A Thousand Leaves
(Brighton 2008)
We invited Seckou Keita to come and play his Kora on Flame, and while in the studio we suddenly had the idea of asking him to improvise something on A Thousand Leaves as well. It was such a joy to witness a true master in action.
Just as your thumbnail can cover the sun, so can a concept hide the truth
Hoarding the things that we once learned, back in our youth Dragging them with us a drop in the ocean oh give me expanding crashing waves These simplified theories so solid tomorrow Will only fade away Will only fade, will only fade away We think that we know where we’re coming from, we think we’ve evolved two million years on We should be more concerned with where we’re going to now What about the subatomic things that you can’t see with a microscope or a camera lens? What about the force that lies beyond them? Holds us together, keeps the world turning The threads that keep us learning, learning Chorus: I am wise When I am sure I know nothing Anything that’s tied down is lies Every question is living I let it in ‘cos it just is She fills me through I hear her breathing A thousand leaves sing for peace and I am with them A thousand leaves sing for peace and I am with them There is no need to go back to the Stone Age we can amalgamate technology with nature to accelerate The rate at which we purify the air and rebuild this beauty, for our children to share Because these new discoveries are of magic, magic so rare What about the songs we sing with our loved ones? Are they extinct ‘cos we’re lost in our screens What about the children shooting in their 2D reality, desensitised, sensitivity Heading for a self-destructive territory evolutionary static ‘cos we’re at it for mathematical glory From the embers of catastrophe rises the phoenix from the flame From the ashes spring the green shoots ready to restart the game Regain consciousness, Mama bless Chorus A thousand leaves we sing for peace x 8 Chorus A thousand leaves still will sing when I am gone A thousand leaves they will sing Salaam Shalom Salaam Shalom Salaam - Peace in Arabic Shalom - Peace in Hebrew Musicians Susie Ro – Vocals Michael Stanton – Guitar & backing vocals Seckou Keita – Kora Eran Katz – Guitar, percussion & bass Radek Ditrych – Bass Allan Kerr – Percussion Nimrod Nol – Violin Omer Gonen-Haela – Flute |