SONGWRITING INSPIRATIONS

by Marilyn Oakley Sifford

In 2006, on a visit to my hometown Roxboro, NC, Bob and I went with my family to a bluegrass festival. While walking around the grounds with my brother David, I unexpectedly encountered and fell in love with a Miniature Schnauzer puppy. This ‘love affair’ changed my life. Browzer’s story is featured in “Girls Best Friend” but there’s more to it. It was during our daily walks and play times that I started hearing melodies and lyrics, writing them down, and following these inspirations with no idea where it might lead. i sincerely believe that without Browzer I would not have written these songs.

Driving forces behind my music are a belief in the power of love, the importance of family and friends, and a deep love and respect for the natural world. I have a passionate concern about the damage to our planet and our fellow creatures that’s occurred in my lifetime and the need to reverse these trends. Themes of social justice, personal and spiritual growth, life, love and loss all find their way into my lyrics.

I’m still in awe of the magic and mystery of what can be received when one find’s a place free of the noise and chatter that bombards us much of the time. Browzer, at age 13 1/2, died November 19, 2019. He will always live in my heart.

Here, I briefly describe the source of inspiration for each of my songs.

FARM SUITE (Country): My paternal Grandparents bought a farm and moved there when my dad, one of 14 children, was 13 years old. They were an extraordinary family, collectively and also as individuals. One child died when only a few months old. Uncle Melvin was killed in WWII at age 33 in France. When my grandparents died, Dad purchased the family farm from his siblings. Our family of 9, including me, two sisters and four brothers, were already living and working on the farm at the time.

Fast forward…I’ve been living and working in the Philadelphia area for 30 plus years. While walking with Browzer, I was flooded with memories of our early years on the farm. These memories, taking shape in the form of lyrics and melodies, eventually sorted themselves into three distinct songs. Later on came ‘The Memory Barn’.

A Farm In Carolina tells a story of my extended family and the deeply held values that emanated from my grandparents.

One of Seven tells the story of my immediate family, being one of seven children, and how tragedy and sudden loss affects the family and changes one’s view of the world forever.

Life On The Farm describes some of the rhythms of daily life on the family farm and draws attention to the importance of food and the many folks who bring it to us from the fields to our tables.

The Memory Barn was inspired by my oldest brother, Donald and his wonderful wife Andrea, who built a barn to house his two antique cars. Little did anyone know or foresee that it would evolve into a ‘magical place’ housing, not only family artifacts and memorabilia, but also our family gatherings. “Somewhere we all have a memory barn that holds the stories of our lives”…..

COUNTRY SONGS

Girl’s Best Friend: You’ve heard the saying, “Dogs are ‘man’s best friend?” Well it’s time to set the record straight. Dogs are also a girl’s best friend! One of my first inspirations, this song is a tribute to Browzer and the special bond between us! If it were not for Browzer, our daily walks, and the special times we shared, I’m convinced that none of these songs would exist.

Our Best: The initial inspiration for “Our Best” came from a conversation with a friend about some difficulties she was experiencing in an important relationship. All relationships are dynamic with sometimes competing needs and desires that create tension. This song is about a universal aspiration and mutual desire to bring out the best in those to whom we are closest.

Tell The Truth: I was pondering a then current (and ever recurring) news story of the deceit and betrayal of an elected politician when the lyrics and melody for this song started to wash over me. Tell The Truth is about the value of being honest with ourselves and each other and how lying can wreak havoc on our relationships.

Road Trip: On our way to a ‘girlfriends’ dinner out’, I played a couple of songs for a friend that I had just recorded with the band. She loved the songs and the band and said, “We need to take a road trip!” After all, every now and then we can all benefit from “seeing things we’ve never seen and doing things we’ve never done”. That night at dinner, we resolved to plan a road trip for the following Summer.

Fifteen Years Today: I wanted to do something meaningful and personal for my husband Bob on our 15th wedding anniversary. Bob and I met “in the worst of times” when we were both experiencing a great loss. My first husband had died earlier that same year while we were vacationing in Belize. At the same time, Bob was going through a divorce. His brother and sister-in-law (my friend and colleague) decided to introduce us. Thus our’s is a story of how new beginnings can bring hope, rebirth, and renewal after loss.

JAZZ

Nothing Like Spring: There’s something about Spring that makes me want to sing!
It evokes feelings of joy and reminds me that healing, rebirth, and renewal are possible no matter what life brings.This song ‘came through’ during a period when blossoms were bursting and falling to the ground creating beautiful carpets of petals underneath the trees.

Springtime (Bossa): I love Springtime when all of nature awakens from its Winter sleep and “everything is new again”. Spring is a compelling metaphor for life, full of hope and anticipation that whatever Winter brings, where there is love, there is always the possibility of rebirth and renewal. I also think of Springtime as a state of mind that we can strive to keep alive in our hearts all year long. This song is dedicated to my husband, Bob Butera. I recorded two versions of Springtime an orchestral version and a bossanova version.

INSPIRATIONAL

Angels: I’ve had several experiences, some unexplainable, when I’ve felt the presence of a loved one who’s passed away. I’ve also been deeply touched by friends, even strangers, whose presence and support have helped me get through some difficult times. To me “You’re present; You’re real. Spirit or flesh, the power we feel”…
If you’ve had similar experiences or know someone who has, I think this song will resonate with you. (Note: I wrote lyrics to this melody to honor the Angels…donors, staff, volunteers…for Jenkins Arboretum in Devon, PA.)

Auroras And Rainbows: Years ago while driving on the Schuylkill Expressway near Philadelphia, traffic literally stopped at the sight of an extraordinarily vibrant and beautiful double rainbow. The image imprinted on my brain and heart, a gift of nature that filled me with a feeling of gratitude for being alive. The experience comes back to me at unexpected times–still fresh and powerful as it was then. I’ve only seen Auroras in pictures and films but it strikes in me the same chord of awe in the power and beauty that comes only from nature. Then came the song….

Golden Moments: Have you ever experienced what you consider to be an “extraordinary moment”. It may come in the form of a special encounter, a special dream, an insight, a premonition, a sudden awareness of something that happened far away, or simply a moment of awe that we’re alive on this remarkable planet. While sometimes defying explanation, these moments can have a profound effect on our lives and our view of reality. This song acknowledges the mystery and timelessness of these “Golden Moments”.

Love Lives On: This song is dedicated to my sister Dianne who died at age 22 of a cerebral hemorrhage from an aneurysm . She was a warm, vibrant and loving human being, 2 years older, my closest friend. With her help I finished this song on what would have been her 68th birthday. ‘Love Lives On’ is a tribute to Dianne and to all the people we have loved and lost who speak through our hearts to let us know they’re with us still.

Memories and Dreams: We all have memories from the past. We all have dreams for the future. But what is it that memories and dreams have in common? They’re both ‘born’ in the present. Our memories today are products of yesterday’s ‘present moments’. While the future’s uncertain, we can help guide it with dreams we envision today. Don’t ever stop dreaming!

Receive His Love: This was the first song that ‘came through’ when I started walking Browzer. It was a beautiful blue sky morning and ‘out of the blue’ I recalled a prayer I had written while in high school. A teacher told me, at the time, that she thought it was one of the most beautiful prayers she had ever heard. While I lost the actual prayer long ago, the essence of it made its way into this song.

Show Me The Way: One day when I was feeling discouraged, I looked to the universe for guidance and the seeds of this song were sewn.

Springtime (Orchestral): I love Springtime when all of nature awakens from its Winter sleep and “everything is new again”. Spring is a compelling metaphor for life, full of hope and anticipation that whatever Winter brings, where there is love, there is always the possibility of rebirth and renewal. I also think of Springtime as a state of mind that we can strive to keep alive in our hearts all year long. This song is dedicated to my husband, Bob Butera. I recorded two versions of Springtime an orchestral version and a bossanova version.

The Soul Inside: Our family experienced the sudden death of several family members. My Brother Wendell died at age 18 after a car accident, my sister Dianne died at age 22 of a cerebral hemorrhage from an aneurysm, my first husband Darrell Sifford, died of drowning in Belize when we were there on vacation (probably due to a heart attack), my Mother died after receiving a blood transfusion to treat her Chronic Leukemia and my dad died 3 months later. Because of these experiences Ive thought a lot about the subject of death and dying, grief and healing. This song came from that ‘well of grief’.

Two Sides of Mourning/Morning: Life has dark mornings and light mornings. I wrote the ‘light morning side’ of this song a few years before I realized it was incomplete without the other side. Two Sides begins with the shattering of a current reality and the devastation that came with it. My first husband Darrell Sifford, a popular syndicated (Knight Ridder) newspaper columnist with The Philadelphia Inquirer, drowned while we were vacationing in Belize, a trip I had given him for his birthday. The song then transitions to an awakening and realization that it is possible to build a new life when we resolve to go through the open doors that call us and face the unknown.

Walk In The Sun: One beautiful sunny morning, that had been preceded by many gray dreary days, the chorus of this song came through loud and clear. It got me thinking about polarities, how we find and lose and then regain our balance as we make our way through life. “Life has darkness. Life has light…”

Waltz of The Fireflies: Summertime brings a wonderful happening to our woodland gardens in June and July! As darkness falls, the gardens become enchanted with a magnificent display of fireflies from the ground level to the tops of the trees. This is one of my favorite times in the garden. Before bedtime, Browzer and I would wander through the woodland, sit quietly on the benches crafted by cutting large tree trunks in half, and take in the show. ‘Waltz Of The Fireflies’ captures some of the magic of those moments.

When You Imagine: Imagination has played an important role in every aspect of my life for as long as I can remember. Whether in work, play or pathfinding, it offers windows into the soul and the realm of possibilities. This song is a tribute to the value and power of imagination in birthing and achieving our dreams.

Your Spirit Flies: ‘Your Spirit Flies’ is about the still small voice inside each of us.
I strongly believe that we are all connected and that we all have inner resources, strength and wisdom that we don’t even know is there until life challenges us in unexpected ways.
When we learn to listen and heed the still small voice, it can become an invaluable guide that will “help your spirit fly”!

SOCIAL CAUSES

Get In The Way: Four days after the 2016 election in which Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million votes and still did not become president, I like many felt distraught and disillusioned. On a walk with Browzer I was thinking about how to express and channel my feelings and I wrote a poem titled Get In The Way and sent it out to many of my friends. It struck a chord and one of my friends said….you have to make this into a song…..so I did. The poem was also featured as part of a program of the chorale I was singing with at the time. It’s a powerful anthem about freedom, democracy and We The People!

Here And Now: “If not us, here? If not us, now? Who will make our dreams come true?” On a big stage or on a small stage, each of us can make a personal commitment to do what we can, wherever we are, to make the world a better place. “Here And Now is our moment”… “The need is urgent, Time is key!”

Save The Elephants: I love the wild creatures that share the planet with us. I’m concerned about the many threats to their well being as a result of abuse, exploitation, neglect, and loss of habitat. Heart breaking reports, photos, videos describe the cruel slaughter and loss of these majestic and highly developed mammals at alarming and devastating rates, literally threatening their survival. Many believe that future generations will only know about elephants from seeing them in pictures. What a tragedy this would be. This song is a call to action to loving human beings everywhere to do whatever we can to change this story, and to “Save The Future of the Elephants”.

Send Us A Song: “We live in troubled times”- a world increasingly polarized, torn by war, threatened by climate change, fueled by greed and fear of shifting demographics, and ‘power gone mad’. Forces representing the best and worst of humanity are in a struggle over who will determine the future of our planet, our way of life. Too many put partisan politics, prejudice, and a self serving lust for power and monetary wealth above the higher calling to work for the greater good. ‘Send Us A Song’ is a plea to the universe for healing and love to help each of us reach inside for that “divine spark of goodness and goodwill” to bridge the chasms that divide us. Love is stronger than hate.

The Power of One: I’m horrified by what some politicians around the country are doing in blatant attempts to roll back hard won voting rights, civil rights, and reasonable regulations to protect our democracy, our planet, our wildlife! It is my hope that this song might ignite a fire in those who feel as I do, to lift their voices and use their vote at the ballot box on election day to take a stand for truth and decency and fight back in record numbers to get our nation back on the track! Using our voice at the ballot box is our most potent weapon to protect our democracy!

Why Are We Here?: One of the BIG questions that many of us ponder from time to time is “Why are we here?”. The idea for the song came after a catastrophic and irresponsible accident that left oil pouring into the ocean for days with devastating consequences for people, wildlife and the ocean and environment. Why are they here?—all the creatures with whom we share our planet including many that face increasing threats to their survival. “We share Earth’s gifts and fate”. My hope and prayer is that people throughout the world will recognize the need to respect, celebrate and protect, the ‘web of life’ on our amazing planet while there is still time.

CHILDREN’S SONGS

Butterfly Lullaby: Two of my greatest thrills when spending time in our gardens are the up close encounters with butterflies, and observing the busy work of the bees! One day as I was watching the butterflies I was inspired to capture some of the wonder I was feeling …It turned into a lullaby.

Matilda The Cat: During a dinner party several years ago, friends shared a story about their cat Matilda. When their daughter and her husband decided to move, they needed to find a home for Matilda, so “Vickie and Bob agreed to take her in.”
While walking with Browzer the next day, I was inspired to write Matilda’s story in song in appreciation for a fun evening.

Life On The Farm: This song describes some of the rhythms of daily life on a farm. It draws attention to the importance of food and the many folks who bring it to us from the farms to our tables.

The Whimsical Treehouse: The Black Oak planted by Bob’s father was our favorite pant in the whole garden! It became diseased and died one limb at a time over a period of several years. However, it had a “magnificent trunk” and we decided to give it a second life as The Whimsical Treehouse, with a beautiful conical shaped roof, a door, and many birdhouses, We sometimes refer to it as the hobbit house as it reminds us of some of the dwellings in the hobbit movies. Recently we added a ‘mailbox’ with a magic button. people walking by are invited to push the button and surprise…it plays a song! The 14 songs, which play randomly, are from my CD The Child In Us! It’s a big hit with children and adults alike.

Waltz of The Fireflies: Summertime brings a wonderful happening to our woodland gardens in June and July! As darkness falls, the gardens become enchanted with a magnificent display of fireflies from the ground level to the tops of the trees. This is one of my favorite times in the garden. Before bedtime Browzer and I use to wander through the woodland, sit quietly on the benches, crafted by cutting large tree trunks in half, and take in the show. ‘Waltz Of The Fireflies’ captures some of the magic of those moments.

Wind In Your Sails: We’ve all been sick at one time or another! “When you’re feeling swell” you have the “wind in your sails” and you feel like you can take on just about anything life throws at you. But “when you’re feeling sick”—well that’s a different story!

HOLIDAY /SPECIAL OCCASION

A Lifetime To Share: Written and performed in 1979 for my brother Mark’s wedding, this was the very first song I wrote. It was well received at the wedding and I was on a high for a couple of years with the intrinsic satisfaction I felt from creating and performing an original song. It didn’t occur to me until 30 years later that I might be able to write another…..

Christmastime: As a child living in rural NC, I looked forward to Christmastime all year long. I was attracted to the magic of Santa, the twinkling lights, the delicious food and family gatherings. It was a happening without the heavy duty commercialization of the season that abounds today. This song is a tribute to warm memories of Christmas in a simpler time.

We Give Thanks: Growing up on a family farm, I developed an awareness of the many gifts of nature and the Earth. Through the years, my appreciation has deepened and my beliefs about what’s important, tangible and intangible, have come more into focus. This song expresses gratitude and reminds us that the spirit of Thanksgiving is about sharing with and helping those in need and keeping the spirit alive all year long.

The Butera Clan: My husband Bob is one of eight children whose father immigrated from Sicily at age six. An article in a local newspaper when his father died carried the title “He Lived The American Dream”. His Mom’s family had immigrated earlier from Italy. Following their mother Anne’s death at the age of 101, Bob and I bought the family home from his siblings and renovated the house and gardens in our own image. I wrote this song for a family gathering to celebrate the reincarnation of the family home and heritage.

Updated 1/5/2020