Refugee

And you’re told it’s tradition that you severed from your lands
And it’s pounding in your guts and it’s falling through your hands
What happens to a spirit
Happens to a young person’s dreams
And you’re doing your best to decolonize your mind
But it’s so deep inside you
And the whole world’s blind
And the sweetgrass is burning
What’s left of the pain you’ll endure
Follow the river to the place where you’re from
Follow the stars
Listen to the drum, you’re a refugee
Well it’s hard in the city, hard in your heart
And you thought it’d be better, try to find a new start
But it’s only confusion and nothing makes sense to you here
So you lay some tobacco at the roots of it all
And it’s all you can do when you tried not to fall
Through the well of despair and the cracks of the space in between
Follow the river to the place where you’re from
Follow the stars
Listen to the drum, you’re a refugee
On your own land
Respect to the mother, respect to her child
Respect to the water, respect to the wild
It’s the inner connection that will help the new world to break through
When you’re walking the path of those who came before you
And you’re changing the plot, try to write a new story of all ancient tradition
Fight for the old ways to live
Open your heart, lift up the voices
And learn to have less, make healthy choices
It’s a new world now, one we cannot claim as our own
Follow the river to the strength in your mind
Cut off the rope to the ties that bind
You’re no refugee
Follow the river to the place where you’re from
Follow the stars
Listen to the drum, you’re no refugee