THE MESSAGE
BEHIND EACH
SONG
(Peace and Humanity Project
2001)
Greetings
to each person who receives this cassette, which carries A Message (to bring back) of
Peace and Humanity to all Children of the World (us) in the Year 2001.
When this mission is realized, by spreading the message around all over the
world, then all people shall be set free from egoism and materialism and we
will finally have conquered all misery on Earth. This will happen only when
we, regardless of race, age, creed or colour, walk hand in hand, lifting our
hearts and offering ourselves to the Lord. I sincerely hope that each of us
and our loved ones will find these songs and prayers helpful in this endeavour.
1.
Dance of the Heart:
This
song is a big celebration for having set my soul free from all fear, confusion,
and sense of being lost in this giant world. It is about a spiritual experience
which took place in 1985 in Ottawa, as I finally offered my total life to
the Lord. Before this special event, I was always searching for a sense of meaning to my life and the importance of my
little place on Earth, carrying this burden everywhere I go. I felt chained
all these years till the day I gave my life to the Lord. Now in this special year of 2001, I refer every listener to song
no. 1 , (and songs no. 4, 12, & 14) and invite you to sing along with
me. May you find this interior peace in your heart every time you listen to
this beautiful song. I dedicate this
song to everyone who falls under my situation.
2.
Solidarity of the
World :
I have
translated this song into three languages in order to reach out to the largest
number of people in the world. My great wish is to see this song available
in many languages. Let us together in solidarity lift up our hearts, sing
along, and offer this prayer to the Lord and ask Him to grant us peace in
this new millinium. I dedicate this
song to everyone who works in solidarity to bring peace to this world.
3.
A Voice
of Sorrow:
This simple sweet
song is dedicated to all people living
in misery, especially children who are living in starvation in refugees camps.
I urge everyone to extend his/her hand to these unfortunate souls in order
that they receive the basic needs for survival and also to rekindle in them
hope and dignity. Everything which we give to these little ones, shall be
returned to us by the grace of God. It is up to us to stop people from dying
of starvation. I am more than confident that we shall become more sensitive
to this issue and eventually conquer this misery.
I have been in touch recently with World
Vision, Netaids, Vision TV, UNHCR and many other organizations which offer
help to children internationally. I made them aware of this modest work that
comes from deep in my heart to reach out to the needy and helpless children,
to extend my hand in my own little way. I wish to see this song used in fundraising
events to enhance peoples generosity to these unfortunate children. I dedicate this song to all the poor and refugees in the world.
4.
Dance
of the Soul:
Once
more I would like to invite listeners to celebrate my discovery to the kingdom
of Lord and my new relationship with Him, and encourage everyone to experience
this interior peace in the midst of chaos. I would like to share with you
the peace I have received from God. Ever since, my whole life has changed.
It is a beautiful feeling to be alive and be in touch with the Lord. Now I fear nothing, although I may still cry
witnessing the misery around the world. I am detached totally from materialism,
although I still use material goods for a means of survival solely. I dedicate this song to all people who wish
to live in peace.
5.
A Prayer (A Call for Mercy to the
Lord):
This song describes a soul in time of danger and
panic in the midst of chaos. In similar situations, we feel insecure like
a little child who seeks refuge in the arms of his/her parents. We are all
children deep inside us, arent we? Set this child free, and let him/her be,
and express all emotions repressed inside us. We ask God to come and save
us from all wars, disasters, chaos, distress, and starvation that lead to
insecurity. Let us wake up from this deep sleep of apathy, and start to search
for an alternative life of peace with God. I
dedicate this song to all people who seek Gods help in time of distress.
6. The
Childrens Polka
Dance:
I have
composed this song to all children of the world in order to lighten the burden
we laid on their backs because of our egoism. Let us encourage them to keep
on smiling and never loose the zest in their beautiful spontaneous creative
nature. Let us build an inviting positive world for them so that in their
turn they will do the same thing for the following generations. Without their
lively sweet nature, it would be like splashing black dots on a beautiful
piece of art, and taking out all the nuance of the gorgeous balanced colors.
Let us nourish these blooming little flowers well, so that they will continue
to sprinkle zest in our lives. I dedicate
this song to all the children in the world.
7. Meditation
(Jesus on the Cross):
This soft relaxing oriental song will take us, for
a moment of meditation, to see Jesus
on the cross. We see Him suffering so much for us in order to save our lives
and set us free from any attachment to materialism and egoism. Oh, there is
no one nor anyone in the history of mankind who existed and so succeeded in
extending His sincere pure love for us by sacrificing his total life for us!
He has borne this huge burden (the cross) voluntarily and silently, like a
lamb taken to the slaughter, when He had the choice to refute it and play
the egoist as we do now and then in our every day lives. He was ridiculed,
whipped, spat upon and was humiliated. Let
us take Him as a role model for his extreme tolerance and patience. We are
born to be happy! When He sees us sad and unhappy, He knocks at our door to
guide us to the path of Joy and Harmony.
So, lets take a moment of silence, to recognize the heroism of His
acts, and give Him our full trust to guide us to the Light, the Truth, true
Love, and eternal happiness. I encourage people to sing this song on Fridays,
especially on Good Friday. May you feel His presence by you every time you
sing this song with me. I dedicate this song to all
religious people here and in the Holy Land.
8.
Mothers Love: (LAmour Maternel):
I composed this simple song to my sweet eldest daughter when she was three
months old. It was in an apartment in Nepean (Ottawa Region). I still remember the moment I composed this song and the many times I sang it at bedtime to her. I suggest to all parents to sing it along to their children by simply replacing my daughters name with their childs name. Let us cuddle our sweet children while they are young and give them all the security we can. So that, when they become adults, they will form positive and strong roots of harmony within our society. We ought to remember that we do not possess our childrenwe merely guardians,(Joubran Khalil Joubran; The Prophet) our role is to guide them and nourish them with love till the day they are fully independent enough to fly on their own! I think of Rita McNiel (Fly on your own) & Paul Anka (I did it my way!). I dedicate this song to all three of my dear children.
9. Humanity: (A Call for Sympathy for
the World of Misery)
I would like to share the feelings of all people who are afflicted
by misery caused by either emotional and psychological stress or physical
pain or disability. You are no longer alone; I invite the whole world to live
moments of sincere feelings of compassion to alleviate the worlds suffering.
Together in solidarity we shall pray for each others so that the burden will
be lightened. I encourage everyone who is in distress to sing along this song
with me and to offer it to the Lord and ask Him to bring spiritual and physical
healing to us. Prayers produce miracles! Believe me, it works! I dedicate this song to all people living in distress and misery.
10.
Struggle for Self-Acceptance (Psychological Evolution):
The inspiration for this
particular song stems from a personal experience that I had during my childhood.
Also, I often hear people complain about things with which they are not happy.
For example, being poor, unhappy, things related to physical appearance, and
so forth. I think we all cross this path during our life time. We seek to
please the world around us, while neglecting the very essence of the matter.
That we are all precious people and we have to learn how to love ourselves.
Psychologists have always agreed that before extending our hands to others,
we have first to obtain the basic needs of survival. We cannot love others
if we have a sense of hatred and insecurity inside us. So
the secret of this matter is first to accept ourselves as we are, and
to have confidence in ourselves. Often,
I notice that young people take some kind of a role model, such as a star,
and try to attract their peers by adapting to this celebrity image. This is
dangerous, because by doing so, we tend to assimilate into the peer group
blindly and risk losing our unique precious identities. I believe that we are all unique, rich or poor, black or white and so
forth. Let us set ourselves free from this psychological captivity and
be ourselves. We are all beautiful in
our own way! When we look around
us, let us concentrate on the roses rather on the thorns. We often hear that positive attracts positive, and vice versa. This
is very true. Remember something, my friend: there are some rich people who are unhappy while some poor people are
very happy. So, it is a question of attitude. Therefore, we ought to set
ourselves free from this psychological
captivity, stereotype, and taboo. May the Lord shine in your life and bring
joy and interior peace to your life! Let no one take away the freedom of happiness.
May the Lord give everyone interior peace! Dont worry anymore! Be Happy!
I dedicate this song to all people who find interior peace by hearing
this song.
11. Christmas Bells (Good News):
I had
the lyrics for this melody in my mind for long years; finally, I came out
with the words in two languages. It is the first Christmas song which I composed.
It is simple and joyful. May the Lord bring true Peace in the heart of the
whole world! Merry Christmas to all! God bless you! I dedicate this song to every person who works to bring peace to the world.
12. Gratitude:
One more time, I would like to invite you to celebrate and share this great joy with me .Together, we thank the Lord for all blessings, and for His great love for us. We look around us, and count all the blessings in us, the people we love, and the everlasting beauty of Mother Nature. Let us appreciate all that surrounds us and conserve it as it is. My everyday prayer is, Thank you Lord! I shall never take anything for granted. We live in an ephemeral world. We are all temporary passengers and each of us carries some kind of important mission for this world. We are all messengers of God and angels to one another. Each of us brings wisdom and the art of living; let us learn how to live harmoniously together on this Earth. The more we appreciate Gods blessings, the more He fills our life with peace. I dedicate this song to all people who wish to sing this thanksgiving prayer with me to the Lord.
13.
Elegance (Waltz):
This short melody was inspired while I was thinking of my father, my dear cousin Joseph, his father, and my elegant music teacher, Laurie. They all play the accordion, and always was fascinated with their remarkable talents. To these special people, I dedicate this sweet short melody.
14.
Thanksgiving Celebration:
This song is one of my favorite songs I love to play it frequently. Every time I sit by my keyboard, the first song that comes to me is this beautiful happy song. I love its unique rhythm. I literally feel like dancing whenever I hear it. It is so lively, with a unique melodic style in spite of its simplicity. Sing along with me and let us thank the Lord once more for all the great blessings that surround us, and for his everlasting unconditional love. Thank you Lord for revealing Your extreme generosity towards all your children in the world!
I dedicate
this song to people who wish to thank the Lord for His
great Love to us.
15.
Children of the World (Enfants du Monde Entier):
I invite
all children of the world to sing along to this soft and sweet simple song.
During my live performance, I get the children to dance in circle. It is a
prayer in solidarity, and in the voice of children, to play mediator between
God and us. As He reserved a special place for all the children, we can be
assured that their voices will be heard and their prayer will be answered
for us. This is the prayer for attaining the everlasting peace in this world.
And we are more and more thirsty to see this prayer fulfilled. With the help
of God, prayers, and even fasting when possible, He will grant us peace. I dedicate this song to all the children in the world.
16.
The Brotherhood Love
Song:
This
short song relates to the struggle against egotism, which is responsible for
our misery in this world. I invite each listener to extend his/her own hand
to others and to pray in solidarity to strengthen the spirit of brotherhood
in us. As we know, our soul is essentially a pure energy which extends from
our creator, our Lord. As we gather all this positive powerful energy, we
become so strong that we can conquer any destructive impurity in our world.
This is why it is important to accomplish sublime missions together for the
good of all. And so, we bring victory to our world
and live harmoniously on this Earth. I dedicate this song to everyone who works for peace in solidarity to
the world.
17.
Wandering in Nature:
In this
song we see the image of a happy mother wandering, running, and dancing with
her little children in the arms of Mother Nature. This oriental song probably
hit the Guinness Record for its length, among my songs, and it definitely
steals my heart instantly! It is eight minutes long. It is the one that I
love most. Whenever I hear it, I fly on my own! I get carried away and set
my soul free like a bird. I love to be in the arms of Mother Nature, it is
like being in Paradise, the Promised Land, or in Heaven! It reminds me of
Rita MacNeils beautiful song Flying on your Own. The full expression of
the human soul, set truly free! Each time I hear this beautiful harmonic song,
every blood cell in my body vibrates! It is an expression of extreme freedom
and suspension to all limitations. Nature has a powerful impact on our physical
and spiritual lives. It is a refuge for us, and an escape from stressful situations.
It is in the arms of Mother nature that I composed this melodic song. It is
here where we tend to be strong, most creative, and more loving to one another.
We are created to be free and not to be confined within physical and psychological
limitations. I encourage everyone to preserve Mother Nature pure and clean
from any chemical substances, so that the natural world stays fertile. If
we do not respect this law of nature, She will rebel against us and express
her anger in her own way For example, unhealthy vegetation, air pollution,
unbearable heat, natural disasters. Physicists have proved mathematically
that every action has its equivalent reaction. We owe more respect to Mother
Nature, for the spirit of God is everywhere.
Let us express our appreciation to Her and preserve her purity for
our survival and for the future generations. I
dedicate this song to the Indians
in North and South America, to all organizations and individuals who work
for the harmony and sanity of the Universe.
18.
Family:
Again
I will say that this sacred word family vibrates every blood cell in my
body. Now and then and on this New Year Day of
2002 I heard people saying: Oh, sometimes friends are better than
our own family. I do not believe this is true. Only egotistic relationships
can rupture a good family spirit. We should not deny that there is an evil
spirit in our world as well as a good spirit. If we ignore this fact, as some
people do, I believe strongly that, we commit a mistake. And so, we allow
the evil to play his games in our lives. This is what is happening today.
A lot of our families are broken (including mine). Family is the essence of
society, when it is not united, harmonious, and strong, this will lead into
a weaker social bonding and foundation. If
we are all connected to a good network system with high quality cables, then
our efforts and communications bring good positive results and vice versa.
Let us do what we can to strengthen our family spirit, and in no time, we
will enhance the family bond of love. And consequently, we will live harmoniously.
Although I was not fortunate to have a happy family, I still cherish its positive
value. I dedicate this song to my three
dear children whom I cherish very much. I
extend my dedication to my sisters and brothers and all my relatives whom
I dearly love.
19.
Search for Identity (LEnfant Perdu):
Here I am coming to the mystery of the world. This song is one of the most important song
in the musical peace project; during the live performance, usually I have
a little child singing this song with me. This song is like a puzzle or a guessing game to the little children.
No child ever heard it and did not like it! A sweet eight years old child
sings this song to me every time she sees me. I am touched by her innocent
spirit, zest, and beautiful voice. Twelve years ago, I knew a child who loved
my songs so much that she would ask her parents to play this audiocassette
over and over. I composed this song after having been asked frequently through
my life, this question: Where are you from? Or do you mind telling me what is your nationality?.
I used to become puzzled and confused not knowing what to answer them. As
a matter of fact, I used to feel a little bit annoyed by this disturbing question.
Finally, I decided to explain my real mixed feelings caused by the
loss of identity by creating this unique and special song. I was raised during
my early childhood in convents in Nazareth, Haifa, and Jerusalem. This is
where the birth of my spirituality took place, in the very Holy Land. I was
influenced by many cultures through my whole life; consequently, I developed
a mixed accent often hard to identify. Some people think I am Greek, Italian,
Arab, Slave, or Spanish. I can pass for any of them
I was recently in Italy, and there was a sign in
the church: Taking photos is forbidden! My friend was caught using his camera;
the nun rushed to me speaking to me in Italian explaining to me taking pictures
is forbidden. She thought that I was local and showing my guest around Orate
(a beautiful city in Italy). So she took me for Italian
Another event occurred in Toronto in an Italian
food store. The customer was literally arguing with my manager, trying to
prove to him that I was Italian.
So in this song I explain my life history, and identity as
a lost child, but towards the end I concluded that I found myself by creating
some kind of philosophical theory: The fact that I do not belong to any culture,
country, or society, this makes me, paradoxically, belong to everyone! Everyone
is my brother or sister, and God our Father created this Earth for us to share
in harmony. And thus, I attained interior peace. If someone today were
to ask me the same question, I would send them to do an extensive search on
the web (www.afriendlymessage.org), or refer them to my encyclopedia ( song.
No. 19) to find the solution to this mysterious puzzle!!!
I dedicate this song
to all refugees, immigrants, and to everyone
in the world who falls in my situation. May the Lord give you the real
interior peace! God bless you!
20.
The Wedding Song:
This song was composed for my wedding day in 1982. The words
were composed first. Later, I added the melody. Without thinking at all spontaneously,
the melody turned out to be oriental, in a Ballad style. Believe it or not,
I had two opportunities to get people to sing my song during a wedding reception,
but I missed my boat twice
On my wedding day, I informed someone that we will
be singing my song. This person made a discouraging remark, and I drew my
request instantly. If I did, it wouldve meant so much to me.
The next time, was my nieces wedding, and people
were invited to sing any song respecting certain conditions. The word love
should be in the song. Of course, no such word is mentioned in this particular
song And so I missed the boat againWell, now I console myself the fact that
I made this song available to all. I encourage people to sing it traditionally
during wedding receptions, for years to come! I am certain you will fulfill
my wishor else I will charge you interest on the days you will not use itHappy
Wedding! I dedicate this song to
all newly wed-couples and couples who are celebrating their wedding anniversary
year after year. Congratulation!
21.
March for Peace:
I invite people to sing this song whenever there are organized
authorized peace demonstrations. During
the live performance, I invite children and adults to do the March for Peace
while I sing this song. We are born to be happy and live in peace with
each other. People are tired of war. Let us lay down all arms and shake hands
once for all. Wars are destructive; we deserve to live in peace. Let us sow
peace wherever we go and respect peoples rights and unselfish needs. May
God bring interior peace in our heart and so we can spread peace in our surrounding.
No one but oneself has power over our ones soul! If God is with us, no one
can take it away from us. God bless everyone and protect us from any harm
and chaos that may surrounds us. Let us try to resolve problems by using nonviolent
approaches as these heroic and prominent role models did: such as Jesus, Ghandi, and many others heroes.
Let us build Gods kingdom among us, and live in peace and an everlasting
happiness. May the Lord answer our prayer. I dedicate this song to all
the organizations, religious congregations, and to every individual who seek
to sow peace wherever they go.
22.
A Race to Goodness, Brotherhood, and
Humanity:
In this psychological and spiritual race, I invite the listeners to participate voluntarily, no matter how little or how big are your talents. If everyone goes at his/her own rhythm to the maximum of his/her ability, then each participant in this race is certain to win. All that counts are good intentions, a major effort, and above all to hold on to the end of the race. This requires a lot of patience, this quality is developed by good habits of perseverance. Never, ever, give it up or else someone will come to take your place God has reserved a little place for each of us, conveying a small mission (a dream or a goal) in our hands. We are all entitled to win this race, with our big talents or small ones. Victory is granted equally to all. In my song, I make everybody win and I am confident at the end we will all win this big race! I dedicate this song to every participant in this humanitarian race. Hooray! Happy Victory!
23.
Nostalgia (To the Holy Land):
In this song I send my love to all people I cherish , whom I left behind when I departed from the Holy Land. Whenever I miss my home cities Nazareth, Haifa, and Jerusalem, where I spent all my childhood, I sing my nostalgia song. It makes me feel good and sends some calm and healing to my soul, thirsty for the homeland where I was born.
I dedicate this song to all relatives, nuns and priests, classmates, and friends. I miss you all!
24.
Childrens Play:
This unfinished short melody I composed on the accordion. I was thinking of my father, (deceased) who often played this instrument for us, my cousin Joseph and his dad, last but not least, my accordion teacher. Laurie Rosewarn. I dedicate this melody to thee.
25. A Call for Mercy
(to the Virgin Mary):
In this song we see a little child who is seeking refuge in the arms of His Mother in time of trouble and danger. This child witnesses the worlds misery, such as starvation, the desolation of orphans, and the suffering of many other souls. During the live performance, I sing this song in three languages, French, English, and Arabic. It is a prayer to the Mother of God to intercede to her Son, Jesus and ask her to play the role of a mediator between us and God to bring mercy and end this world misery. How many times a child wants to obtain something for his/her dad, afraid his/her request will be rejected, he asks mom to intervene And you can be certain, the child gets always what he/she wants by this methodDont you agree? I know one thing, my children always come to me whenever they need something from their dad. Why do children do that? Now, we know Jesus never refused anything to His mothers request, even when it was not the right time! If we recall the verses in the bible: Jesus fulfilled her wish and performed His first miracle, turning water into wineNow do you think, if we go to Blessed Virgin Mary for help, will her son refuse our prayers knowing it is good for all mankind? I will let you answer this. She is a loving mother and is very concerned about our survival and happiness. This is why she keeps on appearing in our world, to warn her children about danger, and to guide us to the Light: Her Son Jesus our Lord. We are all children of God, and we ought not to hesitate to call for her mercy whenever we are in distress by signing this song. She has the power to change things and intervene for the sake of our survival. Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us! Amen! This song was sung many times by the church choir in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth. I dedicate this song to all people who reserve a special place to Virgin Mary in their heart, and to religious people who were source of all spiritual inspiration to me. My spiritual guide, Fr. Gabriel Brayer; Sr. Benedicta & Sr. Raphael, Fr. Maron, priest parish in Nazareth; Fr. Valancio (deceased) who was to me like St. Vincent de Paul to the orphans & the poor; Pre Quorquet & Pre Galot, Sr. Lucie (deceased), who was my angel through my childhood; Sr. Ccile, my French teacher who gave me confidence. Many others who extended their hand in silence. Every church of all denominations and nonprofit organization who opened the door for me to spread this message of Peace to their members. Last but not least, my dear cousin Joseph and his family who gave me support in the past years. To all of you I remain thankful!
Just to let you know, now during my performances I sing most of the songs in English and French. Some are sung in three languages while other in four. My goal in to have all these songs translated into multilanguages to spread this message of Peace internationally.
God Bless You!
Jeannette
of Nazareth (The Universal Echo of Humanity)
In
its extreme weakness and little force; and in its simplicity and poverty.