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I dreamt I saw a woman,
Standing by the strand,
Waiting for her people,
To come in from the land.
Waiting there for seven days,
She built a fire in the sand,
Waiting for her people,
To come in from the land.
She had the look of a refugee,
Hiding in her eyes,
And when I tried to talk to her,
She answered with a cry,
And pointed to the water,
Out beyond the harbourline,
Where a thousand ships lay waiting,
They lay waiting for my sign.
But I remember days of sunlight,
With my father by my side,
And the children ran before us,
Like the foam upon the tide.
We ran like frightened partridge,
When the strangers came to talk,
Bringing sickness 'round them,
And the thunder in their walk.
We ran into the valleys,
And we ran into the hills,
The young they ran before us,
Driven by a stranger's will.
But I remember days of sunlight,
With my father by my side;
And the children ran before us,
Like the foam upon the tide.
I'm waiting by the landwash,
With the giant standing near,
I see them coming always,
All the children and their fear.
I'm waiting on my blanket,
And the giant waits with me,
And I will wait here always,
As they fill the endless sea.
But I remember days of sunlight,
With my father by my side;
And the children ran before us,
Like the foam upon the tide.
But I remember days of sunlight,
With my father by my side;
And the children ran before us,
Like the foam upon the tide.
I remember days of sunlight,
And I remember children;
And I remember days of sunlight,
And I remember ... I remember ... I remember ...
Notes:
When Newfoundland was discovered, no one really knew how many Beothuks lived there. 2,000 is probably a fair estimate. By 1768, only 400 were left, and by 1829, they were extinct. Demasduit (1796?-1820) was one of the last of the Beothuk Indians. She was the wife of the last Beothuk chief, Nonosbawsut. She was captured in 1819 and died of Influenza at Ship Cove, Bay of Exploits, January 8, 1820.
