The herb and spice chart from Living on the Earth is available printed on an apron in English or in French.
Top row: “Hippie Hill” post card drawing from 1970, “You are Loved” painting from 2005, “Falling Star” ink and watercolor pencil painting from How to Make Peace, from 2003.
You can browse the entire Indigo With Stars online shop here. There are style and color variants on some of these products, plus some are printed in and shipped from the UK or the EU.
Ramón Sender Barayón and Alicia Bay Laurel play a medley of folk songs as the finale of the movie, “Living on the Earth – The Musical.”
I like having a container for the stories surrounding the movie, “Living on the Earth – The Musical.”
Here is the page where I have posted the professional reviews, the history of the live performance, the story of how the movie came to be made, where my performance costume came from, my other videos on Vimeo, and where to find my and Ramon’s books and music.
Alicia’s poster for her movie, and a photo of Alicia performing the live show upon which the movie is based.
My dear friend, celebrated director/screenwriter SJ Chiro, who, right now, is launching her latest masterpiece, “East of the Mountains,” just took the time to review my first, and most likely, only, movie, “Living on the Earth – The Musical.”
Here is what she wrote:
I watched Alicia Bay Laurel’s one woman show, “Living on Earth – The Musical,” with rapt attention. The 1-hour-47-minute running time flew by.
As a child of her contemporaries, growing up on one of the communes on which Alicia herself lived in her early years, I listened as she unwrapped her history, a history I had never known. Tales of when she was a girl. The experiences which shaped her, including a fraught relationship with her mother.
As children, we only know what we experience of people in the present. I saw adults who had already made the decision to break with their straight, uptight parents and go back to the land, living simply and illegally, eating brown rice and vegetables communally, and walking down long dirt roads with bare feet. This was their present, but how did they get here? And now that they were here, what did living on the land mean to them? What were they eschewing? Why had they created a new paradigm?
Alicia tells the answers to these questions, and more, as she sings and plays her guitar in the style that brought me back to my childhood, her mellow voice, sometimes soothing, sometimes full of energy. I saw a portrait of a strong-willed and clever independent teenager who lit out for San Francisco and eventually made her way North to Sonoma County.
Always energetic and creative, Alicia decided to make a book illustrating Life on the Land. She called it Living on the Earth and it was surprisingly a huge success. As a young woman she was suddenly famous, and had money. A lot more money than most of the people around her. Alicia doesn’t shy away from honestly recounting how this imbalance caused some problems and resentments among her peers, but the show keeps on truckin’.
Soon Alicia is in Hawaii and other locales. The stories keep coming. At one point, she is joined on stage by her great long-time friend and collaborator Ramón Sender Barayón. How beautiful to see two artists who have known each other for so many years, respect each other’s company and make music together.
Some of Alicia’s rawness may shock, some inspire laughter, some elicit “Wow!”s from the audience. That is the glory of the unvarnished truth of a lifetime, and we are so lucky to get to hear all this from the master artist Alicia Bay Laurel.
SJ Chiro Director East of the Mountains Director Lane 1974 lane1974film.com“
East of the Mountains” is available from practically all Video on Demand outlets . It’s poetry in cinema.
The trailer is already available at the same link.
There is a modest paywall of $7.50 US to “rent” the movie for 48 hours.
The movie will remain available on Vimeo for a few years, at least.
The autumn equinox event will include Q&A with Alicia about the movie (so please see the movie first), as well as about the two new editions of her 50-year-old books, Living on the Earth and Being of the Sun. She might tell some stories that aren’t in the movie, too.
Alicia will create and send (via email) free illustrated, personalized book inscriptions (normally $10 each) for either of these books if purchased from the Indigo With Stars online store during the event.
Please send the names to be inscribed, the email address of the recipient of the inscription page, and any special message you’d like included, to Alicia at alicia@aliciabaylaurel.com
Here is a time zone converter to help determine when the event will occur in your time zone:
Monday! Monday! THIS Monday! I am sooooo excited about this!The truly, utterly divine work of my friend and lifetime shero Alicia Bay Laurel is coming to LIFE in a video. A musical, no less! I would not miss this for the world. Join the celebration!
I watched the trailer, and I think your film is going to be incredible. You are such a wonderful storyteller, as I learned the day we spent walking around the arboretum and talking. And you are so funny! I will watch the movie once it comes out. What a wonderful story about how the movie came about with Luis Olano.
Barbara Light Lacey Author, Singer/songwriter Dallas, Texas
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I loved Living on the Earth and have followed Alicia Bay Laurel a bit, but had not heard of this new work. I count myself incredibly lucky to ended up at Star Mountain, and the amazing communities in the area in the very early eighties. My life was forever changed by those times, and I am so grateful. Thanks for the recommendation.
Kelli Kennedy
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Hi Alicia,
Alan and I watched the movie last week. Wow! I love it! I enjoyed hearing your story and songs. It brought up many memories – a lot was familiar to me, but some was not and your story tied it all together. I’m glad I was able to see it – thanks for sending me the link! Your art is continuing to evolve and expand!
Wonderful Art Kunkin, when he founded the Los Angeles Free Press in 1964.
I first met Art at my first Renaissance Pleasure Faire, when it was still a fundraiser for Pacifica Radio’s Los Angeles station, KPFK, which was the soundtrack of my childhood, growing up with leftist parents in Los Angeles.
A couple of years later, he offered me my first real job – doing graphic layout at the Freep in the summer of 1966. There, based on conversations with friends also working there, I plotted my course to the Haight-Ashbury, where my real life began.
A letter I sent to these same friends from Ann Arbor, Michigan, which they placed in Letters to the Editor unbeknownst to me, resulted in a write-up by Joan Didion in the Saturday Evening Post in January 1967, titled “Alicia and the Underground Press.”
The no-computer layout skills I acquired at the Freep served me well in creating the first edition of Living on the Earth in 1970.
Art and I remained in touch over the years, and I saw him again when he was in his 90s in Joshua Tree, California.
Movie poster for Living on the Earth – The Musical
Soon Alicia will be screening her movie, “Living on the Earth – The Musical,” not only from its home page at Vimeo On Demand, but on this very page, as well.
A 5-minute video synopsis of Ramón Sender Barayón’s and Alicia Bay Laurel’s celebration of freedom to choose one’s own spiritual path, with suggestions of practices and projects that have given them joy, including immersion in nature, making music on homemade instruments, and celebrating cycles of light.
Echo Point Books & Media, of Brattleboro, Vermont, expects to release the book in July 2021. Pre-ordering the book is available here.
In 1973, Ramón recorded himself and Alicia performing some of the songs, chants, drone pieces and improvisations in the book. In 2013, Alicia had these archival tapes remastered to create an album, Songs from Being of the Sun.
The original 1973 Harper & Row edition of Being of the Sun is available here.
The Soshisha, Ltd. Japanese language edition is available here.
History and reader comments about Being of the Sun here.
The colors of the cover and interior color illustrations for the 2021 edition are from scans Alicia made in 2019 of the original color artwork she created in 1972, which are more vibrant than the color pallettes used by publishers of other editions.
This video is a sample of the illustrated, handwritten pages of the 50th Anniversary Edition of Living on the Earth, accompanied by my recorded performance of my song “Onward, Onward, Ever Flow,” a song based on a chapter from the Tao Te Ching, which I wrote while living at Wheeler Ranch Commune and writing Living on the Earth, in 1969. I created the video in collaboration with digital designer Karen Tsugawa in November 2020. “Onward, Onward, Ever Flow” is track 12 from my 2015 album More Songs from Living on the Earth.
Buy the 50th Anniversary, 5th English language edition of Living on the Earth here.
After the first four editions of Living on the Earth went out of print, I began selling in my online store the remainders I had previously bought from the publishers. When it became clear that I would run out of books within a year, I began looking for a publisher with whom to collaborate on a new edition, which, coincidently, would be published on the 50th anniversary of the first (Bookworks, 1970) and second (Vintage/Random House 1971) editions.
What I really wanted was a publisher who would allow me to create, for the first time, the digital layouts for the pages and cover, and give me the book designer’s typical control over the ink and page colors, and the paper and cover stock. I was very fortunate to find good collaborators in the friendly people at Echo Point Books & Media in Brattleboro, Vermont. Thank you very much, Marshall Glickman, Fred Lee, Mark Chickering and Anneka Kindler!
My digital graphic skills were limited, but I was coached over Zoom by the excellent digital designer, Karen Tsugawa, who I first met when we both had art in a group exhibition in Osaka, Japan, in 2019. Every new skill I learn from her brings me joy.
People ask me how the 5th edition is different from the first four editions. Here is how:
1. We decided to omit most of the appendices, because the information in them becomes outdated from one edition to the next. Most of the information in the appendices is easy to find on the Internet.
2. I wrote a new preface, explaining how, where and why I began creating this book.
3. Greg Castillo, a professor at the school of architecture at University of California at Berkeley, wrote a new foreword for the book. Greg, one of the curators of the Hippie Modernism exhibition at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) in 2016 and 2017, as part of the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in San Francisco, included Living on the Earth in the exhibition, and has written academic papers discussing the value and message of this book. I am very grateful for his support of my work, and also very happy to call him a friend.
4. The pages are wonderfully opaque. This really shows my artwork to advantage. Thank you, Fred Lee, the production manager at Echo Point Books & Media, for finding this excellent paper, and even finding one that is sustainably sourced.
5. I went back to the original back cover design, from the first edition, with a list of the subjects covered in the book. This seems more useful to readers than a display of a series of rave reviews on the back cover, as we had on the third and fourth editions. If you are curious about what was written on the back cover of the fourth edition, I have posted it below.
Front cover, Living on the Earth, 50th Anniversary, 5th English language edition, Echo Point Books & Media, 2021Back cover, Living on the Earth, 50th Anniversary, 5th English language edition, Echo Point Books & Media, 2021Back cover of the Gibbs Smith, Publisher 4th edition, from 2003
Reader Responses:
Ray Mungo wrote a love letter to Alicia Bay Laurel when Living on the Earth first came out. The radical simplicity and sophistication of her vision, page after page, enchanted us on Total Loss Farm. Luckily, ABL visited and lived with us for a time in the frozen north, the start of lifelong friendships. The children who used the pages as a coloring book have children of their own. LTE had a huge influence of book publishing. They called the oversized paperback “the Alicia Bay Laurel format.” In this pandemic year of loss and climate catastrophe, Alicia’s lyric vision is a consolation for our “over-civilized,” disconnected nation.
Verandah Porche Poet, teacher, community leader Guilford, Vermont
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As for reviewing your book, I am positively behind that. It truly is one of my favorites.
I am so happy to hear about the new 50th Anniversary publication of Living On The Earth. I love my yellowed, weathered copy of the original, and am thrilled that readers of my novel will have easy access to your vision and sage advice. I hope you enjoy my book.
Greg Castillo Professor at University of California at Berkeley School of Architecture
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The book arrived and it is marvelous! congratulations! And thank you for reissuing this for another generation. It is SUCH a beautiful book. A treasure of beauty and awareness.
Thrilled! Just in time for a New Moon in Pisces seed planting time. It’s as gorgeous as ever!
Jodi Paloni Author Maine Coast Writers Workshops
My favorite page:
Jodi, I was at one of Stephen Gaskin’s Monday Night Class lectures when he said this. ABL
I got your book today.. thank you so much.. it’s like a time portal.. the hippie handbook of my youth.. sure doesn’t seem like 50 years ago.. but then it could be 100 years ago.. surprising how little has changed .. but then everything has changed .. I can see why your sales have been good this year.. something for everyone in there..a great and handy lockdown companion.
Mahalo and take care. Aloha, Diane Burr Chef and Gardener Haiku, Maui
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This book got me though the biggest challenges of my life.
Christopher Carnrick Chef and television personality Naples, Florida
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There is a better way to live on this sweet planet and we can find it as we dance, sing, make candles, plant gardens. Even if you don’t have a garden you can still learn something in this wonderful book. Over the years I’ve owned 3 copies and given it as a gift more than once.
Patricia Harman Best-selling novelist, former commune dweller, and former nurse midwife
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This book was a formative book of my youth, published when I was 9. I am so excited to see it is available again! It was a source of enchantment and homesteading fantasies – not just its content, but for the transporting drawings and hand-written text. It is both magical and practical – it’s instructions for simple and sustainable living relevant still. I credit this book with my ongoing interests in earth friendly architecture, healing arts and community systems, and treasure my stained old copy as other books head off to the library sale. This one is staying forever.
My most favorite book ever. It’s a road map on how to live naturally and be happy.
Vincent Dembinski Ingleside, Illinois
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The video looks great, and captures the feeling of your wonderful book. My sister and I adored the 1st edition of Living on the Earth, and you definitely influenced our views on the right way to live. I can’t believe it is now 50 years later!
I love the fact that I read and enjoyed the first edition of Living on the Earthin 1970. And now I’ve had the chance to meet you 50 years later. A real pleasure and honor.
Mark Chickering | Project Development
ECHO POINT BOOKS & MEDIA, LLC (publisher of the 50th anniverary edition of Living on the Earth)
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Hi Alicia,
I just wanted to say that your book arrived today! I have only read through the first few pages, but already it is reawakening my desire and excitement to pare everything I own down to what can fit in a van and set off to explore the country! The illustrations are so beautiful, as are the words. Thank you for creating such a lovely and useful resource. Everything is blooming here in central Missouri and I can’t wait to use the earth’s many spring offerings to try out the recipes and guides from your book. It could not have arrived at a more perfect time.
Samantha Leal Studied intentional communities at university and planning to visit some! Columbia, Missouri
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Breezily and refreshingly original, educated a generation in the art of living hip, transmitted by a true hippie pioneer who was THERE at the exact right time to experience it all, the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. A must have for any library.
Stephen
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Fun, beautifully illustrated, and full of fascinating and very useful information. An absolute must have in your home library — for generations to come.
MGS
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A lifetime ago, this beautiful book was bought for me to celebrate the freedom of the seventies! May it continue to inspire a new group of young people with its simplistic yet meaningful message. Live and respect our earth!
Susan Wexler Retired School Counselor Worchester, Pennsylvania
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Your book has arrived! It’s simply lovely! I liked the instructions on sauerkraut, as I had been thinking I might try it. Nut milk. I’ll be reading it some more. And I see the new addition to the book! That has information I have been wanting.
Cherryl Chow Author Milpitas, California
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I’m just realizing my need to invest in the future beyond me. So, now my daughter’s little family and I are planning how best to transform the family property into our food source. The first thing that comes to mind is my fairly new copy, (because my old one was 47 years old and quite frankly falling apart), of Living on the Earth. Good place to start.
Elaine Marie Noel Oceanside, California
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I love Alicia Bay Laurel…her book contributed so much to my life when it came out..I still have my 50-year-old copy, which is basically in tatters because it traveled with me everywhere, and also another newer edition from early in the 2000s. Far cry from my urban industrial home girl vibe, but it resonated so deeply….was a guiding force in me moving to Marin too. So cool that she sent you an inscription for your new copy. And awesome that it is still in print…♡♡♡
Lindsay Forbes Ann Arbor, Michigan
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This timeless, classic, magical book was my bible to natural living when I was a teen. I had a copy of the original printing of this book, and the wonderful drawings, the ideas, the simplicity and beauty and love for the Earth that Alicia put into it, is a true gift to the world. It touches the human heart, and harkens us back to a way of life that I feel is so needed in the world today!
I love this book. This timeless handbook continues to inspire. The whimsical line drawings are masterful in their simplicity.
Leslie Arwin Medical Doctor and Horsewoman Ann Arbor, Michigan
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I STILL have my well-used and much-loved copy of Alicia Bay Laurel’s original 1970 edition of LIVING ON THE EARTH on my bookshelf. I finally met Alicia in person in 2000, when she performed for Earth Day in San Diego. She graciously signed my book, which I had been carrying around for thirty years.
Linda Joy Lewis Vegan Chef and Cookbook Author Earth Angel Kitchen Jacksonville, Florida
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What a gorgeous book! Love that it’s getting reprinted. Congrats!
Leigh Birdmoon Medeiros
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Thank you so much for creating such a wonderful work of art. I’d wanted this book for many years and am so happy it is finally part of my library!
Eleanor Whiteley Berlin, Germany
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I bought my first copy of Living On the Earth way back in the early 70s when I was 17 years old. It’s concepts and values influenced me so strongly and shaped my early adult life. My life ended up going in another direction for a time, but 50 years later, I’ve found my way back. The 50th anniversary edition is as relevant today as it was back then. It feels like reuniting with a past lover.
Peter Glatz Bertha Bus Gypsy Wagon Cuisine Eclectic fine dining in a school bus!
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Buy this book.
So happy to know that this amazing book is in print. It’s a family treasure.
Amazon Customer April 7, 2021
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I lent my friend my copy of Living on the Earth a year ago and she decided she couldn’t live without it! She just adores it! Not long after getting her own copy, she actually switched to vegan eating and holistic living!
Alicia Bay Laurel Moore Ashlock Johnstown, Colorado
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I bought a copy of Living on the Earth directly from Alicia’s site after seeing a post you [Beth Owl’s Daughter] made a few years ago about books that you found life-changing. I instantly adored this book! Her drawings are enchanting and the information so important. It was so cool to see it in Melbourne as part of the Revolutions exhibit for being an icon of the back to the earth movement in the ’60s.
Christine Candora-Hickey
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I just wanted to reach out and say that I recently had an amazing thing happen regarding your book Living on the Earth. I found and purchased my first copy almost 20 years ago and quickly fell in love. I would take it with me everytime I would move around, and unfortunately I lost it after a terrible breakup almost 10 years ago, along with most of my possessions. Fast forward to the present, where in conversation someone mentioned how neat it would be to have a handwritten field guide of sorts for simple living/homesteading. I immediately remembered your book, and tried my best to describe it and even googled some of the images to share. 4 days later, a friend that lives almost 2 hours away randomly showed up with a gift. It reminded him of me he said, and then produced a copy of Living on the Earth. I was stunned. He had no way of knowing that I had been discussing this book much less my heartache over losing it. Your guide influenced my life in so many ways as a young adult trying to find my way in a mostly uptight southern Indiana town where I struggled to find a community or peers who shared these interests. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and being such an inspiration in my life. I have built a business doing design/sewing from my home and am actively working on my homestead to this day! Shine bright, beautiful, and thank you for taking the time to read.
This book is a major touchstone for me, having poured over it as a wee child endlessly. Thank you, Alicia Bay Laurel, for having the brilliance to create this monumental manual to life! So happy I finally found a copy several years ago…I read it often. Amazing illustrations! Thank you for showing me how to sew and remake clothes from my earliest years, Alicia! You rock!
E Georges Grinnell
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I still have a copy of that book — I cherished it all the way from the ’70s til now. That book reminded the out-of-the-box wild child me that I was not alone, and that loving trees and playing music and dancing in the sunshine and looking up at the blue sky was the worthiest thing I could possibly do with my life…
Part of Laura Clayton Baker’s epic blog post, “In Appreciation of Trees” on her site, “Painting-Box.” Laura is an interior designer in Santa Monica, California, who I met through Verandah Porche.
Thank you, Alicia. I still have my original first edition book, and was overjoyed to send the 50th Anniversary edition to two of my grown granddaughters.
Seasons Greetings (and Happy Anniversary ) and to a Bright and Healthy and Joyous New Year
I think about how you held on all these years to the best of what our generation imagined, not only in your writing, but also through your music and your art (painting and drawing), giving us purity and a return to nature that now is the only option. I find that prophetic.
[When he met you, Kurt] Vonnegut missed a chance to realize a joyful, loving, hope-filled daughter of his own childrens’ generation.
Dale Murphy Teacher and author Sarasota, Florida _____________________________________________________
Alicia Bay Laurel, I just showed your book to my youngest daughter. She’s 14. She loved it. Now she wants to collect books on those topics. She was comparing your handwriting to her own. She’s trying out different ways to make letters to give them more of her own style. She’s one of those kids that nearly didn’t get cursive at school, only printing. There was just no way I was going to let them not learn it. Too much actual first-hand history is in cursive. That’s absurd to allow a generation to come of age and cursive is no more readily understandable than ancient Hieroglyphics.
Anyway, my kids, they don’t have a very high opinion of what they consider “hippies” from what they experienced in Hawai’i. Lot of “crazy,” “drainbow.”
I’ve told them it used to be different, but you know, “yeah, right dad…” lol.
My youngest two really enjoyed the way you made your book & what it covers. They thought it was really cool.
I’m glad.
Michael McNally
Michael, I discovered Living on the Earth at 15 or 16 years old just after Allison’s killing [Allison Krause, one of the four students murdered in the Kent State Massacre]. Alicia’s book saved me and remains a cornerstone of my life view today. Your kids know the real thing when they see, read and explore it!
Laurel Krause Allison Krause’s sister, and founder of the Allison Center for Peace Co-founder and director at the Kent State Truth Tribunal
Laurel Krause, your story is a powerful affirmation of the healing power of that book (although I did not recognize this while I was creating it!) Come to think of it, I DID notice that whenever I focussed on getting the book done, miraculous offers of help would arrive, and whenever I got distracted from working on it, I felt miserable. Living on the Earth has been a force to be reckoned with from the beginning.
Alicia Bay Laurel Author/visual artist/singer-songwriter/storyteller/freelance fairy godmother
Dear Alicia, in the turbulent early 1970’s, your book “Living on the Earth” was my shelter in the storm. A blueprint of a world I longed to be part of. Your words and pictures were my “how to” guide when all was lost. Thank you so much
What a lovely surprise! Basically Books, a treasure trove of a bookstore, serving Hilo, Hawaii, since 1985, is now stocking the newest edition of Living on the Earth!
New copies of the 50th Anniversary edition of Living on the Earthat Basically Books
Growing up, several seminal books helped pave the way to my adult self. One was Alicia Bay Laurel’s “Living on the Earth.” The lifestyle she illustrated was especially enchanting to me, but it was also her simple line drawings that caught and held my attention. I hold her work with Matisse’s or with Jean Cocteau’s for conveying much with only a simple line. Now so many years later, we are Facebook friends, and she is every bit as delightful and wonderful as I imagined she was, all those many years ago.
Terri Van Orman Executive director at Folklore Village Former Executive director at Arkansas Craft School Former Director of Craft Programming at Ozark Folk Center Acolyte in the temple of Beauty _____________________________________________________
We both have Big Anniversary Reissues coming out this year! Congratulations on Living on the Earth’s return. Oh, how I adored this book when it first came out! I was 16…
Alicia Bay Laurel: Congratulations on your anniversary editions as well. Your cookbooks are legendary and award-winning. I love your recipes!
I love your work so much, Alicia Bay Laurel! I am a secondhand bookshop owner and I have a wonderful personal collection of your books. Thank you for all the joy.
Sarah Tooth Owner, Blackwood Books Adelaide, Australia ___________________________________________________
Today Fiona stayed home from school and we read Living on the Earth together!!! A magical moment!
I was wearing your shirt and she was asking me about it so I pulled out the book and she was fascinated, of course!
Gwendolyn Sanford Film and television composer, singer-songwriter Los Angeles, California
Gwendolyn Sanford and her daughter Fiona, September 2022
Dearest Alicia, your book is changing my soul. It actually found me. It’s so mystical and the art is absolutely astonishing. It couldn’t have arrived at a more sacred time. Thank you!
I’m so grateful to have your book. My kids and I just moved to West Virginia and your book found us in a little town called Hinton. We were at a festival. It spoke to me. Your art is much like mine. Thank you so much for sharing your gift.
I haven’t really put this book down since it found me. It definitely speaks to me.
Nicole Vidal Artist _____________________________________________
When I was just a young sprout, your book was so inspirational to me, and it helped me to survive. Thank you.
Simone Pattingale Victoria, British Columbia
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I can’t ever begin to thank you for all the inspiration you have been to so many and especially to myself with your creative mind, incredible insightful observations, and exquisite truly honestly drawings and paintings.
Margo S. Torelli Clemson, South Carolina
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I just replaced “Living On The Earth”, which went missing in my college years koff-koff years ago. For half a second I was disappointed that it wasn’t a vintage, antique copy… now I’m happy to see that it’s an ongoing project.
Ken Miller Intern at Conjectural Technologies Libation Bearer at Tröegs Independent Brewing Poltergeist at Abandoned psychiatric hospital
Centralia, Pennsylvania
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Just wanted to make sure you know I received the books promptly, I appreciate you sending them so fast after your travels. 🙂
Have already sold several more copies & I am just so thrilled to have them in the shop! It brings me, and many others great joy! THANK YOU so much again for everything!! ♥️
Hope you are having a great summer! Sending lots of LOVE!
Wow! What an honor, and how exciting to receive a message from you. I have an original copy of your book that I found at my grandmother’s house (may have been my aunt’s), and I’ve started to gift copies to friends. It felt like a divine gift from God to stumble upon your amazing, one-of-a-kind treasure chest of practical information which doubles as artwork and a conversation piece. Living on the Earth should be a textbook in schools!! I’m looking forward to hanging the posters in my 1853-built home alongside all my antiques and family heirlooms. Nothing store bought/mass made here!!
Chelsea Morrison Holland, Michigan
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Hey Alicia,
I run a small zine called abracadabra! with Maddy Underwood which orbits around notions of magic in its myriad manifestations.
I have long been deeply mystified and inspired by your originality and creativity for years, and wanted to pass along my admiration for your writing and illustration, and let you know what an influence you’ve had on my own personal creativity over the years. It would be such an honor to feature you in an upcoming issue of our little magazine.
May the powers of manifestation be on your side today.
I’m David, a member of The Bookish Wanderers Book Club. Today, Carmen introduced your timeless book, Living on the Earth, to our community, and the way she spoke of it stopped us in our tracks. She told us this isn’t just a manual, it’s a manifesto, a way of life, and an inspiration that has guided generations.
From recipes for lavender soap and huckleberry jam to lessons in woodcarving, natural healing, gardening, and music, Living on the Earth radiates something rare: the power to nurture both body and spirit. It is more than pages filled with cursive script and drawings, it is a work of art that opens doors to freedom, simplicity, and connection with nature. Carmen explained how your book doesn’t impose rigid rules but invites readers into a way of being that is authentic, beautiful, and enduring.
We trust Carmen. She has a history of guiding us to works that don’t just entertain but transform, and because of her discernment, our admin didn’t simply suggest we take her recommendation seriously—he insisted we reach out to you directly.
As is our tradition, when a book with this kind of legacy enters our circle, we seek to hear from its author. Because when you share your story, your vision, and your journey, our discussions become more than reflections—they become connections.
With Living on the Earth, we know there is more at stake than conversation. There is a chance to carry forward the wisdom, warmth, and artistry that have inspired readers for decades. And when The Bookish Wanderers extend an invitation, it is never casual. It is a door opening to something lasting.
With respect and anticipation,
David
The Bookish Wanderers Book Club
Where stories find their people, and readers find their journey.
Sent to Alicia on September 10, 2025 __________________________________________________________
Hi Alicia,
I recently revisited Living on the Earth and it felt like opening a window into both history and harmony. What struck me most is how alive the book still feels, even fifty years later. The hand-drawn illustrations, the handwritten text, and the sense of gentle instruction create an experience that is part guide, part meditation. It is as if every page breathes with the same simple joy and reverence for nature that first inspired it.
Reading it today, I was amazed by how much of what you shared in the early 1970s became the foundation for ideas that now define sustainability and mindful living. It feels less like a manual and more like a conversation across generations, reminding us that creativity, simplicity, and spiritual awareness are all connected.
I am curious what it felt like for you to revisit and publish the 50th anniversary edition. Did it bring back memories of the original creative process, or did it feel more like seeing your younger self speak freshly to a new time?
Thank you for creating a book that continues to radiate authenticity and peace. Living on the Earth is more than a guide to self-sufficiency — it is an invitation to live consciously, lovingly, and free.
Warmly, JUDE JAY Jakarta, Indonesia
Sent to Alicia on October 28th, 2025
Hello Jude Jay,
Thank you so much for your lovely message about Living on the Earth! I’m so glad to hear that you are appreciating it!
When I worked on publishing the 50th anniversary edition, I felt as if I were collaborating with the younger person I was then, and I was mindful not to override her spirit in this work.
Over the last two years, I have been collaborating with her again. In 1974, at age 25, she started writing and illustrating a graphic novella about a utopian world in the 22nd century, inwhich humans live in telepathic rapport and mutual benefit with the plants.
In 2024, at age 75, I began to work on the book again, again being careful to maintain its originator’s free and natural spirit, while adding some of what I have learned in the decades in between. I will be releasing it soon. The publishing company is a multi-media company I founded called Indigo with Stars, Inc.
The title is Eartha & Aetherias: A Fairy Tale from the 22nd Century.
I am attaching an illustration from the book that depicts an ecovillage in Hawaii, 150 years from now.
I’m just finishing up the covers and the details for self-publishing.
All blessings to you, and thank you for writing to me!
All songs (music and lyrics) by Alicia Bay Laurel (c) 2006, and published by Bay Tree Music (ASCAP), except “I Could Write A Book” (music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart) (c) 1940, and published by Williamson Music Company and Chappell & Company, and “Nature Boy” (music and lyrics by Eden Ahbez) (c) 1948, and published by Golden World.The spoken words on “I Could Write A Book” are quoted from How To Write A Book Proposal, Third Edition, (c) 2003 by renowned literary agent Michael Larsen. They are used with the kind permission of Writer’s Digest Books, a division of F+W Publications, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio. All rights reserved. If you could write a book, you need to read this one. The spoken words on “Love, Understanding and Peace” are quoted from the Bible, New Testament, Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13, and are in public domain. The powwow chanting and drumming at the end of “America The Blues” is from Honor The Earth Powwow: Songs of the Great Lakes Indians, recorded by Mickey Hart and Dr. Thomas Vennum, Jr. of the Smithsonian, and originally released by Rykodisc in 1991. The humpback whale song after the powwow is a sample I found on findsounds.com, but not even the webmaster of the website from which it originated was able to tell me from whence it came.
Credits
Cover paintings, graphic design and liner notes by Alicia Bay Laurel (c) 2006
Tray card photo of Alicia by portrait photographer Nils Juul-Hansen
Manufactured by A to Z Media for Indigo With Stars, Inc. (Alicia Bay Laurel’s art, music and literary business)
Executive Producer (the person who paid for everything): Alicia Bay Laurel.
Producers (the people who decided together which instruments and singers went on which song, and how to arrange the songs): Oscar-and Emmy Award-winning film composer Ron Grant, and Alicia Bay Laurel.
Recording: The original sketch for the project was recorded in August 2005 at Seawest Studios, in Pahoa, Hawaii, with Hoku Award-winning owner/engineer Rick Asher Keefer (who recorded Alicia’s first two CDs). All of Alicia’s guitar parts and her vocal on Best of the Rest of You are from those sessions. Ron Grant recorded in his own studio some of the vocal parts for “America the Blues” and “Love, Understanding and Peace,” and created the electronic symphony on “America the Blues.” All of the other recording, mixing and mastering was accomplished in November and December 2005 and January and February 2006 at the studio of Scott Fraser in Los Angeles. Scott is the recording engineer and live sound technician for the Kronos Quartet’s recordings and performances, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for You’ve Stolen My Heart, a collaboration of the Kronos Quartet and East Indian pop superstar Asha Bhosle, which he co-produced.
Musicians: My heartfelt thanks to all of the superb players who participated in recording this CD, including avant-garde guitar hero Nels Cline (who plays with his own ensembles, as well as with the band Wilco), jazz upright bass legend John B. Williams (Nancy Wilson, Manhattan Transfer, Arsenio Hall Show Band, Tonight Show Big Band) and his red hot R & B vocalist wife Jessica Williams, who forms the gospel choir along with her daughter Vetia Richardson, and her friend Irene Cathaway (with whom she sings backup for Connie Stevens), gospel keyboardist Reverend Harold Pittman (Minister of Music at the Greater Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church in South Central Los Angeles), woodwind wizard Doug Webb (who totally smokes on a different instrument on each of four songs), three fabulous top flight drummers: David Anderson, Kendall Kay, and Enzo Tedesco, fluid and cool jazz pianist Rick Olson, two rock-solid, multi-talented bassists: Kevin O’Neal and Chris Conner, versatile actor/vocalist Jody Ashworth, and soulful Liberian gospel singer Francis Nyaforh.
Acknowledgments:
Nudging, kibbitzing, hand-holding and divine guidance: Ron Grant, Scott Fraser and Rick Asher Keefer (see above), improvisational music legend Joe Gallivan, jazz pianist Theo Saunders and his actress/artist wife Susan Heldfond Saunders, music producer Stan Goldstein (the first Woodstock began as a synapse firing in his brain), jazz vocalist Ruthie Ristich (who coached me), vocalist/ songwriter/ actress/ dancer/ novelist Sierra Faith (who coached me), speech therapist and singing teacher (and godmother) Godeane Eagle (who coached me), artist Tracy Dove (who never stops nudging me to do more art), singer/songwriter Joe Dolce (a shining example), electronic music pioneer and enlightenment wonk Ramon Sender (for funny faces and wise words), guitarist Joe Marquand (who wanted me to record these songs so much he volunteered to play on my sketch sessions for free), journalist Koki Aso (who, while interviewing me for Be Pal magazine, wished mightily for a CD of my jazz and blues songs), record producer Koki Emura (who released my first two CDs in Japan in September 2005 on his label, EM Records), and vocalist/ songwriter/ bassist Sachiho Kudomi, who says now that I have three CDs released in Japan, I should come on the road with her. Big love and big thanks to you each and all!
The friends who sheltered me the year I got this CD together: Composer Ron Grant and artist Benida Solow, vocalist and community organizer Lyndia Lowy, architect Walt Bell and artist Norma Bell, surgeon and community leader Barry Blum and playwright and educator Gloria Blum, Professor of Sociology and activist Noelie Rodriguez and Hawaii County Planning Director Chris Yuen, artist Tracy Dove and mechanical genius Ralph Coppen. How can you tell if hippies have been staying at your house? They’re still there. Thank you for your generous hospitality and over-the-top friendship!
Other friends I’d like to thank: Internet promotion mavens Kim Cooper (editrix of Scram Magazine, Lost in the Grooves,The 1947 Project and Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth) and computer wizard Richard Schave, television sound engineer Bill Daly and event organizer Lihau Daly, attorneys Mark and Marissa Batt (who was nominated for an Edgar Award for her first true crime book Ready for the People in 2005), luthier Dennis Lake (for blessing my guitars with his care), luthier David Santo (I’m playing a guitar he built for me in 1976 on this CD), and, of course, my mom, artist Verna Lebow Norman. Thank you all for your help. I am blessed you are in my life!
The Songs:
Floozy Tune
Beloved by Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, my grandmother Anna Lebow (1894-1990), and 20-year-old actress Ali Grant, Floozy Tune should have been written in 1920, when women got the vote and got rid of their corsets. However, I didn’t get around to it until 1982.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal: Alicia Bay Laurel, Piano: Rick Olson, Clarinet: Doug Webb, Bass: Chris Conner, Drums: Kendall Kay
Mr. Nightlife, Mr. Cool, how could you make me such a goddamn fool?
I was made to sing church songs, but what did I know
‘Til I went out to your nightclub show?
Girls like me never laugh ‘til dawn;
We know too well where the lines are drawn.
So, why do I want to do what I do not do?
I want to sit on your piano and sing you a floozy tune.
Mr. Jazzfingers, Mr. Blues, how could you offer what I can’t refuse?
I was made to be married to some Mr. Right,
‘Til I got enlightened last Saturday night.
I danced and sang and I laughed ‘til dawn;
Fell in your arms when the shades were drawn,
And found I could do with you what I do not do,
So I’ll sit your piano and sing you a floozy tune.
They’re gonna lose their Sunday school teacher, their volunteer librarian.
My mama’s gonna have conniption fits, but it’s time that I had some fun.
Mr. Jazzfingers, Mr. Blues, the Sunday soprano is a sweet chanteuse
Touring the country with a reprobate band,
Reputation lost to a piano man.
Rise at sunset and sleep at dawn,
Deep in your arms when the shades are drawn.
I knew I could do with you what I do not do.
So, I’ll sit on your piano and sing you a floozy tune.
America The Blues
This is a song about speaking truth to power–not only to despots, but to our own collective power. The operative lyric here is VOTE. If everyone who could vote actually did vote, we could elect representatives who would work with us to reverse the vast environmental, public health, diplomatic, and human rights problems we earth-dwellers face, and make this a sustainable, joyful world for all who live in it, now and in the future. To vote well, we need truthful media (for example Truthout.org or Commondreams.org.) Also, we vote daily with our money; we need to support businesses that further sustainability and social justice, and boycott the rest. We need elections with state-financed candidates and hand-countable paper audits. Thank you.
Katharine Lee Bates wrote the lyrics to American the Beautiful on July 4, 1893; the melody comes from the hymn Materna, composed by Samuel A. Ward in 1882. Ms. Bates, a professor of English literature at Wellesley College, prolific poet and author, and ardent feminist, lived openly as a lesbian with her lifelong partner, Katharine Coman, Dean and professor of economics at Wellesley. Curiously, the lyrics to America the Blues also revealed themselves on July 4th, while I was registering voters for the 2004 presidential election.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Singing and Speaking Vocal, Rhythm Guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Speaking Vocals: Jody Ashworth and Jessica Williams, Vocal Harmonies: Alicia Bay Laurel, Ron Grant and Jody Ashworth, Electric Guitar: Nels Cline, Electronic Symphony Orchestra: Ron Grant, Upright Bass: John B. Williams, Drums: Enzo Tedesco
America, the beautiful,
You’re thorny as a rose:
Radiation, global warming
Poisoned food from GMOs.
Your poor die sick and hungry,
And your wealthy live tax-free,
While they murder ancient forests
The soil and the sea.
America, America,
Greed sheds disgrace on thee.
Vote corporations out of power;
Revive democracy
For future generations
And human decency.
America, don’t blow it
All to smithereens.
You don’t need nukes; you don’t need slaves,
And you don’t need gasoline.
What you do need is compassion,
And respect for human rights,
Permaculture, sustainable systems,
Mediation instead of fights.
America, don’t wave that flag
To con us with your jive.
If the multi-nationals have their way
Even rich folks won’t survive.
We’re all family here on this planet,
So lay down that smoking gun,
And start sharing with your neighbors;
There’s enough for everyone.
I pledge allegiance to the earth
In the myriad stars of the universe
And to all the beings who upon her stand
One family, indivisible,
With liberty and justice for all.
America, America,
Greed sheds disgrace on thee.
Vote corporations out of power,
Revive democracy
For future generations
And human decency.
Don’t wave that flag at me;
Try human decency.
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues
I still can’t believe how much fun I had in the ’60’s, even if the guys wouldn’t commit.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal and rhythm guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Lap steel and acoustic lead guitar: Nels Cline, Bass: John B. Williams, Drums: Enzo Tedesco
Sprouts in a jar, stash in a can, a twenty-pound backpack, and a Volkswagen van,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
Bee pollen candy, honey shampoo, seaweed for breakfast is good for you,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
Uncle Sam is my sugar daddy, but you can be one of my valentines, honey.
Just don’t come around when the moon is full, I’m on cosmic birth control.
Easy to come, easy to go, a free school dropout in free box clothes,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
Natural hair, natural mind, the fashions can fool you but the eye don’t lie
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
A Guatemalan huipil and natty dread, belly dancing lessons to loosen my head;
I’ve been rebirthed and I’ve been Rolfed and given a mantra, or two,
An astrology chart, polarity rub, astral projection, community tub,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
Beaches by day, boogie by night, always groovin’, never uptight,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
I’m asking the Tao when I meditate to send me the name of my cosmic soul mate,
But before I surrender my ruby nose ring, I’m gonna throw the I Ching,
Cause believe me, Ms. Eve, since Adam split,
The nuclear family’s become a relic,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman,
Aquarian Age Liberated Woman Blues.
Zero Gravity
Inspired by the view of Los Angeles from the crest of the Hollywood Hills, Zero Gravity reflects upon the shimmering, pulsating coldness of the star machine at night. Ron Grant created the amazing arrangement on the spot in the studio. He said to pianist Rick Olson, “Think halfway between Tori Amos and Debussy…”
Vocal: Alicia Bay Laurel, Piano: Rick Olson, Alto Saxophone: Doug Webb, Bass: Chris Conner, Drums: Kendall Kay
You’re never alone in the city,
And seldom you see the moon.
A star’s eye view of the galaxy
Is the usual nighttime view.
Lovers are yearning; fossils are burning;
Virgins are learning, every single night.
A saxophone man in the city
Swings with a chic chanteuse,
And she casts her corsage in the museum fountain
And sings to a limousine muse.
There are deals in the making; there are girls for the taking.
In the discos, they’re shaking, every single night.
Is this a movie we live as we see?
Or is this an exercise for life at zero gravity?
You’re never alone in the city,
And seldom you see the moon.
A star’s eye view of the galaxy
Is the usual nighttime view.
Lovers are yearning; fossils are burning;
Virgins are learning, every single night.
In the late, late twentieth century.
Doctor Sun and Nurse Water
I know. It sounds like a bat mitzvah at a Baptist church, with readings from Dr. Masaru Emoto’s Message from Water. Actually, I wrote this song when I first moved to Hawaii (in 1974) and was healed. Hallelujah!
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Lead Vocal and Guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Choir: Jessica Williams (soloist), Irene Cathaway, Vetia Richardson, Organ: Rev. Harold Pittman, Bass: Kevin O’Neal, Drums: David Anderson
Doctor Sun and Nurse Water, Doctor Sun and Nurse Water,
You give me rhythm and take away my blues.
Oh Nurse Water, I see you flowing through my veins.
You’re the sunset clouds; you’re the springtime rains.
And you carry away my sorrows, and you leave me purified;
May we run together, side by side.
Doctor Sun and Nurse Water
Oh Doctor Sun, you fade away my city grays,
With the healing magic of your golden rays.
And you dry up all my tears, leave me glowing rosy as the dawn;
You’re the earth’s sole provider of energy for us all.
Doctor Sun and Nurse Water, Doctor Sun and Nurse Water,
You give me rhythm and take away my blues.
Everywhere the people pray for a miracle today
Ain’t they got the sense to go outside when the sun shines?
Go down to the sea and cleanse all your worries and your sins
From your soul whenever the holy solar one shines.
Doctor Sun and Nurse Water, Doctor Sun and Nurse Water,
You give me rhythm and take away my blues.
You give me rhythm and take away my blues.
What Living’s All About
A song about sex, which I first heard about in 1958 when Miss Peggy Lee sang “Fever.”
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal: Alicia Bay Laurel, Piano: Rick Olson, Tenor Saxophone: Doug Webb, Bass: Chris Conner, Drums: Kendall Kay
No bought love was ever a bargain; no bought lover was ever a prophet.
No good reason could be without feelin’; no good feelin’ hasn’t a season.
That’s why I’m not in business, I’m in pleasure.
I give and take what I get, I don’t measure.
But unless you treat me as kind as I treat myself alone
Better stop the lights and the action, ‘cause I’m goin’ home.
Yes, I feel a spark of attraction, gravitational polarization,
A vibrational magnetic current, an electrical-chemical reaction.
Oo, it bowls me over like a torrent.
Oh, hear my body heave a sigh.
Ain’t gonna try to reach for the source of emanation,
But I might surrender if you try.
Hips will roll the rhythm of mountains;
Tongues will savor the flavor of human.
Lungs express increased locomotion;
Souls ignite in fiery fusion.
Oh, I’m in orbit; I’m in ecstasy.
This is what living’s all about.
Oh, dear God, won’t you keep those channels open?
Until you gather me home, over and out.
Sometimes It Takes A Long Time
If you are reading this, you’re still alive, and therefore the story’s not over. Something else could happen.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal and Guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Choir: Jessica Williams (soloist) and Irene Cathaway, Piano: Rev. Harold Pittman, Bass: Kevin O’Neal, Drums: David Anderson
Sometimes it takes a long time to find the one you love.
Sometimes it takes a long time to share the world you’re of.
The waiting is hard, but aren’t you glad now?
Sometimes it takes a long time to find yourself a home.
Sometimes it takes a long time to know where you belong.
The waiting is hard, but aren’t you glad now?
Sometimes it takes a long time to find your work to do.
Sometimes it takes a long time to see your dream come through.
The waiting is hard, but aren’t you glad now?
Sometimes it takes a long time to free yourself from things.
Sometimes it takes a long time to learn to use your wings.
The waiting is hard, but aren’t you glad now?
This time it took a long time to find the one I love.
This time it took a long time to share the world I’m of.
The waiting was hard, but I’m so glad now.
Whoa, love you so.
Whoa, love you so.
We’re so glad now.
Love you so. Whoa.
Nature Boy
In the first half of the twentieth century, long before the term “hippie” was coined, longhaired vegans in natural-fiber robes roamed Southern California. Eden Ahbez, one of the two most famous of these (the other being Gypsy Boots), probably wrote this song in reverence for Bill Pester, who brought the back-to-nature lifestyle to California from Germany before World War I. Based on a Yiddish waltz, “Schwieg Mein Hertz” (“Hush, My Heart”), “Nature Boy” became a ubiquitous jazz standard after Nat King Cole’s original version hit big. For great pix and 411 on the freaks of yore, pick up a copy of Children of the Sun by Gordon Kennedy on Amazon.com.
Improvised by John B. Williams, Alicia Bay Laurel and Enzo Tedesco (upright bass, vocal and percussion, respectively), with special effects by Scott Fraser.
There was a boy, a very strange, enchanted boy;
They say he wandered very far, very far, over land and sea.
A little shy, and sad of eye
But wise, very wise, was he.
And then one day, one magic day, he passed my way,
And as we spoke of many things, fools and kings, this he said to me,
“The greatest thing that you will ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return.”
Best of the Rest of You
I hate seeing a friend get used. But would I tell him? Only in a song.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal and Guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Electrified Lap Steel Guitar: Nels Cline, Upright Bass: John B. Williams, Drums: Enzo Tedesco
Tell me why did that woman have to do what she did to you?
She could have left your extra sweat pants, your credit card and your cool.
She could have kept her lacquered fingers out of some of your pies;
She could have left at least a couple stars in your eyes.
Tell me why did you let her get the best of the rest of you?
She fed you ginseng, peyote and vitamin E,
Made you crawl across the room to her on your knees.
Put you on the tantra seminar mailing list,
So she could go there with you, and her psychologist.
Don’t get attached, baby, you might be considered gauche.
Tell me why did that woman have to do what she did to you?
She could have picked some narcissistic, bullet-headed bodybuilding fool.
But that ball-busting lady don’t like macho boys,
She’d rather try to leave behind a trail of broken toys,
And there she goes, baby, with a brand new Erector Set
She has a way with circuits and she rewired you
So you would run from other women when she got through.
She’ll be back when you recover from your deep sea bends,
Just to see if you’ll go down to her dive again.
Better take your bathysphere this time; you might be down for a while.
Tell me why did that woman have to do what she did to you?
She had the spiritual rap, the kitten eyes, and the moves.
She didn’t care about your marriage, your ego or your art,
Just a juicy specimen for her collection of hearts.
Tell me why did you let her get the best of the rest of you?
I Could Write A Book
So you could, could you? Better hear what renowned literary agent Michael Larsen has to say about the book biz. All of the spoken words sandwiched in this 1940 Rodgers and Hart show tune-turned-jazz standard are from Larsen’s How To Write A Book Proposal, Third Edition (Writer’s Digest Books, 2003).
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Sung and Spoken Vocals: Alicia Bay Laurel, Piano: Rick Olson, Soprano Saxophone: Doug Webb, Bass: Chris Conner, Drums: Kendall Kay
If they asked me, I could write a book
About the way you walk and whisper and look.
I could write a preface on how we met
So the world would never forget.
And the simple secret of the plot
Is just to tell them that I love you a lot.
Then the world discovers as my book ends
How to make two lovers of friends.
It’s Not Fair
I asked Nels if he would help me scream at my ex, and he said, “Sure, glad to.”
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Vocal and Electric Rhythm Guitar: Alicia Bay Laurel, Electric Lead Guitar: Nels Cline, Upright Bass: John B. Williams, Drums: Enzo Tedesco
It’s not fair that you love her more than me
When she doesn’t even sing.
She’s not a musician like you are, like I am,
What about all the times we used to jam?
We had rhythm and harmony
Now we don’t even meet,
Unless she is with you, and then it’s all small talk.
How boring. It’s just not fair.
Well, it’s chemistry, and it’s poetry,
But it’s not me and it’s not fair.
How did you decide to give her first choice of your time,
And all of your lovemaking, too?
She’s not a joker like you are, like I am,
What about all the laughs that we been through?
We used to get so crazy;
Now you don’t even call,
Because she is with you, making all of that small talk.
How wasteful; it’s just not fair.
Her topography, choreography,
Made a fool of me and it’s not fair.
It’s no fun getting over you now,
With all those ideas we had.
She’s not an artist like you are, like I am
What about the masterpiece we planned? (Yeah, loser!)
You were once my inspiration;
Now I’m cookin’ alone.
And she’s still in your studio, bending your ear,
And you love it. Yeah, you just love it.
You love it so much.
It’s just not fair.
Love, Understanding and Peace
How succinctly Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13 explains love and spirituality! Everyone can dig it.
Arranged by Alicia Bay Laurel and Ron Grant, Lead Singing Vocal: Alicia Bay Laurel, Spoken Vocal: Jody Ashworth, Second Singing Vocal on last verse: Francis Nyaforh, Choir: Jessica Williams and Irene Cathaway, Piano: Rev. Harold Pittman, Bass: Kevin O’Neal, Drums: David Anderson
Every love has its season; maybe ours has come and gone.
You are far from the doorstep that my beaux must stand on,
But I feel you in the morning when I rise to say my prayers,
All your goodness, all the childish things we shared and did not share.
We had our scenes of pain and pleasure, heaven knows, we felt it all,
But the curtains on those first acts quickly fall,
And the sets are quickly changing, as the night becomes the day.
Will we be childish in the next town that we play?
Sometimes I wonder what the tenth year of our friendship will be like.
Will we have outgrown those early childhood fears?
Will there be trust and resolution, will our vision then be clear?
We did not know each other well in this first year.
Simple passion is so deceiving; we moved in so fast we could not back out right.
So it was fight or take flight to scene one, act two;
See you in paradise when we rendezvous; I know you will not show surprise.
Love is patient and kind.
It is not jealous, boastful, envious or rude.
Love does not insist on its own way.
It keeps no record of wrongs.
Love recoils from injustice,
But rejoices when the truth prevails.
It always protects, always hopes, always endures.
Love never ends.
We are practicing forgiveness (I forgive you);
We are speaking higher truths (God is love);
We are praying for deliverance from our weakness (we shall be free).
And we both have come a little bit further along
Toward our love and understanding, toward our peace,
Toward our love and understand, toward our peace (let there be peace).
) and to a Bright and Healthy and Joyous New Year
Alicia Bay Laurel 
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