See me whirling into view
Turning in circles
To the Sun, a dot of blue
To the Moon, a sister
Swirling we have come so far
Universal journey
All the souls within me
Searching for an answer
I’m the answer that you seek
I’m the ground beneath your feet
I’m the stone within your bones
Feel that river flow
I’m the green inside your dream
Horizon that you see
Hold you all to me
With my gravity
I dreamed you into being
So I could cherish through your eyes
The forms of life abounding
Held the exact degree
And turned for you to see
The Moon and stars abounding
I’ve met your every need
Held forth abundantly
My body is the proof of your belonging
And while I will endure
Of you I’m not so sure
You’ve betrayed your promise
By what you’ve done to me
I’m the answer that you seek
I’m the ground beneath your feet
I’m the stone within your bones
Feel that river flow
I’m the green inside your dream
Horizon that you see
Hold you all to me
With my gravity
Lyrics ©2021 Daniel Alexander Jones
Earth. We start here and return here. Big blue marble spinning through spacetime. No true liberation can occur without the radical transformation of contemporary humanity’s malign behavior toward the Earth which is rooted in settler colonialism, industrialization, and the killing lie that we are separate from “nature”. And, too, the microcosm of our beings as ecosystems warrants healing attention. We are earth.
The new album, ATEN, features four songs written for the Sun (cuz, it’s the Sun and needs four songs), one for the Moon, and one for each of the planets (yes, including Pluto). For this first song, I called upon my friend of 30 years, Rhonda Ross, whose love is as wide as the ocean we filmed in. We hope you enjoy and that you will sign up to go on the journey through the heliosphere with us!
ALTAREDSTATES is made possible with generous support from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Theater Project, with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and additional support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional support provided by the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab.
Produced by CalArts Center for New Performance.
ALTAR NO. 1 is commissioned by The Public Theater, and created with support from CalArts Center for New Performance and New York Live Arts’ Live Feed Residency, with funding from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and the Partners for New Performance.
