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A Native Without A Tribe

by Elk Song

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1.
When the four directions meet at the center and turbulence gathers all together When the broken trees have ceased their crying And the rivers, painted black, will burn while the soil is dying Five hundred nations rise, to tear the blindfold from your eyes And they will show us the way Spirit make our hearts strong (weihaiaia) Let us be as one (weihaiaia) Darkened hearts try to see us fall But nothing breaks our voices' call Spirit make our hearts strong There are holy slaves with the blood of kings There are cruel kings, who are slaves to their greed Well I'm not a king or a slave, just a member of the human race Standing for a world that's starting to bleed Weihaiaia weihaiaia, weihaiaia weihaiaia, 2x Spirit make our hearts strong (weihaiaia) Let us be as one (weihaiaia) Darkened hearts try to see us fall But nothing breaks our voices' call Spirit make our hearts strong
2.
Still Alive 04:54
Longing for safety from all that I’ve known I’ve a place where I know I can disappear Where red clay and water have not ceased to flow In this fortress of trees, my mind adheres And something calls my spirit back And I know that, though you’re gone, we’re still alive There’s a song that’s been play a thousand years It’s been sung by the beast and the creatures that fly As I join the ensemble, I sing without fear This canyon will echo my voice’s cry And something calls my spirit back And I know that, though you’re gone, we’re still alive And by this fire, here I lie So soothe me with your sparkling sky While ancient voices sing tonight Way-a-hey, way-a-hey, way-a-hey, way-a-hey Tears for the tortured and those who were lost Have come crashing down for the blackened clouds And thunder explodes from the warrior’s drum And the words on my heart are now the words on my mouth And something calls my spirit back From the river through the mountain pass But something calls my spirit back And I know that, through your love, we’re still alive
3.
Free 04:41
May the sun bring you life by day With its rays of warmth from above May the moon restore you by night As you sleep under its glowing love May the rain wash away your worries As it quenches the tears you shed May the wind blow strength through your being As you glide through the world ahead Across the plains, and on mountain tops, may you be free By the sea, through the canyon lands, and under the trees Here we are, here we are, running forever more In this land I call my home, my heart be free May you gently walk through the world Know its beauty all your days For a heavy foot leaves a deepening print That can wound in many ways A fiery soul can do much more Than burn through all it sees And a gentle heart can heal the wounds That you haven’t revealed Across the plains, and on mountain tops, may you be free By the sea, through the canyon lands, and under the trees Here we are, here we are, running forever more In this land I call my home, my heart will be free May the stars illuminate the night and guide you on your way May the thunder be a beating a drum So you can dance through the rain Across the plains, and on mountain tops, let us be free By the sea, through the canyon lands, and under the trees Here we are, here we are, running forever more In this land I call my home, my heart will be free
4.
When the last tree is gone and the final fish is caught When beasts no longer run free You will find yourself in a wasteland of death And that’ll be a black feather in your cap Harvest mountainsides, taking more than you need And you're choking the plants like a weed If you dig too deep you're gonna turn your water black And that’ll be a black feather in your cap You're gonna bring a Red Cloud rolling over your head Raising a war chief before he's even a man And the price that is paid for the treasures that you seek Is your sins against the earth on which you stand Hey-ya Mni Wiconi, Mni Wiconi Hey-ya Mni Wiconi Hey-ya Mni Wiconi, Mni Wiconi Hey-ya, Hey-ya You're gonna bring a Red Cloud rolling over your head Raising a war chief before he's even a man And the price that is paid for the treasures that you seek Is your sins against the earth on which you stand And when day's end comes, as you're falling asleep Will your life be known for good or bad Cause nothing lives long, but the mountains and sky So keep that black feather from your cap Oh keep that black feather from your cap Oh keep that black feather from your cap
5.
6.
Wasteland 04:56
Well the spirit seems to have left my heart And I've been taken from home And placed in a prison of hopeless art Where my father's words are no longer my own They cut off my hair and beat me a hundred times Remembering all your words that distorted my mind Now there's no going home And it seems I've been confined To this wasteland Confined to wastelands Confined to wastelands I can't stay awake anymore Now that all my thoughts have been petrified I'm a stranger in my own home No longer a man of the earth and sky I’ve been pulled apart by forces I cannot know
7.
Don't leave me now Show me the way My memory is fading fast Spirit don't, Spirit don't leave us now Your selfish acts of Western greed has left my family in poverty Manifesting your destiny sends a chill through my bones In your search for holy water you dug a hole through the heart of my mother A black snake under the river and across the plains of my home A perfect silhouette of my mountains, outlined by a fading golden sky Is all that I have left of the life that has passed me by Don't leave me now Show me the way My memory is fading fast Spirit don't, Spirit don't leave us now Now the wheel continues to spin, I keep praying for the heart to win Another time, another radical faction bent on destruction And there’s violence out East, violence out West, refugees sleeping with boxes for beds I hold my hands up in prayer, with naught but my words on the shores of the ocean Too many children of God work to destroy the home that He made Too many striving to hate the brothers and sisters that He gave, what do they have to gain Don't leave me now (I live in an alien nation) Show me the way (Where they’re committing spiritual treason) My memory is fading fast (Don’t leave me now) Spirit don't, spirit don't leave us now 2x Poisoned the ground with your enemies' blood Broke all the sacred things I once knew You gave us a savior to kneel before Now we pray that he'll save us from you, shouting Freedom, freedom, freedom, freedom Don't leave me now (I live in an alien nation) Show me the way (Where they’re committing spiritual treason) My memory is fading fast (Don’t leave me now) Spirit don't, spirit don't leave us now (Spoken) I stood there watching Oceti Sakowin from a continent 5,000 miles away I took note of every word so that I could remember what was on said that day And I stand on a Spanish shore with nothing but my voice and my hands held out in prayer And my spirit yearns to redeem the souls that seem to have lost their way out there
8.
I dreamed I glided across the plains I saw the world in a clearer light No smoke blocked out the sun's healing rays No tears rolled down from my father's eyes I took his hand as he spoke his final words Never give away the land where I lay But my promise only matched the strength of my hands If only it matched the strength of my faith The gravedigger gave him a shallow bed, no shoes on his feet, no blanket on his head And my hands no longer wish to hold these weapons, so I threw away my last defense I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of war Of all my brothers dying just to settle the score If I let you win, will you leave me here on my own so I can find the heart I lost I buried my heart on the field of battle Confined to wastelands, my spirit travels Aimless and broken by weapons fire and thunder While my heart remains in the ground But all the ravens come to take what remains (come back to me) All my people crying out for their fallen names I'm tired of fighting, I'm tired of war Of all my brothers dying just to settle the score If I let you win, will you leave me here on my own Let me find the heart I lost I have nothing left to give, nothing to gain With an empty chest, no blood in my veins Spirit give me a shovel, and show me the way Find the place I laid my head Help me dig up my heart I’m tired of fighting, but I will go on We’re no longer dying, there’s a voice in the song And our love shall win, I will not be standing on my own I will dig up my heart
9.
Sometimes I wonder how we ended up in the place that we happen to be Fools in power, holy men in the streets But I guess that’s just our history And wiser men have always led their people To the places I long to go So if this movement is to move any further Then Love is what I must know To get there will take some time But someday we’ll all be free Just don’t leave your heart behind ‘Cause Survival Is Victory Survive and claim your victory Dig up your heart, and be set free Cause you are a miracle on this earth And your spirit cannot stay in the dirt Well I know you always told me to roll with the changes But don’t go with the flow I take it in every time my beat rearranges But there’s still so little I know So I’ll swim against the tide, but I’ll catch the roaring waves As they ride on through And I can take a few hits from the lingering hurt Cause Love is what I must do To get there will take some time But someday we’ll all be free Just don’t leave your heart behind ‘Cause Survival Is Victory Survive and claim your victory Dig up your heart, and be set free Cause you are a miracle on this earth And your spirit cannot stay in the dirt Survive and claim your victory Dig up your heart, and be set free Cause mountains will crumble in the end But your Spirit can rise and rise again I can be bruised and I can be bent But I won’t be broken cause I’ve been sent To break the chains of destiny That they have manifested for me To get there will take some time But someday we’ll all be free Just don’t leave your heart behind ‘Cause Survival Is Victory Survive and claim your victory Dig up your heart, and be set free Cause you are a miracle on this earth And your spirit cannot stay in the dirt Survive and claim your victory Dig up your heart, and be set free Cause mountains will crumble in the end But your Spirit can rise and rise again

about

Two years ago, I discovered through a DNA test, that I had Native American blood in my family. At the time, for someone who grew up, studying the history and cultures of Native Nations, this was a huge revelation.

In my search to find out more of this part of my family, I became highly influenced by the traditional music of plains nations, and the contemporary sounds of Native artists, such as A Tribe Called Red, Northern Cree, Supaman, and Nahko and Medicine for the People.

I took to writing about my own journey, and these songs became a tribute to Native nations, and the fight for indigenous rights.

These songs are intended to speak my passion for these truths, and to help tell the story of this journey that I am still walking, to better understand the truth of my ancestry.

credits

released June 7, 2018

Artist: Elk Song

Songwriter: Josiah Contreras

Producers: Josiah Contreras, Yair Amster

Lead Vocals: Josiah Contreras, Nathalie Hernandez, Nicole Kwan, Kamila Aouchiche, Lourdes Artiz

Guitars: Agam Timor, Nick Petty, Josiah Contreras, Sage Mitchell, Tristan Garrity

Keyboards: Evan Fulcher, Brian DiFrancisco

Bass: Josiah Contreras

Native Flutes: Josiah Contreras

Drums: Chris Petty, Justin Cameron, Benito Servicio, Yair Amster

Percussion: Josiah Contreras, Benito Servicio, William Candelario, Chris Petty

Background Vocals: Josiah Contreras, Robert Varela, Madison Miller, George Lowndes, Kates Eyvazzadeh, Melissa Wasserman, Allie Barbera, Brian DiFransisco, Nathalie Hernandez, Selena Schilling, Caroline Guske, Stewart Mitchell

Engineers: Yair Amster, Erick Oswoldo Perez Ruiz, Aria Nanji, Evan Fulcher, Nicole Kwan, Tuan Linh Leonard Do, Sage Mitchell, Brian DiFrancisco, Luke Doerge, Jay Hamilton

Mastering Engineer: Nicole Kwan

Artwork: Rayevan Art & Design

Photos: Rebecca Corliss Photography

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Elk Song Denver, Colorado

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