The following sound clips were recorded from productions by Jamie Newell. Unless otherwise noted all songs are copyrighted by Minor Incarnations and all songs are written and composed by Jamie Newell.
The Call
of the Ancient One? I wrote this song in early 1979; it's the first song I ever
wrote for Meher Baba. At Meher Baba group meetings I would often sing old Gospel songs,
but I didn't know any of the popular "Baba songs" so I decided to try writing
one of my own. This song draws on scripture from the New Testament and has some of the
flavor the Gospel music I'd been used to playing.
The Song of
the New Life This song was originally written in Hindi by a disciple of Meher
Baba named Dr. Abhul Ghani Munsif. It was written under the direction of Meher Baba during
a phase of his life that he called "The New Life." I've adapted the melody to
western music and made some minor changes in the lyrics which are taken from a translation
by Adi K. Irani, Meher Baba's secretary in later years.
What Did
You Expect to See This is another song that draws on New Testament scripture. In
the book of Matthew (ch.11.8) Jesus asks the multitudes concerning John the Baptist
"... What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?"
Jesus goes on to express his affection for John, his spiritual Master, and seems
distressed that John and his message have not been recognized or heeded. It was in a
similar frame of mind that I wrote 'What Did You Expect to See?' about my Master Meher
Baba.
A Song Not
of This World I wrote this song while visiting the Meher Spiritual Center in
Myrtle Beach, SC. I was reading a life of the Buddha wherein the author described one of
the Buddha's disciples, Yasa, as being drawn to "... a music not of this earth."
This idea appealed to me very much and I combined a chorus based on it with verses that
draw on the imagery of the Sufi poet Hafiz.
The Window
to God This song was written while I was visiting Meher Baba's Tomb Shrine at
Meherabad, Ahmednagar, India. While quietly sitting in Meher Baba's tomb one morning I was
distracted by the image of the window reflecting onto a photograph of Meher Baba and
obscuring his face. At first I became annoyed at this, and then I became annoyed at myself
for being annoyed at anything while in this sacred place. I decided to search for
something good about the reflection and this song was the result.
My God and My
All This song is essentially a prayer put to music. It is a song of praise in
the tradition of the psalms of the Bible. I've always enjoyed performing this song, but it
is really brought to life on this recording with the help of my dear friends Mark Trichka
and his wife Lisa Brande. Mark accompanies me on Mandolin and Lisa plays fiddle and sings
harmony along with Carol Hamm.
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MINOR INCARNATIONS,
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