I opened my mouth but no words came
I lay down to sleep but I did not dream
I looked up at the stars but the sky was dark
like a mirror held up to my heart
A B C, D E F
Take away this alphabet
it’s heavy on my tongue
You can want a thing so bad it seems
That you lose yourself and everybody else
So I got down on my knees on the marble floor
And I cried until my throat was sore
A B C D, E F G
Tell me what you want from me
I’ll do it all I swear
I was not drunk, I was awake
I could not open so I had to break
to let the light come in
A B C D, E F G
Take away this alphabet
it’s heavy on my tongue
A song about Hannah – and what it means to ask for what you need. The story of Hannah appears in I Samuel 1-2.
Hannah (Chana in Hebrew) prayed so hard her lips moved, but no sound came out; the priest threw her out of the temple, thinking she was drunk. But not only was Hannah’s prayer answered, she became the model for the Amidah, one of the most important moments in the prayer service.
The chorus is inspired by the chassidic story of the holiest prayer being that of the illiterate man who only knew the alphabet but recited it with perfect intention. And by the tradition of alphabet-songs.
