Peace on Earth - Peace with the Earth

What Christmas means to us

26 November 2024, 2 - 2.30pm, Marble Foyer, Australian Parliament House

This is our offering as part of the Australian Parliament House Christmas Choir Program 2024.

A selection of songs written by our women (except for one where one of our women wrote new lyrics):

 


Acknowledgement of Country  
A sung acknowledgement of country, with beautiful words by local poet Hazel Hall. Music by Glenda Cloughley.
 

This land is the song of indigenous people
All those who walked here and all their descendants
Song of the creatures and spirits of dreaming
Song of the children and culture they lost

This land holds the lines of its earliest owners
Custodians who respected the Earth
Lines of their knowledge and wisdom of Elders
We ask to walk with you in concord and peace.
 


Christmas Music 1914

At Christmas in 1914, there was a little-known but remarkable exchange of letters between German/Austrian and British women. These women, whose menfolk were fighting each other, were able to reach out with love and compassion to women from the other side of the war. The text of these exchanges was set to music by Glenda Cloughley, along with words of the Australian peace activist Vida Goldstein.

THE AUSTRALIAN CHORUS
To the women of all nations
Enemies and friends alike who know that life is sacred,
Let us all refuse to give our children for this slaughter!

Two thousand years of the gospel of peace
And men have again rushed to war.
We women must lead,
We must show the way to harmony and peace.

We're dreaming of peace on Earth
We're dreaming of peace on Earth
We're dreaming of peace on Earth

THE GERMAN CHORUS
We send warm and hearty greetings 
To the women of all nations
in these wretched bloody times
Knowing well that
True humanity does not know
national hatred or national contempt.

War does not separate women joined in striving for peace and freedom
And the stream of blood must not divide what need and hope unite.

We're dreaming of peace on Earth ...

THE BRITISH CHORUS
Solemnly we greet the enemy
and sing for peace and good-will among nations.

Ah, dear women of Germany and Austria
Anguish unites us this sad Christmas tide.

We will let no bitterness taint the sorrow of our lament
Neither will we mar with hate the sacred lifeblood of our men.

We're dreaming of peace on Earth ...


A Recipe for Peace
A reminder that what we have in common is far greater than the differences we fight about, through the example of the making and sharing of bread, a practice common to many cultures. This simple and profound song compares the humble process of making bread with the making of peace. Written by Glenda Cloughley in 2006 at the time of the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
 
1. Take grain from the earth and add water
Make by kneading to leaven with air.
Bake in fire, break and share
Partake with your neighbour the blessing of bread.

Refrain
May you never be hungry
May you never be thirsty
I wish you health and a happy home.
My companion, may peace be with you. 

2. Remember the making of bread like this.
Imagine the making of peace like this.
Harmony with friends - and neighbours
And with strangers
Bridging the borders of discord and fear.

Refrain
May you never be hungry ...

3. Humble this cooking of bread and peace
Human the circle from hearth to heart.
In longing, in hope, from hand to hand
I give you the song of my dream and my prayer.

Refrain
May you never be hungry ...
We’re Dreaming of a Green Christmas
A light-hearted take on an old favourite, about our hopes for a simpler, more sustainable Christmas which focuses on human connection, rather than ‘stuff’.
Music: I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas, by Irving Berlin; lyrics: Sue Hoffmann.

1. We're dreaming of a green Christmas 
free of the need for yet more stuff.
Where humble treasures and simple pleasures
are found to really be enough.
We're dreaming of a green Christmas
with all the people we hold dear,
Keeping earth's gifts and rhythms in mind
may our Christmas legacy be kind.

2. We're dreaming of a green Christmas 
unlike the ones we've come to know.
Where love of nature and children's future
are guides to wise ways we can go.
We're dreaming of a green Christmas
one where the air and water's clean.
And we've learned to live within our means (sustainably)
so that future Christmases stay green.
What Christmas Means to Me
A solo song about the noise of the Christmas season and the quiet longing for personal meaning. Composed and sung by Johanna McBride.

1. Here we go again, this time of the year:
Grinning Santas and reindeer.
Shops and other places drowing in cheer.
I should write some cards,
I should get a few gifts,
Well, at least lets get a tree!
That's what Christmas wants from me.

2. I asked my son: 'What is it all about
this time of the year?'
He thought quietly and then he said:
'A light in the dark,
The chance for something better,
A hope for something new.
That's what Christmas means to me.

3. And then I listened deep inside,
And then there came the tears.
Memories of Christmas trees,
of 'Silent nights, holy nights'
sung with loved ones gone.
Sharing stories with my loved ones here,
dreaming new beginnings together.
That's what Christmas wants from me.
That's what Christmas means to me.
Christmas Music 2024
Using the music of the 1914 Christmas Letters (above) we wrote new lyrics expressing our longing for peace on Earth and peace with the Earth today. We unite in our anguish at this Christmas time at the current suffering in war and the threats to Mother Earth.

As Christmas draws nigh with its message of peace
While war's waged on people and Mother Earth
We must play our part, we must find our way
to harmony and peace.

We're dreaming of peace on Earth
We're dreaming of peace with Earth
We're dreaming of peace on Earth

To all the people caught in war:
Your endless suffering tears at our hearts!

Ah, dear people,
the fabric of our world is torn.
Anguish unites us this sad Christmas tide.
The threats to Mother Earth are dire!

We won't let our sense of dread shake the strength of our resolve.
We affirm our solemn vow to uphold the sacredness of all life.

For harmony, for humanity
with all those in warring countries
We reach beyond war to that higher law
that bids us live in peace.

We're dreaming of peace on Earth
We're dreaming of peace with Earth
We're dreaming of peace on Earth
Sing Out Wisdom!
Our Christmas wishes for kindness in our public life. This slightly tongue-in-cheek song imagines a harmonious political environment, focused on peace, empathy, wisdom and respect. Composed by Glenda Cloughley.

A. We want well attuned politicians
Leaders whose hearts beat with the rhythm of renewal
Bringers of the change to harmony
Singers of our hopes for our children's children.
We are a citizens' chorus
And we sing out in the streets of our city.
And yes, we're listening for more echo,
your echo of accord between the country and the people.
We are a whisper of the music of longing
that's swelling in every part of the planet.
We are the rising up of voices
calling for politicians who sing out wisdom!

B. Oh sweet imagination!
Oh sisters, did you hear about the Bureau of Wisdom?
And the planning for the Kindness Revolution?
Well, we want to meet the Minister for Peace
and the Commissioner for Compassion too.
We're urging on an empathy audit
of every public policy and pollie.
We're looking forward to this Christmas
Australia's carol is 'Regeneration for our Children's Children'
The New Year Resolution is 'harmony with nature'
Hear us sing it now! We're calling in the future!
Respect for Mother Earth and her First People top the polls.
No more fossils in the Cabinet. They're sequestered with the coal!
Come on, Members of Parliament! Join our song.
So wisdom can prevail in our democracy!

A. We want well attuned politicians ...
 

 

 


This is our offering as part of the Australian Parliament House Christmas Choir Program 2024.

Here are our songs, all original music except for one (click on each title for information and lyrics):