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Songs and Samples

Praylude
I See The Light In Everything
Desert Dream
Choose Love
All Creation
Innerlude
Seeds Of Light
Love Is A Gift
Dragonfly
Beth Brown's Last Agreement
Samsara
Flying Dream

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Some Nice Things People Have Said

His music brings joy to the soul and is the perfect music to grow and learn by. I have so much gratitude for his creation.
- Sheri Rosenthal, DPM
Author of "The Idiot's Guide to Toltec Wisdom"

In the songs of James Nihan we enter a world of artistry. Here is a poet's voice painting in sound and image a portrait of where love lives.
- Jean Pumphrey, Literary Director,
The Marin Poetry Center

James is a storyteller. More than that, James is a wisdom-gatherer and shares the message. All it takes is for one to listen. I have listened and I am awed.
- Lin Church, MSSW CMSW
Life Changes Consultant

James is a brilliant writer and his words are a source of strength for caregivers and mentors who endeavor to be mirrors in the lives of others.
- Yvonne Capps, LADAC
Program Director, Addictions Treatment

James Nihan has created a refreshingly honest and moving memoir, a chronicle of awakening to the sweetness of life.
- don Roberto Paez,
Toltec Teacher

James' music brings alive the Spirit of the Divine in everyone listening.
- Rev. Felicia Searcy,
Unity Church of Life, Murfreesboro, TN

Songs to live your life by.
- Thom Rutledge,
Therapist and Author of “Embracing Fear”

James' music and words touched us at a soul level and resonated love.
- Rev. Anne Muelleman,
McHenry County Church of Religious Science, IL

His gift blesses us with the joyful truth that we are all One in the spiritual dance we call life.
- Carol Narigon,
Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Dayton, OH

I don't remember having been moved quite like that by music. The purity of his voice stirs the soul.
- Cheri Harvey,
Louisville, KY

I am touched every time I play one of your CDs.
- Sheila Herrington,
Mesa, AZ

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About James Nihan

Massachusetts native James Nihan began playing guitar at age nine and started writing songs at fourteen. Early musical influences were Tom Rush, John Prine, Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor. He began performing at age nineteen, appearing throughout New England at venues including The Folkway, The Pressroom, The Sword In The Stone, The Me & Thee and The Grog. After the blizzard of '78 struck, on his twenty-first birthday, he left New England in search of warmer climes.

He entertained throughout Texas, Arizona and California for several years before moving to Nashville in 1987 to continue a career in songwriting.

In 1990 he was voted "Songwriter Of The Year" by the Tennessee Songwriters Association.

His song I Can See Arkansas was released by Anne Murray and went Top 10 in Canada. It can also be found on albums released by many artists including David Ball and Steve Wariner.

The late great songwriter, Harlan Howard (I Fall To Pieces, Busted, Heartaches By The Number), acted as publisher and mentor for James from 1990-95. Other publishers include EMI Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group.

James has been a guest on numerous radio and television programs. His songs have been performed on the Grand Ole Opry, Austin City Limits, Nashville Now, The Regis Philbin Show, CMT and more. Appearances include the Kerrville Folk Festival (TX) and Mountain Stage (WV).

He founded the annual "New England Songwriters Show" held at Nashville's renowned Bluebird Café for many years. Past guest artists include Peter McCann, Dave Mallett, Gary Burr, Cindy Bullens, Jon Pousette-Dart, Jess Leary and Robert Ellis Orrall.

He has taught songwriting to children through the non-profit "Words & Music" program at the Country Music Hall of Fame for more than fifteen years and he has worked with patients in addiction and psychiatric treatment, where poetry and music are used to encourage self-expression and healing.

In 1995 he released the CD Mirror Boxes & Diamond Rings. Performing Songwriter magazine said, "Nihan is the lonesome preacher. . .with a voice thick as molasses, (he) tells the tales of the lover, the loser and the lucky survivor."

His CD, Rays Of Light was released in 2003. The songs are uplifting and from the heart, inspired by Toltec and Native American wisdom.

All Creation, the spiritual sequel was released in 2005. The heartfelt songs are both meditative and contemplative and incorporate a variety of instruments including sitar, gemshorn, pennywhistle and hammered dulcimer.

Other creative endeavors include screenwriting (with the well-known songwriter/recording artist/actor, Ed Bruce), poetry, art, photography and a novel that will be published soon.

James resides on a farm in the hills of Tennessee with his wife, singer/songwriter and experiential therapist, Dawn Zurlinden, their too-smart Aussie dogs, Iris and Angel, and a few stray cats.

A Note From James

My recovery began in Massachusetts in 1975 at the age of eighteen. I really didn't expect to be able to maintain sobriety for more than two weeks and I am often surprised, and always grateful, to find myself still abstinent today.

In the early days, I wondered if the fog would ever lift. I had difficulty with my thinking and speaking for quite a while. I remember asking some old-timers if they thought I had a wet brain. They suggested that it was just very damp!

I was able to see progress in myself through the process of learning songs. Between 12-Step meetings, I kept myself distracted from “using” thoughts by playing my old Silvertone guitar. When I was sober a year I had memorized about forty songs and got my first paying gig. I also began writing songs in earnest. Fast-forward twenty-five years - -

In August 2001, I attended a workshop in New York, with don Miguel Ruiz, author of the best-selling book, "The Four Agreements." I had been taking many things in life personally, assuming the role of victim and living in a state of constant reaction. I was creating my own suffering. I was a victim of myself. I learned that I alone am responsible for whether I am happy or not. For too long I had allowed resentments to cloud my vision. I made the decision to let them go. I buried the old story and began a new one. I chose to again look at the world with the eyes I was born with.

Back in Tennessee, I began writing in a new and positive way. As I wrote, red-tailed hawks circled and hummingbirds were ever present. Great-horned owls crossed my path at night, reminding me of transformation.

At times, I did not know where the lyrics came from. All I could do was feel humbled and thank the Creator for letting me hold the pen. My friend, Roberto Paez, suggested that perhaps my purpose here was to be a messenger. Long ago, when I was eighteen, I had considered the idea but, however hopeful and altruistic I was in those younger days, I had no message. And so that dream slept for a long, long time.

These songs represent an awakening. They are about healing and loving and dying and living in the moment with faith and gratitude. They are not written for accolades. They say what they say, they are what they are. You may like them or dislike them. You are welcome to feel whatever you wish. I simply take my joy in delivering them.

May you live the life of your dreams, - James

P.S. The song "Seeds of Light" was written during a meditation one morning on the farm. When I played it through for the first time, Iris, my dog, wagged her tail. And then, three fawns emerged from the tall grass at the edge of the field. They faced me without fear, listening. What an amazing moment! I felt I had connected in a pure and beautiful way with all things. In 2007, "Seeds of Light" was chosen by Unity Church International as the title song of the “New Thought” songbook.

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News and Reviews

People find themselves moved by Nihan's open-hearted lyrics and gentle, beautiful delivery.
- The Leaf-Chronicle,
Clarksville, Tennessee

James' music transcends barriers; it speaks to all of us.
- Register-Herald, West Virginia

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