Songs for children can often fall into one of three categories: happy songs, educational songs, or lullabies. There is nothing wrong with any of these three categories- many of the songs I write fit nicely into these categories, and I like to think they all have a very important place in this world. However, as a songwriter, I recognize that there is a lot of power in connecting with song as a medium to help us explore our full spectrum of emotion. From giddy joy to aching sorrow, songs can help us feel it all, in a safe way. Also, songs are for singing together, which helps us build an understanding that we are not alone in any of our feelings- even the really, really hard ones. This is why, as a mother, a songwriter and an educator, I endeavor to share a wide range of songs to support children in developing an understanding that we all feel a wide range of emotions, and that it is okay to feel them all.
Click HERE for a PDF of lyrics and chords in English and French.
That being said, allow me to introduce “Calm Like Tree” (“Calme comme l’arbre” in French). I wrote this song last April, when the world was freshly turned upside down by the pandemic. I felt so claustrophobic. I wrestled with all of the hard emotions, and I desperately wanted to just get away. There were moments in which I felt completely overwhelmed, realizing there was nowhere on Earth that I could go to escape. There was nothing to do but sit with the fear, anxiety and stress. So I did what I have always had the privilege of being able to do since I was a child – I turned to the natural world and I turned to song.
I have long looked to trees for their wisdom when I am swelling with big, hard feelings. They are such gentle giants, so peaceful. Our deciduous friends are so accepting of being stripped bare every Fall; standing tall and calm through the longest, harshest months. These beautiful giants embody a deep trust that ‘this, too, shall pass’, and that they will experience the renewal that comes the following Spring.
So last Spring, I turned to the trees, watching and steeping myself in their wisdom. Winter wouldn’t let go, keeping the skies dark and the winds searing cold- the trees stood calm and tall. The tips of branches were swelling with buds, full of magic, ready to explode- the trees stood calm and tall. So patiently, the trees stood through it all, reminding me time and again… it is okay to feel all the feelings… and that ‘this too, shall pass’. It is medicine, and a privilege, to sit in their wisdom.
We continue to experience the pandemic. In my region, we are in a third wave of Covid-19. The world is looking a little scarier and more uncertain, yet again. I feel it. And what I know is that if I feel it, the kids are feeling it, too.
So, I offer what I have to offer: helping children develop their own relationship with their heart, the land and with song. “Calm Like Tree” offers a provocation: can we learn from trees about how to be with our feelings, even the really hard ones? It may be an idea to simply share the song with children and then go outside and spend some time with the natural world, and see what else the children may learn from the beautiful, gentle giants.
Another idea for a use of the song is to develop a familiarity with the song so that the chorus has the potential to become a little tool in a child’s toolbox. As children learn the chorus, they can “fill in the blank” (see below) and add any feeling they feel into it, affirming that the feeling they feel is okay to feel! This could become a little melody to sing at any time, in any moment, when a feeling- big or small, easy or hard- is felt.
“One, two, three, can I be
Calm and still like tree
Feel _______ in my hands
And stand… and stand.”
Finally, this song can also be used to spark inquiry, helping children look more closely at trees at this time of year. I find that when I really tune into the process taking place at the tips of branches, there is real joy and excitement in witnessing their transformation and noticing them burst open.
No matter how you find the song works for you and the children in your life, I hope you enjoy singing along. If you have more ideas of how to use “Calm Like Tree”, I would love to hear them!
Thank you for listening to my words and my story.
Land Heart Song 