CANTUS: Wanting Memories by Ysaye M. Barnwell

Enjoy the eleventh performance from our COVID-19 Sessions recorded live March 17, 19, and 20.

Ysaye M. Barnwell’s "Wanting Memories" is a deeply moving text and composition, and it is a favorite within the ensemble and with our audiences. We’ve performed it the world over and even with Sweet Honey in the Rock® at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis back in the fall of 2017.

Ysaye Barnwell and Sweet Honey in the Rock® have been inspirations for Cantus for much of the ensemble’s history. Their commitment to social justice and relevant programming along with their incredible artistry are attributes that inform and inspire our own music-making.

Each time we perform this piece, it strikes us in new ways, and we hope it can be a moment of reflection and gratitude during this time of isolation.

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I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me,
To see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.

You used to rock me in the cradle of your arms,
You said you'd hold me till the pains of life were gone.
You said you'd comfort me in times like these and now I need you,
Now I need you, and you are gone.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me,
To see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
Since you've gone and left me, there's been so little beauty,
But I know I saw it clearly through your eyes.

Now the world outside is such a cold and bitter place,
Here inside I have few things that will console.
And when I try to hear your voice above the storms of life,
Then I remember all the things that I was told.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me,
To see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.

I think on the things that made me feel so wonderful when i was young.
I think on the things that made me laugh, made me dance, made me sing.
I think on the things that made me grow into a being full of pride.
I think on these things, for they are true.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me,
To see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.
I thought that you were gone, but now I know you're with me,
You are the voice that whispers all I need to hear.

I know a please a thank you and a smile will take me far,
I know that I am you and you are me and we are one,
I know that who I am is numbered in each grain of sand,
I know that I've been blessed again, and over again.

I am sitting here wanting memories to teach me,
To see the beauty in the world through my own eyes.

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