Ingrid Heldt's official website

MINI CD VISUALIZE PEACE: - click here for ordering information

To John is a new recording of my very first song, in its original version. It was written in Bob Gibson’s first songwriting workshop in 1974 at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Rich Warren of WFMT was first to record it then.

Let the River Flow deals with a river called “Mehde” in my home town Zeven in Lower Saxony, Germany. In addition to the story told in the song, the local government actually attempted to straighten the riverbed to prevent the flooding every spring. It caused more flooding, and the river has now been returned to its old bed.

She Sees God was written about Sr. Mary Rose of Covenant House and played at her retirement party. She took over the charity for runaway children when it was riddled by scandals. She accomplished more with fewer contributions.

Soon We Will Have Peace – this is what my father shouted across the street in Germany in 1945 before he was arrested for not supporting the War effort. Thank God, they didn’t keep him arrested because they had other things to worry about by that time. Dad was right – Peace returned to Germany soon thereafter.

Please feel free to download “Soon We Will Have Peace". It works well as an audience chant because the lyrics are simple and can be called out before each verse. Feel free to perform or record it, giving me credit as the writer.

CD LOVE MATTERS: - click here for ordering information

My CD LOVE MATTERS is available. It contains a collection of the old and the relatively new, for instance:

     Chrome, Crystal and Glass, a 1980s rewrite of my very first song written during Bob Gibson's first songwriting workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. For those who don't know Bob, he was the forerunner of the folk wave of the '60s. When he dropped out, his manager took on Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, among others. I remember how I first sang this song in Bob's class: I was so nervous, no one could hear me. I couldn't believe my ears when Bob said, "That was beautiful, can we please hear it again? It went better the second time, and after that Bob took me to record it to Rich Warren at WFMT, a local radio station to record it. Recently, I ran into Claudia Schmidt, one of his friends who is making a comeback. I said I was sorry that Bob passed away before I could send him my CD. She suggested he might be up there somewhere, enjoying it. Come to think of it: Maybe he was up there, somewhere, pushing me to do it.

       The song Love Matters is about a real person named Kathy who teaches in a vocational school in Newark, N.J. and has better results there than most of the teachers in the affluent suburbs nearby - I know she isn't doing it for the money.

       Too Soon was written for the funeral of Tony Miranda, my friend Hilda's brother (no relationship to Hilda’s House, which was named after my Aunt Hilda Barth). Tony was always “there” for us, ready to help whenever we needed him. He became the innocent victim of a violent mugging that caused his death two years later. I was honored that his family translated my song into Spanish. When I was writing it, I was also reminded of September 11, of my best friend Harvey who died of AIDS and of my Dad, who died when I was twelve.

       Don't Give Up On Love was written for Didi, Rere and Paul - you know who you are. And also for myself. The fact that divorce has become more common doesn't make it easier for us kids – and for the grownups too – my Dad didn’t survive it when I was taken from him.

       Check the Box! was one of the first rap songs ever written. I was inspired by my friend Ed Williams, the Urban Poet, who wrote his poetry about growing up in the Fort Greene, Brooklyn Ghetto and read it to jazz music. Becky, Brenda and I had a great time collaborating on this song. It was recorded three times by singers other than myself.

       The Real Thing was written the day Wilburt Russell was buried. He was Asbury Park's City Manager, one of the major forces for turning that city around.

       Land of Love was the first song I recorded with Michael LaGennusa of MJL Sound. It was co-written with Joe Ford, who now makes his living as a producer. When Joe sang it, it sounded much like a Peter Gabriel song. My version may not be what he had in mind, but here it is anyway.

       Ticket to Knoxville is based on a true story told to me by my Tennessee Aunt Hilda: My Dad's Mom went to the U.S. around the turn of the last century, together with a girl friend. She was rejected at Ellis Island because of an eye problem and had to return to Germany, where she married her girl friend's brother. I never knew my grandparents, but when I went to the U.S., I searched for the mysterious person who had sent Care Packages to my family after World War II. That’s how I found Hilda. She visited me in New York and our family in Germany. But I was in debt and had an awful job - I didn't dare to go and visit her. I lost the job anyway. When I called, her phone was disconnected. Twenty years later, I went to Nashville, a place where she had always wanted to take me, and I drove from there to Knoxville, talked to her neighbors and saw her house – actually it was a baby-blue-and-white trailer in a trailer park. (Does that qualify me to write Country Music, or what?) If you're related to Hilda Barth of Concord, TN, would you please contact me because we're family. If you were her friend, I'd also love to hear from you. The neighbors told me she died suddenly after breaking her hip.

CD TRIBUTE TO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER: - click here for ordering information

My CD TRIBUTE TO THE WORLD TRADE CENTER (and the Video POETRY IN STONE) are still available (please see "Contact" for ordering information). I am presently giving all proceeds to Covenant House in NYC.

The first song, We Will Always Remember You, was written in memory of Michael LaGennusa’s friend Harry Ramos who, according to the Asbury Park Press, was "last seen on the 42nd floor helping someone." He wasn't a fire fighter or police person on duty. He simply represents the spirit that this country stands for.

VIDEO POETRY IN STONE: - click here for ordering information

The song Poetry in Stone celebrates the beauty of the World Trade Center before September 11. For many years, I have been selling my photographs of the buildings – I truly loved them – and I used these photographs to produce the Video for Poetry in Stone, showing them only in their perfect condition and honoring the Missing by name.

BOOK LIVING WITH HITLER'S LEGACY: - click here for ordering information

Preliminary copies of my book LIVING WITH HITLER'S LEGACY are available. It deals with my family's fate during and after World War II. I didn't realize until I began my research that my father had been a resistor who helped some people escape from Germany and who later worked for the Allies. My mother had been a business manager for the Hitler Youth, and her family was expelled from our home in one of Germany's Eastern states that are now Polish.

Her second husband was one of Hitler's SS bodyguard who had the special permission to photograph anything he saw in and around the Reichs Chancellery. His incredible work includes mundane things like Hitler's birthday cake, but also never-published photographs of the entire cast of the Third Reich. They reveal much about the everyday life of an SS guard and soldier. I am presently writing his biography. Included in this book are some of those photographs, a map, as well as original letters he wrote from Berlin and later from a hiding place after fleeing Berlin.

One of the more absurd stories in the book is how my stepfather visited his gay cousin, who survived in hiding in Prague, married to a Jewish woman, so both of them would have a cover. I’ve often tried to visualize the dinner scene since Bert forgot to take off his uniform.

Also included is material about growing up in post-War Germany and living with its realities, like the Berlin Wall. My stepfather's biography will contain many more of his photographs. I have about a thousand of them. The working title is "Fly on the Wall."

Please feel free to download the Sample Chapters that I have posted. On request, they are available in German also.

I am also presently seeking funds to finance an entire CD of songs dealing with German history. I posted some of the lyrics on my lyrics page.

- click here for ordering information