Leila Strong

My Music

I am so pleased to share a growing collection of original music delivered straight from my heart to yours. On this page you will find recordings, lyrics, and the stories behind the songs.

Dead Dog Song - Leila Strong

Chords are D and G played alternating in 8 counts for the whole song

Lyrics:

Bury me in flowers like your favorite dog.

Think of me for the hour and pray to your gods

CHORUS:

I’m with the earth now and I’m happy

I’m with the earth now and I’m free

I’m with the earth now and I’m happy

I’m with the earth now and I’m free

Let the worms eat my bones

Let the moles make homes out of my body in the ground

CHORUS

When the sun melts the frost

When the birds return to make their nests up in the trees

Remember me, remember me

CHORUS

Look for me in the moonrise

Feel me in the breeze

Know me in the bluejay

See me in the tree

CHORUS

Bury me in flowers like your favorite dog

Think of me for the hour and pray to your gods

CHORUS

The Story Behind the Song

This was the very first song I ever wrote and it came through after hearing the story of a dear friend burying his beloved dog. My friend described the tenderness and care he took in selecting her grave, picking flowers from the garden to lay around her body, and then taking great ceremony laying her to rest. This struck me as a much missed piece of our cultural connection to death and dying - to care for and handle the dead ourselves as a rite of passage for both the living and the dead. In this song, I kindle the loving connection all living beings have with the earth. Death is not a punishment or an ending - rather it is a homecoming that we can greet with peace and joy.

Let Love - Leila Strong

Lyrics:

Bless this body perfectly made

Bless the path perfectly laid

To wind wonderful through the woods

Bless this heart made for good

CHORUS:

Oooh x 4

Let love move you x 4

Bless the fear of the unknown

It’s at this threshold that we are shown

The possibility of what could be

Bless the chance to be free

CHORUS

Bless the heartache for delivering

Life lessons with a bit of a sting

Learning to let go of what could have been

Bless the cracks that let light in

CHORUS

Bless the laughter of our friends

With this medicine broken parts mend

When we are feeling alone

Bless the people that we call home

CHORUS

The Story Behind the Song

I wrote this song in the winter of 2023 during an inspiring, life changing writing course created by my dear friend, Jocelyn Steury. This song is a prayer for the tenderness of being human, for the bigness of our lives, for the smallness of our lives, for our hearts. As I come more and more deeply into my callings I am constantly attuning to Love and opening myself up to its guidance.