He Who Knows is a very short chant, a single line in mixed meter. Cosmic Chants marks it Free and gives no metronome marking, but it is natural to sing it in time, at a slow tempo that gives it a free feel. The melody recording on this page is in time at 66 BPM.

What makes it challenging is the odd time signatures and the slow tempo. Because the chant is so short and slow, it can be hard to keep a steady, even pulse. Many chants build energy or depth by varying the lyrics, sections or tempo. This one is short and repetitive, so its depth comes from holding the tempo very even and singing with deepening devotion.

Song Form

A He who knows, he knows. None else knows!

The form is 3 bars in mixed meter: 5/4, 3/4, 5/4.

Notes

• The book puts the whole line inside repeat signs, so keep cycling the form. No phrase in it repeats on its own.

• The three bars are 5/4 (“He who knows, he”), 3/4 (“knows.”) and then 5/4 (“None else knows!”).

• In kirtan, percussion players may find it helpful to think of the form as 3/4, 3/4, 4/4, 3/4. It has the same number of beats and fits the lyrics well.

• Because the lyrics are so brief, this chant isn’t well suited to carry a full chanting period of ten minutes or more. It works well combined with another chant in the same period, or at the very end of a meditation when people are already interiorized.

Listen to SRF Recordings

Audio Recordings

• He Who Knows, from the album In the Temple of My Heart
  Spotify · Apple Music · Tidal