about it, and they were pretty good; I liked Dizzy Gillespie too, but two isn't a large number). Well, I liked the do-it-yourself amateur attitude. Many decent talents that were playing guitar and singing at local community events, but they weren't popular beyond those of us who knew them. The Baha'is in Nairobi (where I lived in 1988) and St. Louis (where I lived 1982-1986 and 1992-2000) had (and have) tremendous talent. Then, in the 1990s, we started hearing more Baha'i musicians with strong talent who were releasing recordings, and now there are many fairly good Baha'i musicians, and even the ones that don't stand out for their amazing talent sometimes produce a few fantastic pieces. One of my favorites among the Baha'i musicians is Conrad Lambert, who now has a professional name: Merz. Others among many I like include Grant Hindin Miller, and Brian Taraz (Nahüm).

Anyway, I really love this song, "Awake." I have so many dear friends who live in Taiwan, and people who have touched my life who live far away, and this song is, for me, about attraction and unity and tender concern transcending the barriers of physical distance and time. I was looking for lyrics online and found some, but I hear some of the words differently, so here are the lyrics as I hear them:

I know you're awake, 
I Know you're smiling in your heart

'Cause there are three reasons why we are never apart,
I know you are miles [away],

But what’s a mile anyway 

When our Maker says that we're of the same dust?
You are a part of me

And I am always with you 

So what’s a few months, so what’s a few years?
I know you're awake,
I know you're smiling in your heart
'Cause there are three reasons why we are never apart,
Number 1,
I look at the moon

I know the light that bathes me in silver

Is reflections from the sun that bathes you in daylight,
Number 2,
like atoms
the more we separate

[The] more light we bring to the whole world

A force is created when we part,
Number 3,
where there is love

There is always time

And when there is time we are always together...

And, here is a sample of the song [mp3 550 KB]. You can watch a video of a song by Merz on YouTube. I'm not sure where you can buy Heathrow Terminal One. It's not easy to find.