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Speak Again

by Elexa Dawson

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about

“Speak Again” is Elexa Dawson’s third single since her solo debut album, Music is Medicine. The song began as a pandemic collaboration between the Hon. Jack Markell (former governor of Delaware) and Elexa, as he sought to work with a Potawatomi musician to compose an arrangement to a poem he’d written and titled “Nine Remain” inspired by Kimmerrer’s Braiding Sweetgrass. “Speak Again” is a call to remembering Indigenous languages “near erased.” Somber and driving, “Speak Again” sparkles with cosmic country depth.

lyrics

How they must have felt when our elders lost their way,
deprived of ancient words amid the autumn maize
I tried to understand, to learn the music from those days
Words were hard to comprehend, but the rhythm held its sway

We danced with those who’ve gone before their shadows from the moon
Their rings of fire speak to me our elders haunting tune
And though they may be quiet, a language near erased
Where once a nation spoke as one, only nine remain. Only nine remain.

Tobacco to the elders, can i learn our native tongue?
But there were very few who still communed beneath the sun
They see us in our struggle to learn the language that they spoke
Our pitiful expressions sending prayers amid the smoke

We danced with those who’ve gone before their shadows from the moon
Their rings of fire speak to me our elders haunting tune
Let their voices be remembered, let the language take its place
Where once a nation spoke as one, we will speak again. We will speak again.

Kekyananek (our elders)
Penojenanek (our children)

Let their voices be remembered, let the language take its place
Where once a nation spoke as one, we will speak again. We will speak again.

credits

released November 21, 2022
Written by Elexa Dawson with lyricist Jack Markell
Engineered and produced by Lost Cowgirl Records
Music: Elexa Dawson, Kelby Kimberlin, Martin Farrell, Jenna Rae
Audio Mixing: Moonflower Sounds, Peter Oviatt
Mastering: Brody Wellman
Special thanks to Robin Wall Kimmerer, for the gift of honorable words

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Elexa Dawson Kansas

Elexa creates community-focused Americana music with soulful vocals and connection to land. Oklahoma Native, Elexa now calls Kansas her home.

Wanderlust is Elexa's sophomore release (Feb 2024) collaboration with Stanley Hotel.

Front for Heyleon and Weda Skirts. Potawatomi activist and educator, Elexa facilitates songwriting workshops, talking circles, and relational plant education. ... more

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