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How long did I wander before I found myself?
How long did I wander before I found myself...
In the graceful ways of water moving out of a river’s mouth In the sounding of the thunder before the rain came tumbling down
In the rays of the newborn sun at the dawning of the day
How long did I wander before I found my way to wonder...?
Hou……….. Hou……….. Hou………..
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haaaaaaïé…. ANAKWIKA…
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé, Haaaaaaïé… KPIWI…
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé… SAKHIWI…
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé, Haïé Haïéïé… ANAKWIKA…
Reviens à la forêt, fuis les bruits de la ville
Choisis des sentiers où tes pas guérissent les maux.
Reprends ton canot, retrouve le calme de l’eau.
Viens faire de ta vie un berceau pour ton âme fébrile.
Reviens à la forêt, fuis les bruits de la ville.
Reprends ton canot, retrouve le calme de l’eau…
Hou, hou, Anakwika
Hou, hou…
Hou, hou, Kpiwi
Hou, hou...
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé…
Hou, hou, Sakhiwi
Hou, hou...
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé, Haïé
Hou, hou, Anakwika
Hou, hou...
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé…
Hou… ANAKWIKA hou… ANAKWIKA hou…. ANAKWIKA hou… ANAKWIKA
Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé…, Haïé Haïé Haïé Haïé…
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Traduction des paroles abénakis - Translation of the Abenaki lyrics
*Trois mots en Abénakis pour signifier la forêt - Three Abenaki words for forest
ANAKWIKA: Ensemble d’arbres. - The word for all the trees as a group
KPIWI : Le nom que l’on donne à la forêt quand on la voit à partir de l’eau.
The word we use for the forest when we see it from the water
SAKHIWI : Quand nous sommes dans la forêt c’est ainsi qu’on la nomme.
The word for forest when we're IN the forest
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*see "about this track" section for the transcription of Stephen Augustine's loose translation of the Mi'kmaq words in which he explains the multilayered meaning of the word ji-ja-amij and the connection between our shadows and our ancestors in traditional Mi'kmaq culture...
seasons ever changing as she who borrows her light from the sun
turning and returning
language made of movement
these songs that we remember,
these stories that we know
ancients living on in our blood
and in our shadows
and in our shadows
and in our shadows
and in our shadows...
is it that nothing is forever
or every being is now
is there a time outside of time where we could live if we knew how
to let each breath be an unfolding
of a truth we've come to know
ancients living on in our blood
and in our shadows (we watch where we're walking...)
and in our shadows (we watch where we're walking...)
and in our shadows (we watch where we're walking...)
and in our shadows (we watch where we're walking...)
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In the beginning there was the word,
Then came the light and the water and the world
Was called in to existence
From the echo, from the echo, from the echo
From the echo from the echo from the echo
From the echo from the echo from echo
Of silence
And the music that made this first sound
Left its imprint in the bodies that have handed it down and so
Everyday the world is called into being
In the chords and the harmonies we seek to find freedom and it is
Calling out our names
It is calling out our names
It is calling out our names
It is calling out our names...
Ahskennon’nia iye’s
Ahskennon’nia ihchie’s
yawenda’
yarahkwa’
awen’
Satriho’tat
Tsatriho’tat
Kwatriho’tat
*repeat first and second verse interspersed
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*Traduction des paroles en Wendat - Translation of Wendat lyrics *
Ahskennon’nia iye’s :
Je vais bien (Litt. « je suis ou je vais en paix. » )
I am well (lit. "I am in peace" or "I go in peace"
Ahskennon’nia ihchie’s:
Tu vas bien? (Litt. « Es-tu ou vas-tu en paix? » )
Are you well? (lit. "are you in peace" or "do you go in peace?"
yawenda’:
Voix, Parole, Langue, Promesse
voice, word, language, promise
yarahkwa’:
Rayon de soleil ou Lumière du soleil
ray of sun or light of the sun
awen’: Eau - water
Satriho’tat: Écoute - listen (singular)
Tsatriho’tat: Écoutez - listen (you all)
Kwatriho’tat: Écoutons -listen (plural inclusive)
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*no direct translation of this adaptation available for the moment, but various versions of the full gwerz (song) can be found online
Ur werzenn nevez zo savet
War markiz Pontkalleg eo graet
Mignon a oa d'ar Vretoned
D'ar vourc'hizien ne lâran ket
Ha pa oa digoue't e Naoned
E oa barnet ha kondaonet
Kondaonet, naren d'an tud-par,
Nemet tud koue'et diouzh lost ar c'harr
Hag her reas betek ar marv
Marv neb a gare e vro
Traitour, ah! mallozh dit 'ta (traitors be damned!)
Traitour, ah! mallozh dit 'ta (traitors be damned!)
*waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting....
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*Translation of Atikamek'w lyrics in parentheses - *Traduction des paroles Atikamek’w en parenthèses
Ote nipe otciwin notcimik, Mocak niki takickowaw aski
(Je viens de ses terres, chaque jour j’ai été en contact - I come from these lands, each day I've been in contact)
Niki acamikw, niki nitakohikw, Kaie niki kiconikw
(Elle m’a nouri, elle m’a soigné, elle m’a vêtu - She fed me, she cared for me, she clothed me)
Aujourd’hui je rêve d’appartenir
A un people uni
Un monde sans frontières
Que mes racines traversent la terre
Elle qui nous tient entre ses mains
Elle qui nous connait depuis si longtemps
Elle qui nous connait depuis si longtemps
Nehirowisiw - (2fois)
(L’enfant de la terre - child of the earth)
Niki nihin e otci matisimak (2fois)
(Vivre en équilibre avec elle - to live in balance with her)
Anotc nokon e iti kipitinak, Wetisinaniwon, nama orina asperimonaniwon,
(Aujourd’hui plus personnes ne lui tient la main, tout est facile - Today no one holds her hand anymore, everything is easy)
Kitci acimaitc, kitci nitakohitc, Kaie kitci kiconitc,
(Pour se nourrir, pour se soigner, pour se vêtir - to feed oneself, to care for. oneself, to clothe oneself)
Aujourd’hui je rêve d’appartenir
A un monde où tous les êtres sont sacrés
Où on sait respecter et prendre soin de l’Abondance
Pour pouvoir le léguer aux enfants de demain
Pour pouvoir le léguer aux enfants de nos enfants
Nehirowisiw (2 fois)
(L’enfant de la terre - child of the earth)
Ekoni ke icinakok e ospesian ? (2 fois)
(Serait-ce ainsi à mon réveil ? - will it be this way when I wake? )
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Gille beag ò, gille lag ò (wee boy, delicate boy)
Gille beag ò nan caorach thu. (wee boy, you are of the sheep)
Gille nan caorachan, gille nan caorachan (boy of the sheep, boy of the sheep)
Gille nan caorachan, gaolach thu. (boy of the sheep, beloved are you )
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*Translation in parentheses - traduction en parenthèses
Síleann céad fear gur leo fhéin mé nuair a ólaim leann Téann dhá dtrian síos díom a nuair a smaoiním ar a gcomhrá liom
Sneachta séite bheith dhá shíor]-chur ar Shliabh Uí Fhloinn
‘S go bhfuil mo ghrá mar a bhláth na n-áirní gabháil ar 'n draighneán donn.
(A hundred men think I’m theirs when I drink ale.
But two-thirds of me dies when I think of their talk with me.
Blowing snow, constantly falling on Sliabh Uí Fhloinn
and my love is like the blossom of sloes on the blackthorn bush.)
Fuair mé féirín lá aonaigh ó bhuachaill deas
Agus céad póg ina dhiaidh sin ó phlúr na bhfear
Lá léin ar an té (a) déarfadh nach tú mo ghean
Is a(n) lá ina dhiaidh sin nach deas mar a d'éalóinn faoi na coillte leat
(I got a gift one fair day from a sweet boy
And a hundred kisses after that from the finest of men
Woe to anyone who would say you're not my darling
And the following day how happily I'd have stolen to the woods with you.)
'S nach fear gan chéill a théanns ag dréim leis an gcraobh bhíonns ard?
is crann beag íseal lena thaobh sin ar a leagfadh sé a láimh.
Cé gurb ard é an crann caorthainn bíonn sé searbh as a bharr
is fásann sméara is bláth sú craobha ar an gcrann is ísle bláth.
(Isn't it a foolish man would aim for the high branch
with a small low tree beside him he could lay his hand on?
Though the mountain ash is tall its fruit is bitter
and blackberries and raspberries grow on the bush of the lowest bloom.)
Má thig tú choíche tar san oíche go cúl a' tí
trathnóna nó go moch ar maidin nuair a bheas an drúcht 'na luí.
Cé nach labhraim bím ag meabhrú go mór i mo chroí.
Is gur tú mo chéadsearc, is ní féidir mo chumha a chloí.
(If you ever come,come at night to the back of the house
In evening or early morning when the dew is lying
Though I don't speak I think deeply in my heart
And you are my first love and I can't overcome my sorrow.)
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La Rencontre is a bridge between cultures and languages; an example of the beauty & friendship that emerges when we open ourselves to meeting "the other" without fear or preconceptions; a humble offering in honour of our ancestors, from wherever they may be, and the keepers of the languages & traditions that hold connection to the land & the sacredness of all things at their center; it is a drop in the ocean of movement towards cross-cultural healing & awareness. I sincerely hope these songs inspire you to take the time to learn more about your own heritage and the cultures that inhabit the places you live, to reach out to the unknown & let yourself be changed by new perspectives.
My deepest thanks to all the amazing artists and elders who have worked with me on this project over the last couple years and who have shared their hearts and stories with me, especially: Élise Boucher de Gonzague, Stephen Augustine, Andrée Levesque Sioui, Bear, Pascal & Sakay Ottawa, Marie Hamilton, Peadar Cox, Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Nicholas Williams & Louis Morneau, without whom these songs would not have come to life!
released February 16, 2020
Produced by Kyra Shaughnessy with the financial support of the Canada Arts Council (
canadacouncil.ca).
Recorded by: Cédric Dind-Lavoie, *An Draighneán donn, recorded by Nicholas Williams *Nehirowisiw recorded by Pascal Ottawa and Cédric Dind-Lavoie
Mix: Cédric Dind-Lavoie, Louis Morneau
Mastering: Louis Morneau
Album artwork: "Hope / a study of Migrations by Norval Morrisseau" by Carolina Echeverria
