Song for the Water

Song for the Water was written collaboratively by more than 250 community members and school children from Six Nations of the Grand River, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Haldimand County, led by musicians Logan Staats and Rob Lamothe in partnership with Suzie Miller, an Indigenous Coach with the Grand Erie District School Board.

As part of the Great Art for Great Lakes 2019 program (a partner of this research), Rob Lamothe of Haldimand County and Logan Staats of Six Nations shared scientific information about Lake Erie and the Grand River at each of their workshops. They facilitated discussion on our connections to water, how we are all neighbours living on the Grand, and that the river and the lake connect us, physically and emotionally. The creation of Song for the Water involved collaborative song writing workshops with 200 students, 25 at a time, in four schools (two in Haldimand and two at Six Nations). Two additional workshops were open to the public, one in Haldimand and one at Six Nations.

This song can be heard and freely downloaded or embedded via Rob Lamothe's Bandcamp page, https://roblamothe.bandcamp.com/track/song-for-the-water. On his page, he writes:

"The journey to 'Song for the Water' began in April of this year. Or maybe it began years before when Logan and Rob met at the Six Nations Community Hall, introduced to each other by Jace Martin. Or maybe it's been waiting to be written since the glaciers carved out the space that Lake Erie fills now. You can never tell with songs."

The lyrics for Song for the Water can be found on Rob's page, above, and are included below.

verse 1- I’m sorry for the trouble, Everything I left behind. This messed up world, Running out of time. The weight is on your shoulders, You better save… your… strength.

verse 2- This ain’t a battle cry, More like a war. You shake the rattle, It opens up a door. The weight is on your shoulders, You better save… your… self.

chorus 1- We are the water, We are the shore. We are the calm, We are the storm. The wind on the weathervane, We are a Hurricane. My sons and my daughters, We are the water…

verse 3- Welcome to tomorrow, There’s no time to waste. Blood and sweat and tears, I know we made mistakes. Every drop of this river, Is another good, good day.

chorus 2- We are the water, We are the shore. We are the calm, We are the storm. The wind on the weathervane, We are a Hurricane. My sons and my daughters, We are the water… My sons and my daughters, We are the water…

bridge- My heart sings, (whoa oh, oh-oh) And the turtles sing, (whoa oh, oh-oh) And the trees sing, (whoa oh, oh-oh) Everything sings… (whoa oh, oh-oh)

And the children sing, (whoa oh, oh-oh) And the river sings. (whoa oh, oh-oh) All the people sing… (whoa oh, oh-oh!)

breakdown chorus- We are the water, We are the shore. We are the calm, We are the storm. The wind on the weathervane, We are a Hurricane. My sons and my daughters, We are the water.