Ascending Lullaby is a song about my Mother’s passing and is symbolic for the transitioning from one life to another. My Mother deeply loved birds she had a bird bath in her front yard that she faithfully cleaned everyday and would sit in her swivel rocking chair and watch the birds come and go, drink and bathe. These sightings were often the

Ascending Lullaby is a song about my Mother’s passing and is symbolic for the transitioning from one life to another. My Mother deeply loved birds she had a bird bath in her front yard that she faithfully cleaned everyday and would sit in her swivel rocking chair and watch the birds come and go, drink and bathe. These sightings were often the focus of our phone conversations in her elder years.

When Mom was in hospital in the height of covid and declining we had to move her into hospice. After transferring and being moved from the stretcher to her bed despite being so ill and weak her face lit up as she saw that outside her window was a bird feeder full of birds welcoming her. Her deep joy despite the difficult circumstance taught me so much that amidst great suffering there can still be joy and gratitude. She fought so very hard to stay alive as long as she could she loved her life, family and friends.

In the song Mom becomes a Whippoorwill. I chose this beautiful bird as Mom and I both loved the Hank Williams song, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry and the lyric about hearing the lonesome Whippoorwill always stood out to me. When I researched this bird I found it’s habitat is greatly threatened in Eastern Canada and the US largely due to pesticide use, industrial development and climate change so I wanted to bring this awareness as well. In folklore to hear a Whippoorwill sing by a window is a sign of impending death. In other stories they can grant wishes and heal pain.

In the context of the album, Mom passed Easter Sunday that year the day before my birthday and then the day after my birthday I got word my biological father was alive, he knew of me and wanted to connect. One life had ended and another began. Perhaps somehow in the next world she helped grant my wish of uncovering my ancestry and knew connecting that with my Dad would help me move through the heavy grief at losing her. Word and Music © Norine Braun Produced by Adam Popowitz Norine: vocals, harmonies and acoustic guitar Adam Popowitz bass and slide guitar Elliot Polsky drums Alice Fraser keys and harmony vocals Huggybear Leonard harmonica