Legend of the Warrior.....
Nov. 16th, 2005 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
poltr1I first heard this song a couple of years ago on WVXU, a local NPR station. It's a cross-cultural fusion, on which Joseph Fire Crow (on Native American flute), is backed by rock band instruments (piano, synth, bass, electric guitar, drums). The grandfather's spoken words, from The Lakota Way by Joseph Marshall III, are full of wisdom.
I found a copy of this on Tribal Legends, a compilation released by EarthBeat! records in 2002.
I find this song electrifying. So much so that I bought the CD for this one song. I think it's going to get a lot of play on the jukebox.
Legend of the Warrior / Keep Going
Joseph Fire Crow and Joseph Marshall III
2001
The young Lakota asked his grandfather why life had to be so difficult sometimes.
This was the old man's reply.
Grandfather says this:
In life, there is sadness as well as joy.
Losing as well as winning.
Falling as well as standing.
Hunger as well as plenty.
Bad as well as good.
Grandfather does not say this to make you despair,
but to teach you reality.
To teach you that life is a journey sometimes walked in light,
sometimes in shadow.
Grandfather says this: You did not ask to be born, but you are here.
You have weaknesses as well as strengths.
You have both because in life, there are two of everything.
Within you is the will to win, as well as the willingness to lose.
The heart to feel compassion, as well as the smallness to be arrogant.
Within you is the way to face life, as well as the fear to turn away from it.
Grandfather says this: Life can give you strength.
It can come from facing the storms of life,
from knowing loss, feeling sadness and heartache.
From falling into the depths of grief.
You must stand up in the storm
You must face the wind, and the cold, and the darkness.
When the storm blows hard, you must stand firm.
For it is not trying to knock you down,
it is really trying to teach you to be strong.
Grandfather says this: being strong means taking one more step
toward the top of the hill, no matter how weary you may be.
It means letting the tears flow through the grief.
It means to keep looking for the answer,
though the darkness of despair is all around you.
It means to cling to hope for one more heartbeat, for one more sunrise.
Each step, no matter how difficult, is one more step closer to the top of the hill.
To keep hope alive for one more heartbeat at a time
leads to the light of the next sunrise and the promise of a new day.
Grandfather says this: The weakest step toward the top of the hill,
toward the sunrise, toward hope,
is stronger than the fiercest storm.
Grandfather says this: Keep going.
(Lakota chanting)
I found a copy of this on Tribal Legends, a compilation released by EarthBeat! records in 2002.
I find this song electrifying. So much so that I bought the CD for this one song. I think it's going to get a lot of play on the jukebox.
Legend of the Warrior / Keep Going
Joseph Fire Crow and Joseph Marshall III
2001
The young Lakota asked his grandfather why life had to be so difficult sometimes.
This was the old man's reply.
Grandfather says this:
In life, there is sadness as well as joy.
Losing as well as winning.
Falling as well as standing.
Hunger as well as plenty.
Bad as well as good.
Grandfather does not say this to make you despair,
but to teach you reality.
To teach you that life is a journey sometimes walked in light,
sometimes in shadow.
Grandfather says this: You did not ask to be born, but you are here.
You have weaknesses as well as strengths.
You have both because in life, there are two of everything.
Within you is the will to win, as well as the willingness to lose.
The heart to feel compassion, as well as the smallness to be arrogant.
Within you is the way to face life, as well as the fear to turn away from it.
Grandfather says this: Life can give you strength.
It can come from facing the storms of life,
from knowing loss, feeling sadness and heartache.
From falling into the depths of grief.
You must stand up in the storm
You must face the wind, and the cold, and the darkness.
When the storm blows hard, you must stand firm.
For it is not trying to knock you down,
it is really trying to teach you to be strong.
Grandfather says this: being strong means taking one more step
toward the top of the hill, no matter how weary you may be.
It means letting the tears flow through the grief.
It means to keep looking for the answer,
though the darkness of despair is all around you.
It means to cling to hope for one more heartbeat, for one more sunrise.
Each step, no matter how difficult, is one more step closer to the top of the hill.
To keep hope alive for one more heartbeat at a time
leads to the light of the next sunrise and the promise of a new day.
Grandfather says this: The weakest step toward the top of the hill,
toward the sunrise, toward hope,
is stronger than the fiercest storm.
Grandfather says this: Keep going.
(Lakota chanting)
