From the recording My Life
“In 1838 the Cherokee people of Alabama were forcibly marched to a reservation in Oklahoma - many died horrifically on the trail of tears. However a few married into a white families and stayed behind… this is the story of my Grandmother’s Grandmother.”
Lyrics
My Grandmother’s Grandmother
By Kay Francis
Copyright ©️ Sept. 26, 2024 National Day of Truth and Reconciliation
My grandmother’s grandmother, Cherokee born,
Lost her home, Lost her name in the worlds changing storm,
With a heart full of silence, all she was now to hide,
Changed her life, but her spirit survived.
I never knew her, but the land calls my name,
Through the wind in the trees, I feel her the same,
I carry her hope, in every breath that I take,
And dream that someday, We’ll mend what she gave.
She let go of the tongue that sang from her soul
to conform to a life - her past life untold
I can feel her footsteps in the dirt neath my feet
but the land remembers - her native heart beat
I never knew her, but the land calls my name,
Through the wind in the trees, I feel her the same,
I carry her hope, in every breath that I take,
And dream that someday, We’ll mend what she gave.
My grandmother’s grandmother, her wisdom untold,
But I feel her in whispers, in rivers that flow,
I carry her story - like fire in my veins,
her sacrifice remembered - her spirit remains
I never knew her, but the land calls my name,
Through the wind in the trees, I feel her the same,
I carry her hope, in every breath that I take,
And dream that someday, We’ll mend what she gave.
My grandmother’s grandmother, Cherokee born,