Why do we hold on? (Larry Karol ) Based on Psalm 25 and Numbers 9:15-23
I can see where You’re going, will you let me follow?
There hasn’t been a time when you’ve led me astray
Can I trust how you tell me not dwell upon the past
To look ahead without regret to make tomorrow a better day
to make tomorrow a better day
CHORUS: Why do we hold on to what we should leave behind?
Why do we choose our pain over peace that we could find?
Forgiveness can lift a broken soul and ease a worried mind
Why do we hold on, hold on, why do we hold on to what we should leave behind?
There are signs all around us telling us to stay
To rest inside the goodness that guides us on our way
There’s a fire that is burning, giving light when darkness falls
Can we let go of the familiar so we can answer when You call?
so we can answer when You call - CHORUS
We stand in confusion, not knowing where to turn - Point us in the right direction
to live the lessons we have learned - To live the lessons we have learned - CHORUS
Eitz Chayim Hi (Larry Karol ) Based on Pirkei Avot 2:7 and Proverbs 3:17-18
More learning, more wisdom, more inspiration, more life
more direction, more understanding, more justice, more peace.
We try to comprehend all that we are living for
We stand each day outside the threshold of an open door
We may feel more secure to peer inside but not walk through
There are treasures that are waiting for us if we do
CHORUS: Eitz chayim hi, it’s a tree of life
Eitz chayim hi, it’s a tree of life
Hold it fast, walk its paths, it will grow
more justice, more peace
With our minds we can discover almost anything
Through our souls, we hear the essence of the song we sing
Our words may voice the truths that we have come to know
They could be new or echo meanings spoken long ago - CHORUS
Marbeh torah, marbeh chayim,
marbeh y’shivah, marbeh chochmah
Marbeh eitzah, marbeh t’vunah,
marbeh tz’dakah, marbeh shalom -CHORUS
More learning, more wisdom, more inspiration, more life
more direction, more understanding, more justice, more peace
Or Zarua (Larry Karol - based on Psalm 97)
Chorus: Or zarua latzadik ul’yishrei leiv simchah (2x)
You hear the world rejoicing with sounds of thanks and praise
You lead us home to freedom,
Your flame is our hope for all our days-Chorus
Even when the darkness hides you from our sight -
with every act of justice,
You will sow, You will sow Your light-Chorus
Simchu tzadikim badonai v’hodu l’zeicher kodsho
Chorus - Or Zarua latzadik
[“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness/radiance for the upright in heart.
“The righteous rejoice in the Eternal one, and give thanks to God’s holy name.”]
Sheim Tov (Pirkei Avot 2:7 - Music: Larry Karol )
Kanah shem tov kanah l'atzmo (2x)
Kanah lo divrei torah, kanah lo chayei haolam ba (2x)
When you have earned a good name, you have earned it for yourself (on your own).
When you have earned knowledge of Torah, you have earned life eternal.
Nishmat Kol Chai (Larry Karol) Based on a morning prayer
If our mouths were filled with song as the sea
If our hearts were filled with joy like the waves of the ocean
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You - It wouldn’t be enough to praise You
CHORUS: T’vareich et shim’cha nishmat kol chai
Let the soul of all that lives bless Your name, Adonai
Let Your face shine down upon us like the moon and the sun
Above all time and space, You alone are One
If we could only soar like an eagle
If we could run with gentle grace like a deer among the trees
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You CHORUS
Above all time and space, You alone are One
Min ha-olam v’ad ha-olam atah Eil
L’cha l’vad’cha anachnu modim CHORUS
Above all time and space, You alone are One -
If our mouths were filled with song as the sea...
(Transcending time and space, You are God; To You alone we give thanks)
Natatah Simchah (Larry Karol ) - Based on Psalm 4
When I see Your light in my eyes
When You lead me to the joy in my heart
When I feel Your goodness all around me
I know, I am not alone, I am not alone
CHORUS: Natatah simchah v’libi
B’kor’i aneini elohay tzid-ki
Choneini u-sh’ma t’filati
Natatah simchah v’libi
When we sense the warmth of Your presence
When You lay us down in safety and in peace
When we find ourselves falling into the depths of our despair
You are there to give us release, give us release - CHORUS
When we’ve abandoned all hope of human kindness
Raise us up with strength to face the day
When the road ahead is narrow and winding
Make wide our way, make wide our way CHORUS
Natatah simchah v’libi
[Translation: You gave me/put joy in my heart; when I call on You, answer me, God of my righteousness;
be gracious to me and hear my prayer]
*Don’t Let Me Fall (Words: Kadya Moldowsky, Kathryn Hellerstein; Music: Larry Karol)
Don't let me fall as a stone falls upon the hard ground
Don’t let me fall
And don't let my hands become dry
as the twigs of a tree
when the wind beats down the last leaves
And when the storm raises dust from the earth with anger and howling,
don't let me fall...don’t let me fall.
I have asked for so much,but as a blade of your grass
in a distant wild field
lets drop a seed in the lap of the earth and dies away,
Sow in me Your living breath as You sow a seed in the earth.
Baruch atah adonai, Rofei chol basar u-maf-li la-a-sot
Blessed are You, Adonai, who heals all flesh,
working wondrously.
Don't let me fall as a stone falls upon the hard ground.
Don’t let me fall.
**May We Gain Wisdom (Words: Rabbi Richard Levy, Zechariah 14:9; Music: Larry Karol)
May we gain wisdom in our lives,
overflowing like a river with understanding;
loved, each of us, for the peace we bring to others.
May our deeds exceed our speech, and may we never lift up our hand
but to conquer fear and doubt and despair.
CHORUS: V'neemar v'hayah adonai l'melech al kol ha-aretz;
bayom hahu yih'yeh adonai echad ush'mo echad.
Rise up like the sun, O God, over all humanity.
Cause light to go forth over all the lands between the seas.
And light up the universe with the joy of wholeness,
of freedom, and of peace. - CHORUS
Rav Shalom (Great is peace) Based on Isaiah 54:13-14 and the morning peace prayer
Bitz'dakah tikonani rachaki may-oshek ki lo tira-i
Umim-chitah ki lo tikrav ay-la-yich (2x)
CHORUS - V'chol bana-yich limuday adonai V'rav shalom, v'rav sh'lom banayich
Can you hear the sound, the sound of justice
Driving out the hatred, calling off the warning
No need to fear the peace that will surround you (2x) CHORUS
Sim shalom tovah u-v'rachah chayn vachesed v'rachamim (2x) CHORUS - V'rav sh'lom banayich
Translation: You shall be established through righteousness/justice
You shall be safe from oppression and shall have no fear
From ruin, and it shall not come near you.
And all your children shall be taught of the Eternal One
And great shall be the peace/well-being of your children.
Grant peace, goodness, blessing, grace, kindness and compassion.
P’tach Libi (Larry Karol ) Based on the Prayerbook and Psalm 119:105, 109
P’tach libi b’toratecha u-v’mitzvotecha tirdof nafshi.
Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my journey
Open my mind, my heart to know my life,
my soul is in my hand
(Open my heart/mind with Your Torah/Teaching, and may I/my soul pursue Your commandments)
Song of Praise (Larry Karol ) - Based on Psalm 34
I have walked into cold winds blowing
I have crumbled with my spirits low
I have cried when my heart was broken
I've seen troubles, more than I care to know
CHORUS - Is there love enough for giving?
Is there goodness enough to fill our days?
When I taste and see that life's worth living
I will sing this song of praise.
I have walked on a road to freedom
I've heard voices that can hurt or heal
I have looked into eyes filled with hatred
I have stood in a place where peace was real. CHORUS
Even when You're at a distance,
I can feel Your presence here
I will speak my mind my truth my passion
Without hesitation, with nothing to fear CHORUS
Keep me warm when the cold wind's blowing
Raise me higher when my spirit's low
Make me strong where my heart is broken
Lead me through troubles,
show me where I should go-CHORUS
When I taste and see that life's worth living
I will sing this song and praise.
*Kathryn Hellerstein, "Don't Let Me Fall," translation of Kadya Molodowsky, "Tfiles"I (Prayers I),
originally published in Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya Molodowsky,
edited and translated by Kathryn Hellerstein (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999), 144-145.
Adapted for the song lyrics with permission of Kathryn Hellerstein. All Rights Reserved.
This reading is excerpted in Mishkan T’filah, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007, p 195.
**Lyrics used by permission from Rabbi Richard Levy;
originally from On Wings of Awe: A Machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,
B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, 1985, page 151;
Mishkan T’filah, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007, page 591.
Lead Vocals: Larry Karol
Drums: Joe Costello
Bass: John Hayden
Electric Guitars: Adam Armijo
Acoustic Guitars: Larry Karol and Scott Leader
12 String Guitar: Larry Karol
Piano and Keys: Scott Leader
Backup Singers: Angela Gold, Emily Kaye,
Scott Leader, Alan Morris, Jennifer Robinson, and, Ebony Green
Funded by KICKSTARTER- A warm and heartfelt thank you to all of my backers on this project,
with special gratitude to Rhonda and Adam!!!
In remembrance of Jean Marks and Larry Keller
Produced by Scott Leader
(Whose guidance has greatly enhanced the two albums I have recorded at his studio)
Recorded and Mixed at Brick Road Studio, Scottsdale, AZ
www.brickroadstudio.com
Copyright 2014 Larry Karol
www.larrykarol.com
Special recognition to the congregations that heard these songs in their infancy:
Temple Beth Sholom, Topeka, Kansas
Temple Israel, Dover, New Hampshire
Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Special thanks to my teachers and colleagues at the
Hava Nashira and Shabbat Shira Songleader Workshops
at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp
in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
and to my songwriting teachers and guides at those programs:
Jeff Klepper, Craig Taubman, Danny Maseng,
Debbie Friedman z”l, Rick Recht, Josh Nelson, Julie Silver,
Basya Schechter, and Ken Chasen.
I am grateful for the hospitality of the URJ’s Crane Lake Camp, where I served on faculty two weeks annually
during the summers of 2007-2009
and wrote “Or Zarua” and “Nishmat Kol Chai”
(and several other songs not yet recorded).
I can see where You’re going, will you let me follow?
There hasn’t been a time when you’ve led me astray
Can I trust how you tell me not dwell upon the past
To look ahead without regret to make tomorrow a better day
to make tomorrow a better day
CHORUS: Why do we hold on to what we should leave behind?
Why do we choose our pain over peace that we could find?
Forgiveness can lift a broken soul and ease a worried mind
Why do we hold on, hold on, why do we hold on to what we should leave behind?
There are signs all around us telling us to stay
To rest inside the goodness that guides us on our way
There’s a fire that is burning, giving light when darkness falls
Can we let go of the familiar so we can answer when You call?
so we can answer when You call - CHORUS
We stand in confusion, not knowing where to turn - Point us in the right direction
to live the lessons we have learned - To live the lessons we have learned - CHORUS
Eitz Chayim Hi (Larry Karol ) Based on Pirkei Avot 2:7 and Proverbs 3:17-18
More learning, more wisdom, more inspiration, more life
more direction, more understanding, more justice, more peace.
We try to comprehend all that we are living for
We stand each day outside the threshold of an open door
We may feel more secure to peer inside but not walk through
There are treasures that are waiting for us if we do
CHORUS: Eitz chayim hi, it’s a tree of life
Eitz chayim hi, it’s a tree of life
Hold it fast, walk its paths, it will grow
more justice, more peace
With our minds we can discover almost anything
Through our souls, we hear the essence of the song we sing
Our words may voice the truths that we have come to know
They could be new or echo meanings spoken long ago - CHORUS
Marbeh torah, marbeh chayim,
marbeh y’shivah, marbeh chochmah
Marbeh eitzah, marbeh t’vunah,
marbeh tz’dakah, marbeh shalom -CHORUS
More learning, more wisdom, more inspiration, more life
more direction, more understanding, more justice, more peace
Or Zarua (Larry Karol - based on Psalm 97)
Chorus: Or zarua latzadik ul’yishrei leiv simchah (2x)
You hear the world rejoicing with sounds of thanks and praise
You lead us home to freedom,
Your flame is our hope for all our days-Chorus
Even when the darkness hides you from our sight -
with every act of justice,
You will sow, You will sow Your light-Chorus
Simchu tzadikim badonai v’hodu l’zeicher kodsho
Chorus - Or Zarua latzadik
[“Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness/radiance for the upright in heart.
“The righteous rejoice in the Eternal one, and give thanks to God’s holy name.”]
Sheim Tov (Pirkei Avot 2:7 - Music: Larry Karol )
Kanah shem tov kanah l'atzmo (2x)
Kanah lo divrei torah, kanah lo chayei haolam ba (2x)
When you have earned a good name, you have earned it for yourself (on your own).
When you have earned knowledge of Torah, you have earned life eternal.
Nishmat Kol Chai (Larry Karol) Based on a morning prayer
If our mouths were filled with song as the sea
If our hearts were filled with joy like the waves of the ocean
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You - It wouldn’t be enough to praise You
CHORUS: T’vareich et shim’cha nishmat kol chai
Let the soul of all that lives bless Your name, Adonai
Let Your face shine down upon us like the moon and the sun
Above all time and space, You alone are One
If we could only soar like an eagle
If we could run with gentle grace like a deer among the trees
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You
It wouldn’t be enough to praise You CHORUS
Above all time and space, You alone are One
Min ha-olam v’ad ha-olam atah Eil
L’cha l’vad’cha anachnu modim CHORUS
Above all time and space, You alone are One -
If our mouths were filled with song as the sea...
(Transcending time and space, You are God; To You alone we give thanks)
Natatah Simchah (Larry Karol ) - Based on Psalm 4
When I see Your light in my eyes
When You lead me to the joy in my heart
When I feel Your goodness all around me
I know, I am not alone, I am not alone
CHORUS: Natatah simchah v’libi
B’kor’i aneini elohay tzid-ki
Choneini u-sh’ma t’filati
Natatah simchah v’libi
When we sense the warmth of Your presence
When You lay us down in safety and in peace
When we find ourselves falling into the depths of our despair
You are there to give us release, give us release - CHORUS
When we’ve abandoned all hope of human kindness
Raise us up with strength to face the day
When the road ahead is narrow and winding
Make wide our way, make wide our way CHORUS
Natatah simchah v’libi
[Translation: You gave me/put joy in my heart; when I call on You, answer me, God of my righteousness;
be gracious to me and hear my prayer]
*Don’t Let Me Fall (Words: Kadya Moldowsky, Kathryn Hellerstein; Music: Larry Karol)
Don't let me fall as a stone falls upon the hard ground
Don’t let me fall
And don't let my hands become dry
as the twigs of a tree
when the wind beats down the last leaves
And when the storm raises dust from the earth with anger and howling,
don't let me fall...don’t let me fall.
I have asked for so much,but as a blade of your grass
in a distant wild field
lets drop a seed in the lap of the earth and dies away,
Sow in me Your living breath as You sow a seed in the earth.
Baruch atah adonai, Rofei chol basar u-maf-li la-a-sot
Blessed are You, Adonai, who heals all flesh,
working wondrously.
Don't let me fall as a stone falls upon the hard ground.
Don’t let me fall.
**May We Gain Wisdom (Words: Rabbi Richard Levy, Zechariah 14:9; Music: Larry Karol)
May we gain wisdom in our lives,
overflowing like a river with understanding;
loved, each of us, for the peace we bring to others.
May our deeds exceed our speech, and may we never lift up our hand
but to conquer fear and doubt and despair.
CHORUS: V'neemar v'hayah adonai l'melech al kol ha-aretz;
bayom hahu yih'yeh adonai echad ush'mo echad.
Rise up like the sun, O God, over all humanity.
Cause light to go forth over all the lands between the seas.
And light up the universe with the joy of wholeness,
of freedom, and of peace. - CHORUS
Rav Shalom (Great is peace) Based on Isaiah 54:13-14 and the morning peace prayer
Bitz'dakah tikonani rachaki may-oshek ki lo tira-i
Umim-chitah ki lo tikrav ay-la-yich (2x)
CHORUS - V'chol bana-yich limuday adonai V'rav shalom, v'rav sh'lom banayich
Can you hear the sound, the sound of justice
Driving out the hatred, calling off the warning
No need to fear the peace that will surround you (2x) CHORUS
Sim shalom tovah u-v'rachah chayn vachesed v'rachamim (2x) CHORUS - V'rav sh'lom banayich
Translation: You shall be established through righteousness/justice
You shall be safe from oppression and shall have no fear
From ruin, and it shall not come near you.
And all your children shall be taught of the Eternal One
And great shall be the peace/well-being of your children.
Grant peace, goodness, blessing, grace, kindness and compassion.
P’tach Libi (Larry Karol ) Based on the Prayerbook and Psalm 119:105, 109
P’tach libi b’toratecha u-v’mitzvotecha tirdof nafshi.
Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light for my journey
Open my mind, my heart to know my life,
my soul is in my hand
(Open my heart/mind with Your Torah/Teaching, and may I/my soul pursue Your commandments)
Song of Praise (Larry Karol ) - Based on Psalm 34
I have walked into cold winds blowing
I have crumbled with my spirits low
I have cried when my heart was broken
I've seen troubles, more than I care to know
CHORUS - Is there love enough for giving?
Is there goodness enough to fill our days?
When I taste and see that life's worth living
I will sing this song of praise.
I have walked on a road to freedom
I've heard voices that can hurt or heal
I have looked into eyes filled with hatred
I have stood in a place where peace was real. CHORUS
Even when You're at a distance,
I can feel Your presence here
I will speak my mind my truth my passion
Without hesitation, with nothing to fear CHORUS
Keep me warm when the cold wind's blowing
Raise me higher when my spirit's low
Make me strong where my heart is broken
Lead me through troubles,
show me where I should go-CHORUS
When I taste and see that life's worth living
I will sing this song and praise.
*Kathryn Hellerstein, "Don't Let Me Fall," translation of Kadya Molodowsky, "Tfiles"I (Prayers I),
originally published in Paper Bridges: Selected Poems of Kadya Molodowsky,
edited and translated by Kathryn Hellerstein (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1999), 144-145.
Adapted for the song lyrics with permission of Kathryn Hellerstein. All Rights Reserved.
This reading is excerpted in Mishkan T’filah, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007, p 195.
**Lyrics used by permission from Rabbi Richard Levy;
originally from On Wings of Awe: A Machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,
B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations, 1985, page 151;
Mishkan T’filah, Central Conference of American Rabbis, 2007, page 591.
Lead Vocals: Larry Karol
Drums: Joe Costello
Bass: John Hayden
Electric Guitars: Adam Armijo
Acoustic Guitars: Larry Karol and Scott Leader
12 String Guitar: Larry Karol
Piano and Keys: Scott Leader
Backup Singers: Angela Gold, Emily Kaye,
Scott Leader, Alan Morris, Jennifer Robinson, and, Ebony Green
Funded by KICKSTARTER- A warm and heartfelt thank you to all of my backers on this project,
with special gratitude to Rhonda and Adam!!!
In remembrance of Jean Marks and Larry Keller
Produced by Scott Leader
(Whose guidance has greatly enhanced the two albums I have recorded at his studio)
Recorded and Mixed at Brick Road Studio, Scottsdale, AZ
www.brickroadstudio.com
Copyright 2014 Larry Karol
www.larrykarol.com
Special recognition to the congregations that heard these songs in their infancy:
Temple Beth Sholom, Topeka, Kansas
Temple Israel, Dover, New Hampshire
Temple Beth-El, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Special thanks to my teachers and colleagues at the
Hava Nashira and Shabbat Shira Songleader Workshops
at Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute Camp
in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin
and to my songwriting teachers and guides at those programs:
Jeff Klepper, Craig Taubman, Danny Maseng,
Debbie Friedman z”l, Rick Recht, Josh Nelson, Julie Silver,
Basya Schechter, and Ken Chasen.
I am grateful for the hospitality of the URJ’s Crane Lake Camp, where I served on faculty two weeks annually
during the summers of 2007-2009
and wrote “Or Zarua” and “Nishmat Kol Chai”
(and several other songs not yet recorded).
| The Road Ahead Lyric Guide PDF |
