Story Behind The Song
my friend senti was born in nagaland. she belongs to the ao tribe. her great grandfather was jailed by the british for headhunting.
nagas have always cut of the heads of their enemies.
they displayed the skulls in their villages as signs of courage. the nagas are warrior tribes that live in the hills of northeast india, between assam and the border to burma. they are a very musical people. every naga is a singer. senti toy, her sister yala and her little daughter nhumi are my backup singers on this song. their old music, work songs, festival chants and poetic ballads, is almost extinct. the missionaries, that came to nagaland in the beginning of the last century felt threatened by it and tried to replace it with prayers and hymns. i was invited to visit senti?s family last year. it is almost impossible for foreigners to enter nagaland. my permit had at least 10 different signatures and stamps on it. everywhere I went, little kids came running and stared and whispered. they had never seen anyone that looks like me. we stayed in the house were senti?s parent?s live, high up on a hill.
the first night there, i sat outside and looked over the valley. and i wrote the words to this song. in the choruses we chant like nagawomen do when they work.
Song Description
A song inspired by the Naga singing of Nagaland, a once head-huning people in north-east India up on the mountains.
| Song Length |
5:07 |
Genre |
World - General, Pop - Alternative |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Female Vocal |
| Mood |
Serene, Enchanting |
Subject |
Life, General |
| Similar Artists |
Paul Simon, Bob Dylan |
Language |
English |
| Era |
2000 and later |
| |
Lyrics
O hey o hey?.
Nighttime, in a house on a hill
It?s quiet, just a dog barks outside on occasion
The rain starts, immediately stops again
No stars, they?re hiding in the milky fog
Mist rising from the valley to the sky.
O hey o hey?.
At daybreak, I go to work again
In the rice fields, an emerald wave on the side of a mountain
On my way home, I wash my hair in a stream
I run to the kitchen fire?s warmth
We?ll drink rice wine, wake the rhythm in our blood
And then we?ll dance.
O hey o hey?
I call on the spirit in the flowers and the trees
I sing to the heavens high over me
I call on jesus, have mercy on me
Would you carry my soul to eternity