Rahel: Music

OSEH SHALOM - SONG FOR PEACE: “Oseh Shalom” is a popular prayer that has artists world-wide writing all sorts of musical versions to. My version was born literally one night in a dream. I dreamt I was sitting in a room playing my guitar and working on a song. It was this song. As I was singing people slowly gathered nearby and began to pray. Someone in the room told me to hush because people were praying nearby. But I didn’t stop; I kept on playing because I instinctively understood that those who had gathered were there because of the song. When I woke up the song was spinning around in my head. So I grabbed a tape recorder and recorded it so I wouldn’t lose it. The dream gave me the first part of the song. I developed the rest over the course of the day. It expresses a celebration of positive energy and good feelings. Peace.

BELONG: We had a pet chameleon. In order to keep it alive we had to feed it live crickets. The house became a cricket sanctuary. At first the chirping was unbearable. But I soon got used to the sounds and came to enjoy sitting in the house listening to the crickets singing their songs. It made me feel very warm, cozy and at home. “Belong” was born out of the feelings of comfort that I got from the songs of the crickets!

DIALOG: I was just playing around on the guitar and I decided to record what I came up with. The song had been milling around in my head all day and it wasn't until midnight that the words finally came to me. I entered this song into a songwriting contest on a whim. When I became a finalist I realized that I didn't understand what the song was about. I had to really work hard and play with it before I felt that I connected with it. The work became more important to me than the prize and it felt great to be given credit for the amount of work that I had put in.

RISE UP SINGING: I was simply sitting in that still and quiet moment with guitar and pen in hand. I glanced over to my book shelf and noticed a particular songbook. Next thing I knew I was writing a song that was somewhat reminiscent of the protest songs of the late ‘60’s. My favorite verse is the last verse, “Stand up, make yourself known. We all make a difference. One by one we are changing. Together we’ll see the dawning of a new age.” This verse truly expresses my hope for a better world.

I'LL SAY A PRAYER: Jason, of ROOTES, says, "There's something about this song. We don’t play it very often, but when we do, and it’s just right, I get goose bumps."

MY LITTLE BIRD: I actually wrote the first line of this song while sitting on a plane! The tune and first sentence just popped into my head. I jotted it down so as not to lose it then quickly forgot about it. Sometime later I found that piece of paper and finished the song. I think it's about freedom. Jason's bass work and solo on this song are fantastic.

DOWN BLUES: I was feeling very alone and down. I was hoping that a “Prince Charming” would come and sweep me off my feet and take me out of my blues. Reality check please? In real life we have to learn to love ourselves before any “Prince Charming” is going to even look at us. I’ve since learned to “take my time for living. Soul searching is where it’s at.” I’m riding it through.

THIS JOURNEY OF YOU: If you’ve ever been in love, or had a mad uncontrollable crush on someone, you will totally relate to this song. I was hopelessly in love, or at least infatuated when I wrote this song. I was crazy in love even with all its ups and downs. I was there. Unfortunately he wasn’t. But I got a good song out of it and that’s all good!

7-4 HIGH: What the heck does that mean anyway?? Sometimes I just have no idea what my songs are about, or what they are trying to tell me. Sometimes I just write down the words. They come as visions or guidelines or something. Most of the lyric in this song is clear. The part I don’t get is what does “7-4-High” mean? If you have any clues, please tell me!

SOUL SOLITARY: Now THIS is a song. It expresses extreme loneliness. In the white winters of New Hampshire the snows cover vast expanses of land with pure and natural whiteness. In the spring the flowers come out to usher in beautiful summer days. The fall foliage never fails to show off the splendor of God’s awesome creation. Yet, even with all that, without love and without friendship, all I could see and feel was solitude and loneliness. My life felt like a stark desert. Sometimes my life as a musician feels like this. You wonder when you will ever touch someone’s heart with your melodies or lyric. You wonder if anyone will ever notice you, and your songs; your life’s work.

KEE ELEF SHANIM - A THOUSAND YEARS: I really like this song. I love the message. In Hebrew it's really deep. Trying to match that depth into an English lyric was not easy. The message changed slightly but it's a really cool song in both languages. The rhythm is rooted in the Middle East.

T'HOME EL T'HOME - DEEP CRIES TO DEEP: Jason's creative bass work has transformed this song into an amazing work. I especially like to improvise vocally around his bass grooves. Translating the Hebrew lyric into English also opened up new doors for creative interpretation and expression.

DIDN'T WE: Vows… commitments…. Two people vow to stay together for better or for worse. How many of us have actually accomplished that? I sang this song one year at the Milford Pumpkin Festival in New Hampshire. At the end of the set a woman approached me. She wanted to tell me that this song really reached her. She felt I was singing about her life. It was nice to know that my song had reached someone, for better or for worse!