About Ruth
Ethereal songstress Ruth Blake carries her audiences on powerful wings across lyrical skies, through ever-changing landscapes that prise open our hearts, connecting us to our most intimate pains and joys. In one moment simple, hypnotic guitar riffs, crystalline vocal melodies and subtle harmonies lead us open-eyed into the mystery; at another her wild spirit calls our human community to unite with rousing lyrics for this time in history – inspiring us to return to the truth of the heart.
Ruth belongs to a new wave of music that nods to the indigenous medicine music traditions from around the world, with a primary emphasis on heart-wisdom, healing and connection – healing our relationship with ourselves, with each other, and with the very earth and wider cosmos from which we’ve sprung.
Having worked in ceremonial contexts as a medicine-musician and space-holder, she weaves her music with a simple loving presence to assist people to drop into their hearts and access the deeper truths of their own hearts’ wisdom. A fierce advocate for self-knowledge, authenticity, and the dissolution of hierarchy, she is increasingly working to help people explore and heal their relationship with their own voices, creativity and self expression.
With an innocence, sincerity and lyricism that frequently earns her comparisons to Joni Mitchell, her modern contemporaries include Ayla Nereo, Nessi Gomes and Tina Malia, whilst darker and wilder moments harken to the likes of Florence, Portishead and PJ Harvey. However, ultimately each performance with Ruth is its own unique journey into the wilderness of an inspired heart.
“With its delicate harmonies, Ruth Blake’s music seems to emanate from a waking dream. Her compositions are made of shades of love, sweetness and strength.”
“Ruth Blake is producing some of the most beautiful music I have heard in a long time.”
Lyrics
Seeds
Here inside your heart, a seed, I’ve planted
Deep into the flesh where nature beats her drum of peace
Here beneath the earth I lie awake
My bones are aching as I grow
My rose you’ll pick
Your thorns I’ll sew
Each finger pricked
And so we grow again, grow again
And so we grow again
And so it goes
Here inside your arms
I shelter from the night
Safe beneath your canopy
Leaves are falling, winter calling me
Leaves are falling, winter calling me
Here beneath the stars
These tangled roots of love
Lay me down, my heart does beat
Winds are blowing, you’re still showing me
There’s not a day, not a day doesn’t die
There’s not a night doesn’t come alive
There’s not a yours, not a yours, not a mine
Just the seeds of a love divine
Breathe
Breathe in and nourish every cell, feel their vibration
Breathe in this flourish of divine and pure elation
You are children of the light
There’s a loving heart inside you
May the beauty of the night
Fill your eyes with stars
With stars to guide you
Mmm mmm mmm mm…
Breathe out, my love, for there’s nothing to hold on to
Breathe out, my love, don’t be afraid of where you’ve gone to
In the shadows of your mind
Though you fear the black that binds you
Here your infinite becoming
Purest emptiness
Holy light shall shine through
Mmm mmm mmm mm…
Be open, gentle and strong
Joyfully sing
Rejoicing we bring insight
Be open, gentle and strong
In and all around you
Sweet spaciousness resides
Breathe slowly, rockabye baby, how I love you
Holding hands with the angels high above you
Oh this world is but a dream
Let us row the boat together
For the lonely wolf has been
And now our time has come
Behold
How Can I Tell You?
How can I tell you, my love
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
As we sleep
The moon has her way with the sea
And you’re lying here next to me
And my heart is a star
Blazing fire twinkling from afar
And my heart is a star
Upon it I pray that you’ll be safe
(Chorus)
And way up in the sky
They say the angels fly
Dancing with the moon
Always the same tune
And way off in the clouds
Where dreams are lost and found
It’s plain as day to see
Hearts can be set free
How can I tell you, my love,
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
As we sleep
The moon has her way with the sea
And you’re lying here next to me
And my heart is a star
Blazing fire twinkling from afar
And my heart is a star
Upon it I pray that you’ll be safe
Safe
Always
Chorus
You are sunshine, you are rain
You are the dancing stars that teach us to sing again
You are sunshine, you are rain
You are the dancing stars that teach us to sing again
You are sunshine, you are rain
And you teach us,
You teach us to sing
How can I tell you, my love,
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
Fear Not
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not, my beloved, though you’re hurting so, hurting so
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
(Chorus)
We are born from love and born to love
We are born from love and born to love
We are born from love and born to love
We are born in love and borne on love
Fear not, my beloved, though you want to know and don’t want to know
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not my beloved, though the wind blows and you’re hurting so
Want to know and don’t want to know and you want to go home
Chorus
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Wind blows, wind blows and you want to go home
Chorus
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Mamacita
Here in the forest where I dwell
I’ve gathered secrets I can tell
Great serpent coil around the tree
Shed the skin of you and me
Though you don’t see me I can dance
Though you don’t hear me I can sing
For the there’s a song in everything
And as I dance this twisted dance
I call you in your dreams
Unpick you at your seams
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama…
I taste of bitter and of sweet
And with a sickness I can treat
And though my love is deep and wide
Most who come here fear to die
For I’m the medicine you fight
I am the tunnel and the light
Both reality and dream
Dreamer wake and waking
Be the dream you seek in me
Be the dream I weave in thee
Be the dream of dreams your born to be
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Maria
Fall as the leaf falls
She trusts the ground beneath her
With no belief at all
She finds the ground beneath her
Such surrender
She flutters in the breeze
Who pulls and tugs for her release
Til she falls, she floats, to dance below
Grow as the grass grows
Reaching for the sun
And even when cut and downtrodden
His roots grow on
Such grace
‘Neath every footstep he bows
Yet every chance he gets to rise again and wave up to the light, he will
(Chorus)
For the river forever flow for’d to the sea
Calling “Maria!”
Force of the water caught within thee
Ever to flow and to receive
Om
See as the heart sees
With love
No judgment in her eyes, no cloudy thoughts to think of
Such strength
With every heartbeat she feels
Yet every chance she gets to love afresh
And dive to depths of trust, she will
Chorus
Mirror Light
If you think I’m beautiful
It’s because you’re beautiful
And if I wanna be like you
Somewhere inside I’m like you
‘Cause the light that you see in my eyes is the mirror light
Shining the light of your beautiful love
And the beauty I see as you move and you breathe
Is the beauty of life and it moves within me too
If you just can’t forgive me
Then you just can’t forgive you
And if you hate me today
Darlin’ I feel your pain
‘Cause the flaws that you find in my body and mind
Are just signs of the judgment and fault that you find in yourself
Where there’s blame, we can’t be the same
And there lies the pain as we separate in two
‘Cause in this face is every face and every life
And in these eyes is every tear and every smile
And my mistake is your mistake, my crime your crime
And as we wake, illusion breaks, there’s only one dancing
And in this heart is every star dissolving time
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
If you think someone’s better than you
then you’ve dropped from your centre, it’s true
And the only thing that stands in your way
Is the shadow of doubt and fear you’re creating
The shadow of doubt your fear is creating
Just a shadow of fear
‘Cause the difference you see in between you and me’s
Like the difference ‘twixt stars and in each blade of grass
Though they each tell their tale, some bright and some pale
Some tall and some small and some strong and some frail
Well we’re all made of music, each magical fuse lit
With earth, water, air, golden fire, and a prayer sent from
God
Only knows where…
From God only knows where
You Belong
The road is dark, the road is long
So I invite you sing this song
Know in your heart that you belong
Come follow me, come follow me, come
Join hands and rejoice hearts, you belong
Way above the sun, an empty sky
Way beyond the stars I’ve come to fly
Deep inside my heart, beyond my mind
One people, we’re one ocean of light
One people, we’re one ocean of light
One people, we’re one ocean of light
Wings of Grace
The moon, she loves the sun
She knows that he’s the one
She’ll never touch his skin
But feels his fire within
She’ll never hold him in her arms
They’ll always walk on different paths
On wings of grace, he pulls her to him as she dances
They fall through space, he draws her to him as she dance
On wings of grace
The earth, she loves the sky
It never even crossed her mind to wonder why
His breath to her divine
Refreshing, cleansing, breath of life
And when he speaks, she sings
Of trees that whisper, laughing springs
On wings of grace, he’s always with her as she dances
And face to face, he’s breathing with her as she dances
On wings of grace
The storm, she loves the rain
He always seems to know just what to say
And when she laughs, he laughs
And when she cries for all things past
He wraps her pain in his icy skin
And melting pours down the love within
On wings of grace, he gives his body as she dances
On wings of grace, he is her body as she dances
Their wildest place, they share one body as she dances
On wings of grace
Little Bird
Out of the silence, hear her sing
This little bird of sorrow
Her song so simple, bittersweet
The song of all tomorrows
And her eyes awash with tears
Healing waters, so crystal clear
Little bird, little bird
Little bird, little bird
Pajarita, canta! Pajarita, encanta!
Pajarita, canta! Pajarita, encanta!
Only in darkness is there light
In blackest night, stars shining
And the moon, in silver white
Her gaze so soft and smiling
Her reflection of the day
Purest mirror, light the way
Little light, little light
Little dark, little light
La lunita, refleja! La lunita, refleja!
La lunita, refleja! La lunita, refleja!
Here in my body lies a key
This little heart, so tender
And if I listen, she speaks to me
With words of sweet surrender
In the darkest place of me
Where the rhythm and stillness meet
Little heart, little heart
Little heart, little heart
Corazoncito, laté! Corazoncito, laté!
Corazoncito, laté! Corazoncito, laté, laté, laté, laté!
Little bird, your voice so bright
You sing of darkness and of light
You sing that night is day, and black is white
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right
About Ruth
Ethereal songstress Ruth Blake carries her audiences on powerful wings across lyrical skies, through ever-changing landscapes that prise open our hearts, connecting us to our most intimate pains and joys. In one moment simple, hypnotic guitar riffs, crystalline vocal melodies and subtle harmonies lead us open-eyed into the mystery; at another her wild spirit calls our human community to unite with rousing lyrics for this time in history – inspiring us to return to the truth of the heart.
Ruth belongs to a new wave of music that nods to the indigenous medicine music traditions from around the world, with a primary emphasis on heart-wisdom, healing and connection – healing our relationship with ourselves, with each other, and with the very earth and wider cosmos from which we’ve sprung.
Having worked in ceremonial contexts as a medicine-musician and space-holder, she weaves her music with a simple loving presence to assist people to drop into their hearts and access the deeper truths of their own hearts’ wisdom. A fierce advocate for self-knowledge, authenticity, and the dissolution of hierarchy, she is increasingly working to help people explore and heal their relationship with their own voices, creativity and self expression.
With an innocence, sincerity and lyricism that frequently earns her comparisons to Joni Mitchell, her modern contemporaries include Ayla Nereo, Nessi Gomes and Tina Malia, whilst darker and wilder moments harken to the likes of Florence, Portishead and PJ Harvey. However, ultimately each performance with Ruth is its own unique journey into the wilderness of an inspired heart.
“With its delicate harmonies, Ruth Blake’s music seems to emanate from a waking dream. Her compositions are made of shades of love, sweetness and strength.”
“Ruth Blake is producing some of the most beautiful music I have heard in a long time.”
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Lyrics
Seeds
Here inside your heart, a seed, I’ve planted
Deep into the flesh where nature beats her drum of peace
Here beneath the earth I lie awake
My bones are aching as I grow
My rose you’ll pick
Your thorns I’ll sew
Each finger pricked
And so we grow again, grow again
And so we grow again
And so it goes
Here inside your arms
I shelter from the night
Safe beneath your canopy
Leaves are falling, winter calling me
Leaves are falling, winter calling me
Here beneath the stars
These tangled roots of love
Lay me down, my heart does beat
Winds are blowing, you’re still showing me
There’s not a day, not a day doesn’t die
There’s not a night doesn’t come alive
There’s not a yours, not a yours, not a mine
Just the seeds of a love divine
Breathe
Breathe in and nourish every cell, feel their vibration
Breathe in this flourish of divine and pure elation
You are children of the light
There’s a loving heart inside you
May the beauty of the night
Fill your eyes with stars
With stars to guide you
Mmm mmm mmm mm…
Breathe out, my love, for there’s nothing to hold on to
Breathe out, my love, don’t be afraid of where you’ve gone to
In the shadows of your mind
Though you fear the black that binds you
Here your infinite becoming
Purest emptiness
Holy light shall shine through
Mmm mmm mmm mm…
Be open, gentle and strong
Joyfully sing
Rejoicing we bring insight
Be open, gentle and strong
In and all around you
Sweet spaciousness resides
Breathe slowly, rockabye baby, how I love you
Holding hands with the angels high above you
Oh this world is but a dream
Let us row the boat together
For the lonely wolf has been
And now our time has come
Behold
How Can I Tell You?
How can I tell you, my love
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
As we sleep
The moon has her way with the sea
And you’re lying here next to me
And my heart is a star
Blazing fire twinkling from afar
And my heart is a star
Upon it I pray that you’ll be safe
(Chorus)
And way up in the sky
They say the angels fly
Dancing with the moon
Always the same tune
And way off in the clouds
Where dreams are lost and found
It’s plain as day to see
Hearts can be set free
How can I tell you, my love,
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
As we sleep
The moon has her way with the sea
And you’re lying here next to me
And my heart is a star
Blazing fire twinkling from afar
And my heart is a star
Upon it I pray that you’ll be safe
Safe
Always
Chorus
You are sunshine, you are rain
You are the dancing stars that teach us to sing again
You are sunshine, you are rain
You are the dancing stars that teach us to sing again
You are sunshine, you are rain
And you teach us,
You teach us to sing
How can I tell you, my love,
Of the sweetness you bring to my life?
I’ll sing to the sky
Fear Not
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not, my beloved, though you’re hurting so, hurting so
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
(Chorus)
We are born from love and born to love
We are born from love and born to love
We are born from love and born to love
We are born in love and borne on love
Fear not, my beloved, though you want to know and don’t want to know
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not my beloved, though the wind blows and you’re hurting so
Want to know and don’t want to know and you want to go home
Chorus
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Fear not, my beloved, though the wind blows, wind blows
Wind blows, wind blows and you want to go home
Chorus
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
I love to live and live to love
Fear not, my beloved, for you shall be carried home
Mamacita
Here in the forest where I dwell
I’ve gathered secrets I can tell
Great serpent coil around the tree
Shed the skin of you and me
Though you don’t see me I can dance
Though you don’t hear me I can sing
For the there’s a song in everything
And as I dance this twisted dance
I call you in your dreams
Unpick you at your seams
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama…
I taste of bitter and of sweet
And with a sickness I can treat
And though my love is deep and wide
Most who come here fear to die
For I’m the medicine you fight
I am the tunnel and the light
Both reality and dream
Dreamer wake and waking
Be the dream you seek in me
Be the dream I weave in thee
Be the dream of dreams your born to be
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Mamacita mama, mamacita mama
Maria
Fall as the leaf falls
She trusts the ground beneath her
With no belief at all
She finds the ground beneath her
Such surrender
She flutters in the breeze
Who pulls and tugs for her release
Til she falls, she floats, to dance below
Grow as the grass grows
Reaching for the sun
And even when cut and downtrodden
His roots grow on
Such grace
‘Neath every footstep he bows
Yet every chance he gets to rise again and wave up to the light, he will
(Chorus)
For the river forever flow for’d to the sea
Calling “Maria!”
Force of the water caught within thee
Ever to flow and to receive
Om
See as the heart sees
With love
No judgment in her eyes, no cloudy thoughts to think of
Such strength
With every heartbeat she feels
Yet every chance she gets to love afresh
And dive to depths of trust, she will
Chorus
Mirror Light
If you think I’m beautiful
It’s because you’re beautiful
And if I wanna be like you
Somewhere inside I’m like you
‘Cause the light that you see in my eyes is the mirror light
Shining the light of your beautiful love
And the beauty I see as you move and you breathe
Is the beauty of life and it moves within me too
If you just can’t forgive me
Then you just can’t forgive you
And if you hate me today
Darlin’ I feel your pain
‘Cause the flaws that you find in my body and mind
Are just signs of the judgment and fault that you find in yourself
Where there’s blame, we can’t be the same
And there lies the pain as we separate in two
‘Cause in this face is every face and every life
And in these eyes is every tear and every smile
And my mistake is your mistake, my crime your crime
And as we wake, illusion breaks, there’s only one dancing
And in this heart is every star dissolving time
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
And in these eyes the mirror light shines
If you think someone’s better than you
then you’ve dropped from your centre, it’s true
And the only thing that stands in your way
Is the shadow of doubt and fear you’re creating
The shadow of doubt your fear is creating
Just a shadow of fear
‘Cause the difference you see in between you and me’s
Like the difference ‘twixt stars and in each blade of grass
Though they each tell their tale, some bright and some pale
Some tall and some small and some strong and some frail
Well we’re all made of music, each magical fuse lit
With earth, water, air, golden fire, and a prayer sent from
God
Only knows where…
From God only knows where
You Belong
The road is dark, the road is long
So I invite you sing this song
Know in your heart that you belong
Come follow me, come follow me, come
Join hands and rejoice hearts, you belong
Way above the sun, an empty sky
Way beyond the stars I’ve come to fly
Deep inside my heart, beyond my mind
One people, we’re one ocean of light
One people, we’re one ocean of light
One people, we’re one ocean of light
Wings of Grace
The moon, she loves the sun
She knows that he’s the one
She’ll never touch his skin
But feels his fire within
She’ll never hold him in her arms
They’ll always walk on different paths
On wings of grace, he pulls her to him as she dances
They fall through space, he draws her to him as she dance
On wings of grace
The earth, she loves the sky
It never even crossed her mind to wonder why
His breath to her divine
Refreshing, cleansing, breath of life
And when he speaks, she sings
Of trees that whisper, laughing springs
On wings of grace, he’s always with her as she dances
And face to face, he’s breathing with her as she dances
On wings of grace
The storm, she loves the rain
He always seems to know just what to say
And when she laughs, he laughs
And when she cries for all things past
He wraps her pain in his icy skin
And melting pours down the love within
On wings of grace, he gives his body as she dances
On wings of grace, he is her body as she dances
Their wildest place, they share one body as she dances
On wings of grace
Little Bird
Out of the silence, hear her sing
This little bird of sorrow
Her song so simple, bittersweet
The song of all tomorrows
And her eyes awash with tears
Healing waters, so crystal clear
Little bird, little bird
Little bird, little bird
Pajarita, canta! Pajarita, encanta!
Pajarita, canta! Pajarita, encanta!
Only in darkness is there light
In blackest night, stars shining
And the moon, in silver white
Her gaze so soft and smiling
Her reflection of the day
Purest mirror, light the way
Little light, little light
Little dark, little light
La lunita, refleja! La lunita, refleja!
La lunita, refleja! La lunita, refleja!
Here in my body lies a key
This little heart, so tender
And if I listen, she speaks to me
With words of sweet surrender
In the darkest place of me
Where the rhythm and stillness meet
Little heart, little heart
Little heart, little heart
Corazoncito, laté! Corazoncito, laté!
Corazoncito, laté! Corazoncito, laté, laté, laté, laté!
Little bird, your voice so bright
You sing of darkness and of light
You sing that night is day, and black is white
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right
You tell me there’s no wrong and there’s no right