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The Land, The Water, The Sky

by Black Belt Eagle Scout

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1.
I know you’re watching me I I know it’s hard to meet you Waking up when the sun is dark  I want to see the peaceful light but I know it’s hard to be here Might as well once or twice And I’m waking up in the dead of night I want to see my natural light but  I know you’re watching me I I know it’s hard to see  When you’re waking up is, light shining Wanna see the peaceful light but I don’t know what you mean well I don’t know who you see and Waking up is light shining Wanna see the peaceful light  My blood runs through this land I Wanna know what you hear when Thunder in the land and sphere We like to see our futures bright and I know you speak through me I Feel it in the sound of water Touching all the rocks I feel  No one can take this moment away cos My blood runs through this land I Find it in the land and sea I feel it like no other being My connection to this land Finally know what you mean when Finally know who you see when Waking up is so violent Wanna see the peaceful light 
2.
Sedna 04:26
One day you’ll love me so we can exist  The idea of love it just flows through my veins  When the end is near  I will hold you dear In the dawn of all my layers  When the tide is right I will hold you tight  In the way Ooh Look in your eyes  See you alive Long goodbye  Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye  Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye  One day you’ll know that I waited for you  On the island of birds you float through my meadow  “Say, you’ve arrived and I have it beyond the stars.  Under your eyes, into the light,” Sedna sang  When the end is near  I will hold you dear I will sing it through my layers  When the tide is right I will hold you tight  In the way Ooh Look in your eyes  See you alive Long goodbye  Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye  Look in your eyes  See it alive  Long goodbye  I wish I could save you by myself  But I know the sacrifice is loved  The village inches away in seldom  But I have the markings on myself 
3.
Bah bah bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah  In the Stinta Gray and white salmon swim upstream Yellow underneath the stream  Through the window  All I see is driving me away  Screaming in the distant sea  Bah bah bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah Bah bah  In the Stinta Gray and white salmon swim upstream Yellow underneath the stream  Bah bah bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah  Bah bah bah bah 
4.
Blue 03:16
Sleeping for all day  You used to feel unloved  Your life was so lonely  Looking for you  And life is overwhelming  Listen to the darkest times Darkest of our lives  Blue 
5.
On the River 01:53
I want it here  On the river I want it here Through your lips I want it here But I can’t see you But I can feel Your energy
6.
Nobody 04:46
Yeah I feel it in my bones  And I find it through my home  I see it in my dreams  Like a whisper spoke to me  Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you all the time  Yeah I feel it in my bones  Like the lines you carve for me  And it moves right through my skin  I can hear it in the breeze  Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you Nobody sang it for me like I wanna sing it to you all the time 
7.
Fancy Dance 02:12
Wanna see me tear up the fancy dance? Snagging on my birthday is no surprise  Last night I’ll always remember you  Maya said she’d tell you on the phone Everybody loves you, you already know Last night I’ll always remember  Always Always Always Always  Lying there in the nude 
8.
You know I saw a part of you that’s there You know there’s not a part of me that’s not there I feel it every time I walk through you  I know it’s like a part of me is you  I know what is a part of me today I wish I could explain to you someday  I see the way you look at me dancing  I see the way you love me I’m dancing 
9.
Treeline 05:36
I saw you standing in the treeline  What do you see there falling?  Do you hear it too? Trying to see inside myself  Wanting to rip inside my body  Like a demon  When I sit this way I can’t see you  When I sit this way I can’t see you  When I sit this way I can’t see you  And I save myself  I saw you standing in the treeline  What do you want to see inside myself? I saw you standing there  Trying to look inside of me  When I sit this way I can’t see you  When I sit this way I can’t see you  When I sit this way I can’t see you  And I save myself  I wish I woulda told on you  So I wouldn’t be on fire
10.
I know it’s wrong to love everyone but myself but Sometimes I can’t even hold me  Sometimes I can’t even find time for myself yet Here I am understanding 
11.
Spaces 04:06
The spaces here today I’d have never leave you here The look into those eyes I could see them full of tears Give in, give in, give in Tonight You know I’ve been believing in you Tonight
12.
Slow, important love It keeps me alive You wanted a second chance at life Well you’re alive You hear your heart beating You walk under the trees Engulfed by beauty I just hold you here with me I don’t give up I don’t give up I don’t give up I don’t give up anymore I don’t give up You heard it here today I told you my story That I found healing in you Windy leaves are flowing And in these leaves They come from people who grow But we’re to listen, guide us I want everyone to know I don’t give up I don’t give up I don’t give up I don’t give up anymore I don’t give up anymore I don’t give up I don’t give up anymore I was only seventeen I was only seventy The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, the sky The land, the water, and the sky

about

This land runs through Katherine Paul’s blood. And it called to her. In dreams she saw the river, her ancestors, and her home. When the land calls, you listen. And KP found herself far from her ancestral lands during a time of collective trauma, when the world was wounded and in need of healing. In 2020 she made the journey from Portland back to the Skagit River, back to the cedar trees that stand tall and shrouded in fog, back to the tide flats and the mountains, back to Swinomish.

It is a powerful thing to return to our ancestral lands and often times the journey is not easy. Like the salmon through the currents, like the tide as it crawls to shore this is a story of return. It is the call and response. It is the outstretched arms of the people who came before, welcoming her home. The Land, The Water, The Sky is a celebration of lineage and strength. Even in its deepest moments of loneliness and grief, of frustration over a world wrought with colonial violence and pain, the songs remind us that if we slow down, if we listen to the waves and the wind through the trees, we will remember to breathe.

There is a throughline of story in every song, a remembrance of knowledge and teachings, a gratitude of wisdom passed down and carried. There is a reimagining of Sedna who was offered to the sea, and a beautiful rumination on sacrifice and humanity, and what it means to hold the stories that work to teach us something.

Chord progressions born out of moments of sadness and solitude transform into the islands that sit blue along the horizon. The Salish Sea curves along her homelands, and when the singer is close to this water she is reminded of her grandmother, how she looked out at these same islands, and she’s held by spirit and memory.

The Land, The Water, The Sky rises and falls, in darkness and in light, but even in its most melancholy moments it is never despairing. That is the beauty of returning home. When you stand on ancestral lands it is impossible to be alone. You feel the arms and hands that hold you up, unwilling to let you fall into sorrow or abandonment. In her songs Katherine Paul has channeled that feeling of being held. In every note she has written a love letter to indigenous strength and healing.

There is a joy present here, a fierce blissfulness that comes with walking the trails along the river, feeling the sand and the stones beneath her feet. It is the pride and the certainty that comes with knowing her ancestors walked along the same land, dipped their hands into the water, and ran their fingertips along the same bark of cedar trees.

This is a story of hope, as it details the joy of returning. Katherine Paul’s journey home wasn’t made alone, and the songs are crowded with loved ones and relatives, like a really good party. And as the songs walk us through the land it is important we hover over the images and the beauty, the moments that mark this album as site specific. The power of this land is woven throughout, telling the story of narrow waterways, brush strokes, salmon stinta, and above all healing.

Let it take you. Move through the story and see the land through her eyes, because it is a gift, a welcomed sʔabadəb.*

*The word “gift” in Lushootseed, the language of the Coast Salish people“

credits

released February 10, 2023

Written, Composed, and Lyrics by Katherine Paul

Produced by Takiaya Reed
Produced by Katherine Paul
Mixed by Nicholas Wilbur
Engineered by Nicholas Wilbur
Mastered by Nicholas Wilbur

Recorded at Anacortes Unknown Recording Studio in Coast Salish Territory (Anacortes, WA)

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