Lyrics

Grandfather, Hear My Breath

[Intro]
[soft drum heartbeat
Distant flute]
Grandfather
Old one
You whose breath moves the clouds
You whose hands carved these hills
I speak as your granddaughter
Small voice
Under this wide
Watching sky

[Verse 1]
Smoke climbs slow
From our tired fires
Children cough in the night
Their sleep cut in pieces
The healers’ songs
Grow hoarse with crying
Herbs in their baskets
Thin as the moon

Our river belly shows its stones
Cracked tongue of earth
Elders press dry lips
To empty gourds
We walk farther
And farther
To find enough
For one more pot of soup

[Chorus]
Grandfather
Hear my breath
It rises like this smoke
Carry it higher than the hawk can fly
Please Grandfather
Save our people
Hold our names in your great hand
Do not let us fade
Like tracks in the wind

[Verse 2]
The hunting paths are quiet
Grass stands unbroken
We follow the old trails
Calling to the herds
But the heavy thunder
Of hooves
Does not answer
Only our own footfalls
And the beating in our chests

Small bellies ache
Mothers chew roots
So their children can swallow
Fathers count arrows
With nothing to follow
Our stories speak of plenty
Of dark backs rolling like waves
Now we kneel in open fields
And touch only dust

[Chorus]
Grandfather
Hear my breath
It rises like this smoke
Carry it higher than the hawk can fly
Please Grandfather
Save our people
Hold our names in your great hand
Do not let us fade
Like tracks in the wind

[Bridge]
If some path is hidden
Turn our eyes to it
If some fault is ours
Turn our hearts to see
Teach us again
How to walk in balance
How to share each drop
Each crust
Each day

Let the sick find rest
Under your blanket of stars
Let cool water remember
The way to our hands
Let moving shadows
Return to these plains
So our children may learn
The sound of plenty

[Chorus]
Grandfather
Hear my breath
It trembles
But it climbs
Higher
Higher
Where your wisdom sits (ohh)
Please Grandfather
Save our people
Set your mercy like the dawn
On every face
That waits for light

Grandfather
Hear my breath
This small
Unbroken thread
Tie our spirits to tomorrow’s song
Please Grandfather
Save our people
If we must bend
Let us not break
Let your kindness fall
Like long-awaited rain

[Outro]
[flute answers softly
Drum fades]
Old one
I place these words
At your feet
As a child lays berries
In her mother’s hand
I trust you hear
I trust you see
Until your answer comes
I will keep this fire
For our people