Thank you for picking up this record. It came to be when I recorded half an hour of Plum Village songs to contribute to a film project being made by some friends about the village. I didn’t think more about it until ‘When I Rise’ was used on a little instagram video of the new PV Hoodies and T-Shirts; I had a few messages about the song and then found and listened back to the others and felt, yes, ok, I’ll  put them together as a little album, so thank you for the encouragement those who messaged!

For those who have been to Plum Village, you’ll know how important songs are to the community. The story of folk music at the village has roots in Thay’s poetry, sung by peace activists in Vietnam and later by their peace song singing siblings further away. Across borders Betsy Rose, Joseph Emet and Eveline Beumkes would pick up Thay’s early translations and turn them into song.

In his foreword to ‘Basket Full of Plums’ Thich Nhat Hanh says this about Plum Village’s relationship to songs, ‘They are a kind of spiritual music that facilitates understanding and happiness in people, I invite you to become my co-students learning how to play music in such a way that it will bring peace to our society our community and ourselves’.

I want to release these recordings with gratitude for my friends at Wake Up London and also the community at PV with whom I spent a year in 2016. The nurturing encouragement I have received from both these communities is precious and ongoing. And as always feels right to appreciate my parents who introduced me to folk music and the power of song.

**also, if you play an instrument and would like the chords, let me know**

Click through to find the songs on Spotify

If you don’t use Spotify you can find them here:

If you would like a physical box or do need a cd to listen to the songs let me know and I can make one for you.