From the recording Straw, Clay, Wood, and Stone
I have a dream of building my own passive solar straw bale house. I've taken house building classes for 5 summers and actually got hired by one of the teachers to help build a beautiful house like that. I've also volunteered on some other houses.
Natural building is a simple and beautiful solution to many of the challenges we face today. Just facing your house to the south can save 20% in heating costs.
Together my audience and I have funded a scholarship program for teens to take classes in natural building at Building With Spirit, the North East Natural Building Colloquium.
The thing about the natural builders, who I connected with at the start of the Iraq war, when I had been asked to play a lot of protests, is that they have skipped resistance and gone directly to building the world they want to live in. The protesters have my respect but I just couldn't be angry for 8 years.
In the community of natural builders I found some of the educated, practical, joyful, deep and positive people I've ever encountered. I am grateful to have found a small place in that community.
Lyrics
Verse 1
The bird builds its nest high up in a tree
It’s beautiful, simple and strong
The bird builds a nest that fits right in
Like the harmony part to a song
Pre-chorus
I want a home like that, simple and true
I want a home like that for me and you
Chorus
So let it shine on everyone,
we’ll heat our homes with light from the sun
let it shine, everybody come on home
we’ll build from straw clay wood and stone
Verse 2
The bee builds its hive in heart of a tree
An apartment house so sweet
The bee builds a hive that’s beautiful to see
A home that’s good enough to eat
P-C
Chorus
Bridge
Now there’s a mansion on the hill built almost every day
I would not want to build my house that way
The ransom on that mansion will never go away
They’ll have to pay and pay and pay and pay and pay
Verse 3
Now I’m not here to suggest we go back and live in caves
But why do we build these houses that turn us into slaves
When all we really need is to be warm safe and dry
Tucked into the earth with a good view of the sky
Verse 4
I’m gonna build a house that lies light on the land
That the birds and the bees can both understand
I want to build a house that sets me free
I don’t want to work for my house, I want my house to work for me Chorus