About the Song
This song is inspired by ישעיהו/Isaiah 46:4, which says וְעַד־שֵׂיבָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י אֶסְבֹּ֑ל – roughly, "until your old age, I will carry you." The word used here for "carry" has the same root as the word for "patience" (סבלנות) and "suffering" (סבל) — so we can also translate the verse as "When you turn grey, I'll still carry you/be patient with you/bear you."
For me, this line is a reminder of a few truths—that constant change, aging, and mortality are inevitable; that I am stuck with myself for the rest of my life; and that I can either carry myself gently and open-heartedly into the unknown and make all this more pleasant, or I can treat myself/my experience as a loathed burden and increase my own suffering—it's up to me in each moment.
This line is also a reminder that I am always carried by something greater than myself, whether I can feel that in a given moment or not—by each of my relationships, by broader community, by ritual and time, by my ancestors, by the whole interdependent web of existence, by my favorite ancient names for the Divine—
המקום hamakom the Place
אין סוף ayn sof There Is No End
חי העולמים chei ha'olamim Life-Giver of the Worlds
הרופאי לשבורי לב harofei lishvurei lev Healer of the... more
lyrics
I will carry you through these changes
וְעַד־שֵׂיבָ֖ה אֲנִ֣י אֶסְבֹּ֑ל
V'ad seva ani esbol
Translation:
When you turn grey, I'll still carry you/be patient with you/bear you (Isaiah 46:4)
from Love Is the Ground, released September 18, 2022
Vox: Rena Branson, Rebekka Goldsmith, Batya Levine
Octave Mandolin: Joey Weisenberg
Percussion: Sam Weisenberg