From On the River
Owashtenong Song
1. They made mats from your shoreline reeds
for their shelters near the sacred mounds.
They washed babies in your eddies as
Pow Wow drums made heartfelt sounds.
They were the ancestors who sang...
2 Red paddles and bark canoes brought men
with iron pots for beaver pelts
They hunted eggs and animals and
portaged your boisterous ice melts.
They were the French men who sang.....
3. Steamers brought goods and settlers
to build towns in your embrace
Lumbermen used your waterways
to get logs to Chicago in haste
The farmers and towns people sang...
4 Now dams have tamed our river.
Lovers dawdle on the river walk.
Past lighted bridges and buildings
they whisper their dreams in soft talk.
Today we are the ones who sing...
5 Some day the weeping willows will remind
of your bounteous sustenance.
How you took rains, refuse, and abuse
and kept beauty in your dance.
The future river people will sing...
Refrain:
From a Jackson spring to the big lake
our night-fires glow on your banks.
You endlessly give us so much
for many gifts we give you thanks.
Owashtenong, owashtenong.
We call this river our home.
Owashtenong owashtenong.
We call this river our home.
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These lyrics were submitted to us by Kathleen via email! We would like to invite anyone to create music to accompany these lyrics, or to create their own song.
Thank you Kathleen!
