From the recording The Land, The Sea, The People
Written by Adam Ruzzo
Adam Ruzzo Guitar/Vocals
Tom Fitzgerald Fiddle
Liam Smith Bass
Max Senitt Drums
This song is dedicated to a fellow named Alex, who some know as "The Last Anishnabe". The Anishabe (or Ojibway) people lived in Northern Ontario/Quebec for Millenia prior to Europeans arriving to Canada. They lived completely off the land as hunter gatherers. Alex was born into a traditional Anishnabe family and grew up dogsledding, hunting and trapping in his ancestral lands. After going through the school system and the workforce, Alex returned to his remote homeland in the Temagami wilderness, he's been there for 30+ years and counting. I met him here under the old growth pines at the shores of a calm, isolated lake and had to write a tribute to him.
Lyrics
I was born on this land,
Of the pine and endless lake,
Raised by ancient hands,
Who knew of the old ways
Now an elder I stand,
On the shores of my birthplace
All I've ever known,
Were the rocky shores of home,
Of first light, where the old trails go,
And how those golden rays and darker days,
Dance the year away
Told by the white man,
To shed my savage ways,
Their school I began,
To learn and integrate,
I'd become a workin man,
Live life their "Normal way",
Well all I've ever known,
Were the rocky shores of home,
Of first light, where the old trails go,
And how those golden rays and darker days,
Dance the year away
So I made up a plan,
To get out of their race,
Go where Spirit Rock stands,
In the last untouched place,
Now the last one I am,
To be Anishnabe
Well All I've ever known,
Were the rocky shores of home,
Of first light, where the old trails go,
And how those golden rays and darker days,
Dance the year away