Lyrics

Buffalo Prayer For The Children

[Verse 1]
Hó-ya
Little ones
Come sit close by the fire
Long before these fences rose
The buffalo shaped our lives

One step fed a village
One hide kept us warm
We followed their wandering hearts
Like stars across the dawn

[Chorus]
Buffalo prayer for the children (hey-ya, hey-ya)
Remember every gift you take
Walk soft on the earth beneath you
Give something back for every break
Buffalo prayer for the children (ho-ya, ho-ya)
Be grateful with every breath
Honor the ones who came before you
So nothing living dies in waste

[Verse 2]
Hó-ya
I tell you this
We hunted with open hands
Spoke thanks over every life
And shared what the buffalo planned

Bones turned into needles
Sinew into thread
Nothing left forgotten
We honored even the dead

[Chorus]
Buffalo prayer for the children (hey-ya, hey-ya)
Remember every gift you take
Walk soft on the earth beneath you
Give something back for every break
Buffalo prayer for the children (ho-ya, ho-ya)
Be grateful with every breath
Honor the ones who came before you
So nothing living dies in waste

[Bridge]
Now the roads run far and wide
Screens glow late at night (oh-woah)
But the old ones still are watching
In the rivers
In the light

So when you throw away your food
Or forget to say a grace
Think of how one buffalo
Could feed a whole camp’s face

[Chorus]
Buffalo prayer for the children (hey-ya, hey-ya)
Remember every gift you take
Walk soft on the earth beneath you
Give something back for every break
Buffalo prayer for the children (ho-ya, ho-ya)
Be grateful with every breath
Honor the ones who came before you
So nothing living dies in waste

[Outro]
Hó-ya
Little ones
Carry this in your song
Live like the buffalo taught us
Take only what makes you strong