This page is dedicated to my dear friend Mitch
Dielhenn. Mitch wrote the most beautiful songs. He left on February 12th,
2004 but his lyrics and
melodies are with me every day.
I had the good fortune to know and collaborate with
Mitch during the "golden age" of the Denver premie community,
the mid 1970's. Mitch fell into a coma sometime in the 1980's and
struggled with memory problems and seizures for the rest of his life. The
last time I saw him was in 1993, but we were in touch sporadically until
the end.
"So all pains
become pearls one day."
Mitch's words
are in blue.
Last updated:
04/24/2010
Mitch - Albuquerque - 1995
What Light shines upon the
faces of those who speak to me in Dreams?
What Sun shines upon which Earth?
Which Eye beholds it?
Excerpt from "The
Eye"
Q
The Good Name
Band
The Good Name
Band formed in 1973 in Denver, Colorado with Mitch Dielhenn, Neil Ayer, Chip Foreman, Sarah
Brennan, Chuck Nathan and later Annie Bishop. In 1974, after the Holi
festival at the Amherst campus in western Massachusetts, Bill Ross moved
to Denver and, along with fellow Sunrise Music members Michael Kehn and
Jeff Daniels, joined the band forming the "modern" lineup of Dielhenn
(guitar, voice), Ross (voice, percussion, harmonium), Ayer (guitar,
voice, flute), Brennan (voice, flute), Kehn (bass) and Daniels
(percussion). That year Sarah left and Ruth Palmieri Blenn joined. Gene
Dequinzio was a regular member in the latter days; Nick King and Larry
Habourchek also contributed their talents.
I have posted here a third generation cassette of
recordings that were made in the Kittredge building
one evening in late 1974 with Ruth
Palnieri singing. The session was engineered by Val Vadeboncour and Kenny Warren. I removed the unbelievable amount of tape
hiss, improved the signal as best I could, added some ambience, and did
a little "splicing". It sounds a little squashed, but the spirit shines through.
To play the music
files, either use the player on the left or
click the music link below to play the files independently
in Windows Media Player.
You can download the tracks by clicking the icon above to
launch Windows
Media Player, then use "File" and "Save
as".
Here is a slide show
I made to accompany and old cassette recording of "May It Be Thine".
Mitch Dielhenn (guitars, vocals), Ruth Palmieri (vocals), Neil Ayer
(guitars), Gino Dequinzio (flute, sax), Nick King (bass), Larry
Habourchek (drums).
Lyrics by Mitch Dielhenn
The Sun is on the Mountain
Down by the harbor on a misty morning
The early morning air is upon the sea.
And the youthful fisherman and his very best friend
Make their way down to the sea.
And they take their nets and they set their sails
For soon they leave for the blue horizon.
But they turn their heads and they look around
As if to hear a distant sound.
The sun is on the mountain
And the people are coming round
Well the soul hears what the ears cannot
And the spirit sees what the eyes cannot.
Down in the city amidst the roar
An old city man smiles "What we livin' for?"
And beneath a cherry tree, a crimson cherry tree
He takes his hat and he takes his breath.
But he turns his head and he looks around
As if to hear a distant sound.
The sun is on the mountain
And the people are coming round
Well the soul hears what the ears cannot
And the spirit sees what the eyes cannot.
The Golden Stream
In this moment, the Golden Stream
The two made one, the love supreme.
In this moment, the Golden Stream
Letting loose the sands of dream.
Sailor what you seek in foreign lands
Was placed on board by loving hands
Don't sail off to die at sea.
In this this moment, the Golden Stream
The two made one, the love supreme.
In this moment, the Holy Word
Eternal place of our Master's birth.
Sailor, what you seek in foreign lands
Was placed on board by loving hands
Don't sail off to die at see.
"Golden
Stream" is probably the most
loved and remembered of Mitch's songs. The refrain "Sailor what you
seek in foreign lands", besides being a world class hook, is just
simply perfect wisdom.
One day Mitch came to visit me in the
ashram and said "Here, play this" and showed me the opening
melody. Then he played the chords and began singing. What a gift it was.
Mitch sent
me some chords to help me remember how to play his part.
Arms From The Sky
You held your arms from the sky
You held the sun in your eye
Gazed on a billion souls
You are the shining stairway home
To only the the light-bound traveler known
A billion more waited outside
A man came to me
Face shining like the sea
Who like an unborn baby lay
So deep within your grace
These things he said to me
And you my brother
Would you like to be free?
There is a place I know
Every man longs to go
Which like a fountain spring
Blessing from God these waters bring
And a voice of peace and beauty sings
Here a man meets himself
Well I heard the crashing thunder
And I felt the silent peace
We are but sheep on the hillside
'Til we dance on the clouds with the Gods high
Remembering the time before
And knowing the Truth once more
My days etched on every stone
It's love's hand that's guiding me home
This song
describes the experience of Satsang and then Knowledge. The
"man" was Fakiranand (blissful beggar), who revealed the
practice of Knowledge to me as well.
I Hear Your Voice
I hear your voice and I know what you mean
Yes I feel the same and I see you true.
I hear your voice
Brother I have known you a million years.
Did you catch your dreams?
Did they all come true?
Did you live them through?
What was happening with you?
A little bit of the good and a little bit of the bad
Not like the dream I had.
And your memories my friend
Did they weigh you down?
Like a ball and chain?
Were you pullin' that old freight train?
Yeh, my memories brought me down sometimes.
But when I learned the Truth, I was set free
Was set free.
So we feel the freedom of the Word.
See the Waters
See the waters flowing downstream
See the waters flowing downstream
And every sound those waters make
And every sound those waters make
Calls Your name.
See the flowers on the hillside
See the flowers on the hillside
And every petal and every leaf
And every petal and every leaf
Reaches to You.
Lord, I want to be with you.
This was the first song I
heard him play. There are no known recordings.
May It Be Thine
Like an oyster in the sea
Cutting grains of sand
Pearls one day will be.
So all pains become pearls one day.
Glistening sight, brought forth in the light.
Oh dear Father, may it be Thine.
Oh dear Father, may it be Thine.
So all pains become pearls one day.
Glistening sight, brought forth in the light.
Sailing ship, moves from the harbor in the dark of morn.
Last lights of night are shining, across the waters of the sleepy bay.
On her way, past the levees to the break of the sea.
Captain's heart is bursting, as his eyes behold the wondrous sight.
Like you and I on our way back home.
Daylight finds him, singing his song to the ancient sea.
Like you and I on our way back home.
One
day we all got into Mitch's big lurching station wagon and drove to Buena
Vista to play electric music for inmates at the minimum security
prison. I think they managed to find some premie with a record who could
speak "prison" to give the keynote address. The inmates sat
there very quietly through the speaking and band's performance - talk
about a captive audience. Eventually our girlfriends began dancing during
the closing instrumental passage of "May It Be Thine" and the
place went wild. It's a minor tragedy that the tape was lost as it
contained the program (was it Jim Vuko, Mike Donner and Susan Gregory?) as
well as the band, the hoots, and the whole deal.
I will eventually post the recording made on the 4th floor of the Kittredge Building with Gene Dequincio (flute and saxophone), Larry Haborchek (drums), Nick King (bass), Neil
Ayer (guitar), Ruth Blenn (vocals), and of course Mitch Dielhenn (guitar and
vocals). This version I is rather over-produced. Somewhere there is a video
performance created for local TV. Perhaps I can find it eventually...
This song contains a classic example
of essential Mitch Dielhenn. The verse beginning with "Sailing
ship" finds him singing strong and unaccompanied in his favorite
metaphorical context: the sailor and the sea.
I Went to the Master
I went to the Master of life.
He showed me where I'm going
And what my life is for.
I went to the Master of
All that is.
To many masters of science
Could not explain.
So death put its hand upon
Your shoulder.
And you have run for your life
The lesson you teach me now.
I run to my life today
I run to the Master.
Please show me where I'm going
And what my life is for.
Reprinted from: Town Topics:
Princeton's Weekly Community Newspaper Vol LVIII, No.19 Web Edition,
Obituaries
Mitchell Dielhenn H. Mitchell "Mitch" Dielhenn, 54, of Albuquerque,
N.M., formerly of Princeton, died February 12 in Albuquerque of cardiovascular
disease. He was born and raised in Princeton, the son of Anne M. Dielhenn and
the late John C. Dielhenn. Mr. Dielhenn attended Princeton Country Day School,
graduated from Holderness School in 1966, and attended the University of
Wisconsin in Madison. He was interested in the arts, especially music, and had a
special love of the guitar. He is survived by his mother, Anne Dielhenn; a
brother, Arthur of Studio City, Calif.; and a sister, Jane Dielhenn Otis of
Northbrook, Ill. A memorial service was held at Church of the Redeemer, Bryn
Mawr, Pa. Interment was in Princeton Cemetery.
The Lord sat on the bow of a boat
Pulled up on the River Jordan
And He spoke to those who had ears to hear
And some who did not.
"This river behind me is like the
world
And I am the boatman who takes you across.
You are bound to come with me
Like the waters are bound for the sea."
Excerpt from
an untitled song.
The One Who Is Listening
I hear Your voice
Now
I have known you a billion years
There was the mystery
Of the days of my youth
When by the sea
The song of a universe
Captured within a shell
I longed to tell
The birds and the bees
The wind in the trees
Now the birds are all singing
A song though different
Throughout the world
Somehow the same
I used to think it was the song
But I was wrong
It was the One Who Is Listening
This was one of the last things he sent me. It
starts with a reference to his own lyrics from "I Hear Your Voice". He
has always known of a voice. He remembers a mystery he longs to explain:
how does the universal sound get into a sea shell? Why do the sounds of
nature have a mysterious commonality? The key to the mystery is not
found in the phenomena, but rather in the existence of the listener
within.
Mitch visited me in
Massachusetts in the spring of 1993. I dropped him off at Holderness
School in New Hampshire for his class reunion. He was the president of his
senior class. That was the last time I
saw him.
Mitch, know that I love you,
that I
miss you deeply, and that I will always remember you.
