Acoustic Spirituality EP
Thank you for sining up for my EP. I write in a wide variety of musical genres but Spirituality is probably the one in which I am most prolific.  You will find here a representative selection of songs which showcase my writing in this genre.

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1. I'm gonna lay down my burdens
 I'M GONNA LAY DOWN MY BURDENS
 © Tony Bardon
At a certain time in our lives, we realised that we can't do it all on our own.
We have tried it and it is failed. We need the support of a community
around us but we also need the support of a presence that is both
within us and beyond us.
When we surrender to this presence our lives change for the better.

LYRICS
I'm gonna lay down my burdens with you, my Lord
I'm gonna share all my troubles with you
You said to me, you'd set me free
And surrender to you would be victory to me
I'm gonna lay down my burden with you, my Lord
I'm gonna share all my troubles with you


Lord, You know life ain't easy for me
Trying to make it on my own
On my own, I'm a rolling stone
But united with you, there ain't nothing we can't do
I'm gonna lay down my burden with you, my Lord
I'm gonna share all my troubles with you

Now I understand what you're asking of me
All I got to do is do my best
I'll do my best, you'll do the rest
Your death is the key to me being free
I'm gonna lay down my burden with you, my Lord
I'm gonna share all my troubles with you
2. Martha and Mary
MARTHA AND MARY
 © Tony Bardon
The story of Martha and Mary reflects the struggle which takes place in all of us
between our ego and our spirit. Our ego is always overthinking and judging
what is going on, while our spirit just want us to surrender to what is. 
Martha is rushed off her feet as she tries to have everything just right
for her important guest. Mary fully realises the importance of their
guest and surrenders to the precious time she gets to spend with him.

LYRICS
Martha and Mary were sisters
As different as chalk and cheese
Martha was uptight most of her life
For Mary, life was a breeze
She never worried ‘bout her future
Or felt guilty about her past
She only lived for the present
And how she could make it last
She knew that life was for living
She wasn't an also ran
And while Martha was fussing in the Kitchen
Mary was listening to the man

One day Jesus came calling
He dropped in to say hello
He brought along some disciples
He thought they should get to know
Martha started feeling real nervous
She worried about how she was dressed
So she beat a retreat to the kitchen
To get some food for her guests

She wondered if they'd like the apple tart
Or cookies with strawberry jam
And while Martha was fussing in the Kitchen
Mary was listening to the man

She sat at his feet and she listened
To everything he had to say
He realised that she knew where she was at
As she sat there on that day
Meanwhile out in the kitchen
Martha was getting uptight
Buttering the scones
All on her own
She felt that it just wasn’t right
It was slowly driving her crazy
That her sister wouldn’t lend her a hand
And while Martha was fussing in the Kitchen
Mary was listening to the man

Martha confronted Jesus
She told him it just wasn’t fair
She just couldn’t hide
She was burning inside
She had to have help out there
He told her when she worried ‘bout so many things
There was no room for love in her heart
She had to slow down
Stop running around
Her sister chose the better part
She sat by his side and she listened
He calmed her and took her hand
There was nobody fussing in the kitchen
And Martha was listening to the man
3. No Room at the Inn
 NO ROOM AT THE INN
 © Tony Bardon
This song seeks to capture the essence of St Luke’s birth story, which
is often used as the basis of Christmas nativity plays.
But this is not just a story for children at Christmas, it is a story for adults
every day. It reminds us that the presence of God is always available
to us to help with the pain of suffering which is part and parcel of every life.

LYRICS
I
It was the time when Caesar Augustus issued the Census Decree
They were counting everyone in the known world wherever they might be
And his subjects had to register in the place their families came from
And that’s why Joseph and Mary were heading for Bethlehem

II
Now it was the middle of winter and Mary was heavy with child
She had her needs which they didn’t heed; she had to be on their files
And as she looked for shelter for the night, all she heard was this refrain
We’re sorry but there’s no room at the Inn, all her searching was in vain

Chorus

No room at the Inn in Bethlehem that night
No friends or relations to help her in her plight
When the being in her pain was waiting to be born
Who change this World forever on that first Christmas Morn?

III
As she wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him down on the hay
I wonder did she realise the true meaning of that day
When in spite of her lowly surroundings, her heart was so full of joy
As she poured out her precious love on her special baby boy

IV
The Angles in the Heavens found the Shepherds on the side of the hill
They told them not to be afraid and to listen to them sing
Glory be to God in the highest and peace to all of goodwill
Tonight the Messiah, the Saviour, is born, Jesus Christ our King

Chorus

v
Is there room at your Inn, as you face yourself tonight?
For someone who can save you from this world’s weary plight
There’s a being in your pain who is waiting to be born
Who can change your life forever, on each and every morn?

There’s a being in your pain who is waiting to be born
Who changed this World forever, on that first Christmas morn.k here to edit.
4. The Lake Isle of Innisfree
​4. THE LAKE ISLE OF INNISFREE
 Music © Tony Bardon
What is a poem by WB Yeats doing in the midst of a handful of spiritual songs?
The answer lies in the title “In is free”. While this poem appears to be about an
outward journey in nature, on a different level it is about an inward
spiritual journey.
For those with ears to hear, it is full of spiritual references. Here are just a
few of them.  Nine is considered to be his sacred number, purple
a sacred colour and the linnet a sacred bird. Yeats was a believer in and
practitioner of the esoteric, so it is nor surprising that this is reflected in his poetry

LYRICS
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honeybee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a-glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear the water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
5. There's a God in my Head
THERE’S A GOD IN MY HEAD
 © Tony Bardon
We always have a working assumption as to what God means to us,
even if we no longer believe in God. Our working assumption changes
all the time in reaction to our life’s experience. This is the God in our head.
The God in our heart is an infinite presence that never changes. Our lives
will be much happier if we let go of the God in our heads and make space
for the God in our hearts. 

LYRICS
There’s a God in my head, who keeps on changing
He’s a God created by me
From the thoughts words and deeds, I’ve been arranging
In this life that he has given me

Sometimes, he’s right there beside me
And sometimes, he is very far away
Sometimes, I can hear his voice guiding me
And sometimes, he’s got nothing to say

There’s a God in my heart, who never changes
She’s been with me since eternity
And she’s waiting to fill my heart with her love
Only then will I be really free

She loves when She’s right there beside me
She loves me when she’s very far away
She loves me when I hear her voice guiding me
And She loves me when she’s got nothing to say

Let me tell you ‘bout my journey from my head to my heart?
Though they appear so very near, they’re so very far apart
There’s a road we all must travel that can be painful and slow
And the purpose of the journey is to teach us to let go


I’ve got to learn to let go of my story
Of everything I need myself to be
Only then can she fill my heart with her love
Only then will I be really free

There’s a God in my heart who never changes
She’ll be with me until Eternity
And she’s waiting to fill my heart with her love
Only then will I be really free.