Crazy Cat Lad Writes Song

What kind of music is related to deep adaptation? I wondered this recently. I don’t think it’s music about doom and gloom. Instead, it is anything which invites us to connect with our hearts, remember ancient wisdom, feel gratitude for what has been and still is, accept loss and death as natural, and recommit to conscious living no matter what lies ahead.

With my new band, Barefoot Stars, I’m releasing songs that I wrote from such emotions. ‘Healing Hearts‘ is about allowing endings with the knowledge something new will emerge. My latest release, ‘Mystical Cat‘ is not only about a deeper appreciation of nature, as reflected in our pets, but also about the significance of life not depending on its duration (you need to wait for the 3rd verse to hear that though). I wrote the song the night Amy died. She was a rescue kitten, adopted from Villa Kitty in Bali. She was the first non-human creature I met who had a sense of humour, not just play. Getting to know her opened my mind and heart to the depth of thought and emotion that’s possible in life other than human. That paved the wave for me to rescue a black kitten from the Brahma Vihara Temple, and he accompanied me during a reclusive 21 months when I wrote and released Breaking Together.

Like her siblings, Amy was named after a rock star – one who also died tragically young. You might notice the part of the song that is a homage to Amy Winehouse. I suppose I am now a crazy cat lad, and happy about that… despite being pet-less at the moment.

I aim to release a video for Mystical Cat by the end of September. That will promote donations to Villa Kitty. My thanks to Vasudev for help with the baseline and choice of rhythm, plus playing guitar and mandolin, Mia Warner for amazing vocals, and Adam Alydrus for percussion and working with me for hours in the studio. If you know of music that relates to your own understanding of deep adaptation, please share in the comments below.

Lyrics and Chords for Mystical Cat

Verse: C D G C / Bridge: Am D / Chorus: G D7 CD

(C)Throwing yourself into (D)cuddles
(G)Spooning like we (C)love
(C)Nose to nose and (D)heart to heart
(G)Purring from your (C)love

(Am)Amy Amy Amy, Such a (D)mystical cat
(Am)Amy Amy Amy, How I (D)loved you for that
(Am)Amy Amy Amy, We’ll still (D)have what we had
(Am)Amy Amy Amy, Thank you for (D)showing me that
Hey hey

(G)Every living thing is fully a(D7)live
And (C)Every living thing has magic in(D)side
So X2

Always around for zooming
And climbing on guitars
Always there to connect more
May you purr now with The stars

Amy Amy Amy, Such a mystical cat
Amy Amy Amy, How you loved being that
Amy Amy Amy, You taught me to be more cat
Amy Amy Amy, Thank you for showing me that
Hey hey

Every living thing is fully alive
And Every living thing has magic inside
So X2

It’s not the length of living
It’s to be fully alive
That’s the thing
We’ve called meaning
But it’s not what we decide

Meow-meow meow-meow etc

Picture is of Amy having fun by resting on her human’s guitar (taken by Katie Carr).