As an album ‘The Centre’ takes us through a spiritual journey. ‘The Pearl’ is at the heart of this journey, the hidden beauty that is revealed once we peel back these layers of self discovery. Lying in darkness at the bottom of a deep ocean, protected by a hard shell, The Pearl is waiting for anyone with the determination and patience to find it.
Lyrics
I spent a thousand sleepless nights
In wait of dreams I could not find
I walked a thousand empty roads
In search of signs to bring me home
With every breath I spoke your name
And heard it rolling in the waves
Beneath a veil of ocean blue
I broke illusion from the truth
You said, walk to me and I’ll find you
Call me and I’ll show you
Hiding like a pearl for you
To heal and guide you
From deep inside you
Hiding like a pearl for you
And from the pulse beneath my skin
You called me to a source within
Where every layer revealed one more
A secret brighter than before
And at the heart there lay just one
The root of all that I’d become
I watched the surface start to break
Free of form, free of shape.
You said, walk to me and I’ll run to you
Call me and I’ll show you
Hiding like a pearl for you
To heal and guide you,
From deep inside you
Hiding like a pearl for you.
Throughout history humankind has always been drawn to fire; it provides warmth, protection and a place to gather. It is the a symbol of community where ‘it warms from every side’ regardless of who we are or what we do. The Fire has a meditative quality where we can gather our thoughts, talk to our friends & make new ones. Even the most solitary journeys require the help of others at times and The Fire is a place where we can find that help.
Lyrics
Peace be with you my brother, my friend
Come join me at the fire, once again
It bears no judgement, shame or pride
It warms from every side
Its light is lost without your eyes
Come join me at the fire
Peace be with you my sister, my friend
The fire’s waiting for you to come again
When you need comfort from tears you’ve cried
It dances by your side
It needs a partner, so dry your eyes
Come join me at the fire
Let it burn your troubles, clear your mind
Watch these embers, sparks will fly
Let it draw you closer, guide your soul
Free your struggle in ash and smoke
As one with others in search of truth
Sisters, brothers, it waits for you
Find your place at the fire, my friends
Peace be with you my brother, my friend
Peace be with you my sister, my friend
Come join me at the fire, once again
Come join me at the fire, once again
One light, one hope
One heart, one soul
One chance to know
One time to go
There’s just one call from my heart
It pulls me to a world apart
There’s just one word that I hear
One drum, that calls me near
When the spring has been unwound
What is lost will soon be found
To the call that comes from inside you
To the light that shines just to find you
Go
To the drum that beats from inside you
To the one that’s calling to find you
Go
I know, know I must go, go
I know, know I must go, go
I must go
One light, one hope
One heart, one soul
One chance to know
One time to go
In the mirror you stare
Your eyes are calling me there
Your friend has taken my hand
Guides me beyond any land
If you’re far I’ll soon be near
What is faint will soon be clear
To the call that comes from inside you
To the light that shines just to find you
Go
To the drum that beats from inside you
To the one that’s calling to find you
Go
I know, know I must go, go
I know, know I must go, go
I must go
One light, one hope
One heart, one soul
One chance to know
One time to go
On to the drum
To the voice of the one
I must go, I must follow the
Spark that lights us all
Illuminated by the call
With one heart, with one hope I will
Go, go, I must go, go
I know, know, I must go, go
I must go
And I know, know I must go, go
I know, know I must go, go
I must go
Khorasan is inspired by the stories ‘In Baghdad Dreaming of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad’ by Rumi, and ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho. Sometimes the treasures we are looking for have been with us all along, but it can take a long journey to discover this. Khorasan is a historical region of Persia that provides the destination of this spiritual journey, where we discover the answers to the secrets of this world were inside us all along.
Lyrics
Khorasan
I have come
Here alone
In my dream
Earth and stone
Turned to gold
Was that you
Long ago
Khorasan?
Can you guide me to the treasures I have lost?
Can you show me every secret I forgot?
When I came you asked me where I had come from
You said my homeland was my kingdom all along
Khorasan
I must go
Send me home
Breathe in me
I have healed
I have grown
Give me peace
In my soul
Khorasan
Can you guide me to the treasures I have lost?
Can you show me every secret I forgot?
When I came you asked me where I had come from
You said my homeland was my kingdom and my secret all along
Khorasan,
Send me home
Khorasan.
The light of our sun contains all the colours of this world, and the Prism allows us to separate this light in to its “secret layers”. Inspired by a phrase from a Hadith Qudsi (Sacred scripture): “When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he moves and his foot with which he walks”, the Prism is a symbol of discovery, a way of seeing “with which he sees”.
Lyrics
All of your waves
Have come from one
The seed has spread
The dawn of light
Has split from white
To blues and reds
Behind it all
There must be more
Seven colours of day
Show the light of your way
Have I found what is lying behind
The fire in your eyes?
Do you see what I see?
And from one breath
All sound was formed
Your words could sing
The prism shares
Your secret layers
Unraveling
Behind it all
There must be more
Seven colours of day
Show the light of your way
Have I found what is lying behind
The fire in your eyes?
Do you see what I see?
Every heart, Every hand, Every head
Rise up
Every thought, Every tear, Every smile
Rise up
Every fear, Every doubt, Every trouble
Rise up
Every hope, Every wish, Every prayer
Rise Up
Every faith, Every creed, Every colour
Rise Up
Every mind, Every soul, Everyone
(Rise Up)
Do you see what I see?
The Circle is a symbol of many things to different people: purity, unity, equality to name a few. There are no corners, no angles, just a pure arc that continues infinitely. Inspired by the Sufi whirling dervishes, The Circle is another symbol in this album that represents oneness with our physical presence on this earth and our spiritual presence beyond.
Lyrics
I see you in the wings that chase the night
Circling the warmth of candlelight
I hear you in the wind as the two poles spin
Whispering the truth your heart holds in
I feel you in the chill as the seasons turn
Laying down a seed, with its lessons learned.
The circle spins a perfect line
Free from borders, free from time
I close my eyes and clear my mind
The circle joins your love with mine
I feel you in the sand of the desert earth
You know my hunger, know my thirst
I hear you in the cry of distant rain
Coming back to answer the call again
I meet you in the centre of the sacred dance
Reminding me your truth is in my heart
The circle spins a perfect line
Free from borders, free from time
I close my eyes and clear my mind
The circle joins your love with mine
You is a devotional song based on the 99 names of God. It links directly to the qualities of God, but far from being exclusive there is also a parental association with ‘You’, serving as an homage to those who have nurtured and protected us throughout our lives.
Lyrics
I am what I am, because You made
I have what I have, because You gave
My love is strong because
You
Are the One I call Creator
My Alpha and Omega
My Protector and my Maker
Because of You
In weakness I am braver
My Defender and my Saviour
My Giver and my Taker
I see what I see, because You shine
I know what I know, because You show
My love is strong because
You
Are the One I call Creator
My Alpha and Omega
My Protector and my Maker
Because of You
In weakness I am braver
My Defender and my Saviour
My Giver and my Taker
Abiding in silence
With patience and guidance
Aware when I need You, the light when I seek You
Justice, forgiveness
The strength in my weakness
And my love, and my love, is strong because
You
Are the One I call Creator
My Alpha and Omega
My Protector and my Maker
Because of You
In weakness I am braver
My Defender and my Saviour
My Giver and my Taker
Lover, Taker
Guider, Saviour
Endless, Greatest
Timeless, Patient
Bringer of the life You gave us
Patron of the world You made us
You are Grateful, my Receiver
You are Watchful, the Perceiver
You are Mercy, my Forgiver
You restore me, my Healer
Because You are, because You.
Just as the centre of a circle draws together all the radii surrounding it into unity, The Centre brings together all of the crucial elements of the spiritual journey. Putting aside self-centred doubt and ungratefulness we come to understand that the Here and Now is the doorway between the limited and the Infinite, between time and Eternity. To pass through this doorway is ‘To find the key to all existence.’
Lyrics
Why am I in this place torn asunder by blight?
Shorn by the blades of inequity, drowned by darkness,
Immersed in the turbid waters of negligence and forgetfulness?
Question not why, but understand this simple truth:
Here is the Centre that is the Centre of all wheres,
Now is the moment at the heart of all times.
Ask not why here and now
But be in the here and now
Here is the Centre that is the Centre of all wheres,
Now is the moment at the heart of all times
Ask not why here and now
But be in the here and now
To find the key to all existence
The encounter with the Transcendent inspires an unspeakable awe, in the face of which our worldly existence appears as a source of separation and sorrow. Lament meditates on lines written by Ibn ‘Arabi communicating the terror and wonder of an experience of the Infinitely Beyond. The poet uses visceral language that associates the desolation of the lover with the desolation of the desert to evoke the meeting of overwhelming attraction and overwhelming fear in a heart that trembles in the face of the Absolute.
Lyrics
My father be the ransom of him for whose sake I melted with anguish!
My father be the ransom of him for whose sake I died of fear!
The blush of shame on his cheek is the whiteness of dawn conversing with the Redness of eve
They left me at al-Uthayl and an-Naqá
Who will compose my distracted thoughts?
Who will relieve my pain?
Guide me to him!
Who will ease my sorrow?
Who will help a passionate lover?
Whenever I keep secret the torments of desire
My tears betray the flame within and the sleeplessness
They left me at al-Uthayl and an-Naqá
And whenever I say, ‘Give me one look!
The answer is, ‘Thou art not hindered but for pity’s sake.’
My father, my father, my father
In an album of search and struggle, The Key represents a source of obstruction. We may feel imprisoned in this physical realm, but sometimes the easiest way to free ourselves is to first free our minds. While The Key can keep us captive, it can also set us free.
Lyrics
In Andalucian morning light
In seas of azure, in dawning skies
I watch you bloom, the birth of spring
You are the song that all lovers sing
You are the key holding me in
I am a prisoner, I can’t escape
The key is inside the forms you take
You are the web I cannot spin
You are the pulse beneath my skin
You are the key holding me in
Your love is a door I cannot find
The only way out is from deep inside
I’m humbled by the light you take
When you cover every colour of the day
I’m brightened by the night you bring
You are the divine eternal ring
You are the end where everything begins
You are the key holding me in
I’m humbled by the light you take
When you cover every colour of the day
Illuminated in the night you bring
You are the divine eternal ring
You are the end where everything begins
You are the key holding me in
The only key holding me in
(ENGLISH)
Jaaneh Jaanaan resonates with the tones of a tradition of divine love poetry in Persian that has resounded through the hearts of lovers for a millennium. Jaaneh Jaanaan is an intimate conversation with the true Beloved, whom the bewildered poet sees everywhere. He sings of earthly beauty, of the spiritual guide, and of the Divine Beloved Himself, for all true love is ultimately love of the Divine.
Lyrics
O You whose thought seizes the heart of the young and old
In your midst, the hearts takes flight at every moment
You are the hope in hearts; the shelter of lives;
The eternal light of the heavens and the earth, and the face of infinite beauty
You have become my world, my dream, my Beloved!
Tears stream down from my eyes when I linger in thought of You
I am at safety with You, o desire of my soul, I have no home nor name without You
I am in darkness without You, ignorant of any direction (to take)
Your name will never leave my tongue till I am alive
Your loving and desirous fragrance settles my heart
You are boundless light, eternal grace, I’m a sinner but You are The Most Kind
You are a signpost for the lovers’ hearts
Without You, o the One who puts my heart at rest, I would be the loneliest soul in this world
Till eternity, I will be Your most enraptured lover in this world
I can only be in thought of You as I know naught but You
O object of my everlasting desire, the reason for the peace of my heart and mind
Sari Gelin is a famous Azeri folk song hugely popular around the world, particularly in Turkey, Azerbaijain and the Persian speaking countries (Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan) as well as Uzbekistan, Greece, Bosnia and Serbia to name just a few. There are many traditional versions of this hauntingly emotional melody. This is our humble attempt at creating an English version of this beautiful love song based loosely on translations from the original variations.
Lyrics
I fight for a love
Knowing it can’t be won
Sent from a light above
Child of our golden Sun
Sari Gelin
I reach for hands
Knowing they can’t be held
Cursed by words I can’t tell
Broken under your spell
Sari Gelin
And like a rose
Turning in to thorns
My love was taken
Back to the light above
What can I do, my love?
Child of our Golden Sun
Sari Gelin.
A beating drum
Searches on for your song
Echoes will carry on
Wondering where you’ve gone
Sari Gelin
Is that your voice
Caught in the mountain air?
Leading me to nowhere
Drifting in silent prayer
Sari Gelin
And like a rose
Turning in to thorns
My love was taken
Back to the light above
What can I do, my love?
Child of our Golden Sun
Sari Gelin
Saçın ucun hörməzlər Gülü sulu dərməzlər Sarı gəlin
Saçın ucun hörməzlər Gülü sulu dərməzlər Sarı gəlin
Bu sevda nə sevdadır Səni mənə verməzlər Neynim aman, aman Neynim aman, aman Sarı gəlin
Back to the light above
What can I do, my love?
Child of our Golden Sun
Sari Gelin
My, Lord
Have Mercy on me
On the day of eternity
My Lord
Unite me
With the messenger
My Lord
Tell me
You will accept me
Protect me, O Merciful
From worries and anxieties of this world
Protect me, O The Most Kind
From pain and sorrow
Exalted in all Your affairs
O You, the Supreme One
I have none in this universe but You
My, Lord
Have Mercy on me
On the day of eternity
My Lord
Unite me
With the messenger
Protect me, O Merciful
From worries and anxieties of this world
Protect me, O The Most Kind
From pain and sorrow
Exalted in all Your affairs
O You, the Supreme One
Have mercy on my weakness
For I have none in this universe but You
My Lord
Tell me
You will accept me
Breathe.
Every breath reveals the hollowness of our hearts.
The saints and sages of old say that this hollowness, this emptiness, is the yearning for our source, for Truth, for the One. As our breath passes through the emptiness of our hearts, it produces the music of longing. This album echoes with the sound of this longing for the One, for our Centre. This music of longing finds its voice in the acoustic sounds of the kamancheh, guitar, piano, ney (reed flute), and oud, weaving together Eastern and Western modes and tones. Traditional melodies meet contemporary compositions in songs that testify to our fundamental unity, a sentiment well reflected in the album’s diverse use of images, concepts, sounds, and languages. Tying this diversity together is the One for whose presence our hearts unceasingly yearn.
I watch You bloom the birth of spring,
You are the song that all lovers sing.
The songs’ lyrics are nostalgic but optimistic, longing for the Centre that is both our beginning and our end. The hollowness is ultimately beautiful because it houses the Centre. From the depths of our being it calls, “Walk to Me, I’ll run to you.”