The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #165543 Message #3972088
Posted By: GUEST
18-Jan-19 - 05:38 PM
Thread Name: Req: new songs re U.S. shutdown, wall, immigration
Subject: ADD: The Border Song (Sharyn Dimmick)
I've got one for you, Felipa. I wrote "The Border Song" in June 2018 right after we learned that the U.S. government was separating children from parents at the Southern border. I imagined a woman with children fleeing violence and seeking asylum and let her tell her story in the first person.
THE BORDER SONG
(Sharyn Dimmick)
I walked a long way, longer than you know.
I walked a long way, carrying my pain and fear.
I walked a long way -- I had nowhere else to go.
I walked a long way to get here.
When they shot at me, I helped the children hide.
When they raped me, I got up and walked away.
When they set fires and all my neighbors died
I knew there wasn't any way to stay.
I walked a long way, longer than you know.
I walked a long way, carrying my pain and fear.
I walked a long way -- I had nowhere else to go.
I walked a long way to get here.
And there's a man in Washington,
Calling me an alien,
Telling me that walking is a crime.
Well, I've seen murder
And I've seen arson
But now I am the one who's doing time.
I walked a long way, longer than you know.
I walked a long way, carrying my pain and fear.
I walked a long way -- I had nowhere else to go.
I walked a long way to get here.
And did you greet me, give me water, give me food,
Give me clothing, show me a warm bed?
No, you caged me, took the children of my blood:
Every night I hear them crying in my head.
I walked a long way, longer than you know.
I walked a long way, carrying my pain and fear.
I walked a long way -- I had nowhere else to go
I walked a long way to get here.
I walked a long way to get here.
Words and music by Sharyn Dimmick.
Copyright June 2018
All rights reserved
I also got a poet and activist, Arnoldo García, to translate it into Spanish for me as "Canción de la Frontera." I now have an E.P. called "The Border Song" with both the English and Spanish versions. Both versions were played last Saturday on "Folk Music and Beyond" on KALW 91.7 FM last Saturday as part of a "Songs of Immigration" show. That show is archived through today (1-18-19) on KALW.org so, if you hurry, you can hear the song there. I don't know how to post it here, but I'll ask Joe Offer to do the honors for me. You can PM me with any questions. I'll post the Spanish version in a separate message.