Breaths

Listen more often to things than to beings
‘Tis the ancestor's breath when the fire's voice is heard
‘Tis the ancestor's breath in the voice of the waters.

Those who have died have never, never left
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the rustling trees
They are in the groaning woods
They are in the crying grass,
They are in the moaning rocks
The dead are not under the earth.

lyrics adapted from the poem by Birago Diop, music by Ysaye M. Barnwell
(C)1980

Breaths

Listen more often to things than to beings
‘Tis the ancestor's breath when the fire's voice is heard
‘Tis the ancestor's breath in the voice of the waters.

Those who have died have never, never left
The dead are not under the earth
They are in the rustling trees
They are in the groaning woods
They are in the crying grass,
They are in the moaning rocks
The dead are not under the earth.

lyrics adapted from the poem by Birago Diop, music by Ysaye M. Barnwell
(C)1980