Welcome! Welcome!

Credits

Written and produced by ZO TOBI

Recorded and mixed at SPIRITHOUSE STUDIO in Northampton, MA, Fall 2018 & Spring 2020

Associate Producers: DANNY BERNINI & PAUL McNAMARA

Engineering, mixing, & mastering: DANNY BERNINI

Cover art: JAKE McBRIDE at ANIMIND STUDIO

Acoustic guitar & lead vocals: ZO TOBI
Backup vocals: ZO TOBI & PAUL McNAMARA
Percussion & electric guitar: DANNY BERNINI
Samples: ZO TOBI & GARAGEBAND
Electric bass: GREG REINAUER
Synth: PAUL McNAMARA

Liner notes

"Welcome! Welcome!" is a song of joy & celebration for new life, no matter what comes our way.

I wrote this song before I became a father.

Now that I am, it means even more to me.

Our planet is in crisis.

The future is uncertain.

Quite a time to be alive —

— and to bring new life into the world.

To me, declaring joy in the face of this uncertainty is a courageous and beautifully defiant act.

So this really is the meaning of the song for me, embodied by the bridge:

“So come what may child, come out and play now!"

Whether you’re a parent, or you have a little one in your life, or you just want to live a fulfilled life, I hope this song helps you tap into that sense of joy, hope, wide-eyed wonder, and resilience.

A closer look at the lyrics:

Verse 1: “Of all creations, with all their laws, you chose the one that gave birth to stars.” How improbable that we’re here at all! Stephen Hawking says: “If the rate of expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, it would have recollapsed before it reached its present size (... or) if it had been greater by a part in a million, the universe would have expanded too rapidly for stars and planets to form.”

Verse 1: “Of all the houses in the neighborhood, the green & blue one, you chose it good.” Earth is the only planet we know of (yet) with complex, intelligent life. The fact that we haven’t found such life elsewhere is called the “Fermi paradox”, and I find it awe-inspiring — and also a reminder of how precious and worthy of care our Earth really is.

Verse 2: “Out of the fire, out of the sea, out of the stillness, you rose with me.” What deep wisdom and ancient intelligence flows through every one of us! As Carl Sagan said: “We are a way for the cosmos to know itself.” As Brian Swimme put it: “Four and a half billion years ago, the Earth was a flaming molten ball of rock and now…it can sing opera.”

Verse 3: “Of all the rounds to join the game, you chose the challenge, yet you remained.” My teacher Maria Nemeth points out that passing through the birth canal is the first of many heroic acts we undertake: From the warmth of the womb to the risks and adventure of this world.

Reflection questions

Use these questions to tap into the spirit and essence of this song.

On welcoming

1. Is there a time you felt welcomed, honored, celebrated, lifted up? What did it feel like?
2. Imagine welcoming a newborn baby to the world. What would you hope & wish for them in their life?
3. What would it be like to live in a society in which everyone were welcomed and celebrated fully?
4. What is one small way you could demonstrate the quality of being welcoming in your own daily life?

On the improbable gift of life

1. If friendly aliens came to Earth to see the best of the human experience, what would you show them?
2. What unique confluence of events led to your birth? Your parents’ birth? Their parents’ birth?
3. What is something about your life that you are grateful happened exactly the way that it did?
4. Where do you find joy that doesn’t depend on changing circumstances?

On giving your gift

1. Think of someone you are close to. How has their life been a blessing to you and those around them?
2. Imagine the perspective of those close to you. How has your life already been a blessing to them?
3. Think of a time you felt deep joy. What were you contributing to others and to the moment?
4. What would you love to have said about you at your funeral, by those whose lives you touched?