We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Anima Mundi

by Drew McNaughton

/
1.
Time and Mala Wrists arresting in their delicacy Adorned with mala on the one hand And a graceful feminine time-piece on the other. Both click out to heart beat, Metronome of unwavering constancy, Music pulsating in my body and mind. I am in the presence of the genius loci Which art and the Muses have exalted And fulfils the completion of my soul. Time is irrelevant, has no meaning, Is a mere adornment because the sound, The sound is of eternity, nāda Brahman. The true meaning of passing time I find only in your embrace Which fleeting though it is I know contact with you. I know the Earth, giver of life The emanations of which are understood Only in dream time. From every one of your pores Extends a filament of light. No shoes for you, You are plugged in to the soul of soil And rock and the mountains of home Below which you were raised. Fo beanntan gun chomharradh, Only one mark in time, that of your birth When the world became a better place.
2.
Time Sequence Part 2. Chronos Chronos was one of the Titans. His sacred bird was the Raven. Chronos along with the other Titans Including Ouranos, the Heavens, And Gaia, the Earth, the planet we live on, Existed before the Gods of Olympus. The Raven is the oldest and most revered Corvid and he is larger than his cousin Corvus corone, the Carrion Crow, Who has cohabited with humanity since Time immemorial. Human and crow, crow and human, Coexisting and perhaps co-dependent. Alas their relationship is not always cordial. From the Ark Noah first sent the Raven, An unclean animal according to later laws, Seeking for dry land, A practice that voyaging Vikings also used. It was the Dove that brought back the branch Showing the waters had receded by the eleventh month. The Dove was now in favour and fit for eating, The olive branch signifying the fruitful harvest. All of the past was wiped clean and Agrarian Noah and his sons and their wives Would be able to reap the abundance of The world renewed. “Go forth and multiply and be fruitful” Exhorted their God above and alone. The succeeding generations did indeed multiply. Children of Noah spread across the face of the Earth. Many called the lands their own, Tribes creating demarcations and territories. Great leaders were born and great cities were founded, As was earlier expounded. Time wears on but what of Chronos? “Father Time” as he was also known. His people were superseded, to them The Raven not unclean but sacred And thus forbidden to eat, taboo. Just like the fruit of the Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Evil too. The tribe of the Raven were not alone. The various tribes of people claimed they had powers Originating in their long standing affiliation, Affection for their sacred animals. All other animals were game for meat Excepting their own sacred protector. Appearing in visions and dreams, Totemic creatures vouchsafed identity, Created a sense of unity in the tribe. Corvus corone and their kin Were held in special regard as they Communed with the dead, ingesting within Flesh from the ancestral kindred through time. Left in the enclosures of the otherworld Crow and other carrion picked clean bones. The ancestors could then rest in their homes Brought reverently by the descendants who Kept their memories alive through stories. Tales of their origin and their journeys through life, Without this continuity where would the tribe be? And the Raven could see into the realms of the dead, Carry messages from one world to the other. This was its power. And for the tribe and the sacred house of bones Where the remains of the ancestors stayed Benefits of many kinds were theirs to have When they paid attention to the messages That Raven and Crow would bring, And of which the singers of the tribe would sing. However the world was changing, Newer practices than those of old, The hunt became less desirable When now the land was for arable. And with crops came a shift in outlook For so much relied on the climate and seasons The sky was now deemed to have power And held life in the balance. Great Father Sky, the world over was Revered and took the form of man No more abstract Gods like Heaven and Earth, Or her wild animal progeny. Father Sky now appeared and ate and drank With human beings, sleeping too. Thus did Zeus overthrow Chronos And supplanted him and the Titans As father of the Gods. In his fury he could darken the sky, Throw down destructive lightning, Sulphur to annihilate cities in wrath. And to appease him there must be due sacrifice. The animals now tamed and domesticated, Chosen ones for his table. Wine to drink and intoxicate, Stir up the fires of battle and contend With demons, monsters, dragons and men. At his altar the carrion were driven away Their portion no more freely given, but an ill omen. Offerings burned in supplication, Smoke rising to the Sky, into the air. And with it prayers for a good harvest, Good fortune and the good life, Not necessarily for the good of all But for key individuals seeking favour. Continuity in an ever changing society Ensured by inheritance and by contracts With God, the Sky Father, as their witness As well as a party to the covenant. Men rose to the top of this new world, Men with worldly lust in their hearts, Women freely offered to quench their fires But with no thought to the cost. No Dancing on a Dead Planet Welcome agus Fàilte To the masked ball, the Danse Macabre, The swinging scene which fills my vision. Politicians jive talking as they Pas de deux with duplicity, Reality a wall-flower rejected and alone. We have built cathedrals to progress As we hasten towards everlasting destruction, The congregations stupefied like opiate junkies While massive juggernauts rumbling over us Pulverise everything to dust. “Wake up, wake up!” exhorts the poet From their book of Revelations And with a rebel yell we cried Less, less, less And were idle no more. Grasping the rose despite the thorns A resurrection will be wrought So we may pass her on to the youth, Full of grace and vigour and hope, Looking forward to the future world Where they can dance on to infinity. De Anima Mundi Our Earth is soul-sick. Humanity’s disease of greed Has inflicted wounds on our Mother, Trauma that her soul flees from. Mother Earth has a fever, Now we must pray that she recovers, And send her healing light Which illuminates her waters. The healing of the waters Will bring down her fever. This she already knows and Her precipitation will put out fires. These are the fires we started Constantly burning, Enclosed in engines. We have engineered her destruction. Natura nihil facit frustra. Nature does nothing in vain. We are experiencing but symptoms, Attempts to regain homeostasis. Unless we listen to her wisdom, Take heed of what she is saying, Set our course on a new direction, We too will be lost.
3.
Desire is a tiger. Take her to the temple. You like her. But she doesn't understand the middle way.
4.
Hungry heart Ice in veins No surprise You Feel no pain Heavy chest Without a breath To see you run Is so much fun Up up down back Attack Attack Up up down back x3 Attack Attack Wounded now Nowhere to run Darkest night No light, no sun I burn you down I feel alive Nothing left Ashes heap Attack Attack
5.
Lament for Detroit and Damascus Music and culture have their roots In the land and in the shifting sand. Places once hallowed for their artistic role Now stand merely a shattered husk of a whole. Neglect, sore neglect of even young Detroit Whose fame sprang once from the Motown Sound, Holland, Dozier and Holland, Diana Ross, Smokey, the Four Tops now at a loss To see how the city has crumbled from within, And the likes of Ritchie Hawtin, Juan Atkins, All those pioneers who infused the electronic With soul, brought to tears. And if the forgetfulness of those so Great of late can happen with such haste Then a tragedy of much greater magnitude is The fate of that well-spring of world renown: Damascus. It seems no wonder that the world Has barely heard the cries and Pitiable screams of terror from the Once magnificent crucible of the West’s arts, letters and music. Another place tearing itself apart from within While society stands by with blinkered eye Conveniently forgetting the immense debt of Gratitude we owe to them.

about

Thanks to all the people who helped me including my family and friends, especially Chris Giorgi for his track. Also thanks to all the people who contributed to my crowdfunding appeal and for also being so patient in waiting for it to come to fruition.

It's perhaps not quite what I originally intended but considering what has happened in the intervening time that is not too surprising. In fact my thoughts about music and its role have altered dramatically and I have been leaning much more recently to the experience of playing with musicians live in sessions for the social and convivial experience this allows.

I do however feel duty bound to honour my original intention to produce an album especially after all the generous help and I hope that it will be of some creative merit and enjoyable to listen to, perhaps when in the appropriate frame of mind.

I also am very grateful to both Rachel and Fifi for their inspiration and for their communication over the years. I am grateful that you let me play with your work. I hope that you are also pleased with the results. Both of you have lots to gift to us in the future with your immense talents I'm sure!

credits

released July 21, 2023

The first 2 tracks:
Music composed, arranged and produced by Drew McNaughton
Spoken word written and performed by Drew McNaughton

The last 3 tracks are remixes or adaptations of original works. All credits for these are included in the track info of the respective recordings.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Drew McNaughton Scotland, UK

Drew McNaughton is a musician and poet who was born in Concord, Massachusetts and has greatly admired the writing of Emerson and Thoreau for many years. At an early age he also found that he was particularly drawn to the poetry of W. B. Yeats which has continued to be a major influence. Now living in Scotland he has recently been listening to Gaelic musicians and singers such as Julie Fowlis. ... more

contact / help

Contact Drew McNaughton

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

Drew McNaughton recommends:

If you like Drew McNaughton, you may also like: