© David Watts (lyrics & arrangement) 1985
Tune to chorus – Gordon Lightfoot: “The Old Man came Home from the Forest” – used by permission
From Québec and the British Isles they came to work for the Hudson’s Bay
Built homes along the river, traded with the USA
The lived among the Indians and married native wives
Hunted for the buffalo, lived simple rugged lives.
Now Ottawa was planning to annex the Western plains
But the Métis stopped the survey crew and stood upon their chain
“Our hopes, our lands we’ll fight to keep; for them to make us yield
“They’ll have to march their armies across the Canadian Shield:
“We make speak a different language but we share a common land
And if the East ignores us now, in time they’ll understand
We’re a mix of tribes and peoples but brothers of Riel
And if we stand together, we can do it for ourselves.”
And march they did, from Canada, a thousand miles by land
But not before Macdonald bowed to the Métis’ just demands
Their colony a Province, their language guaranteed
The lands on which they squatted confirmed by title deed.
Fifteen years and further west it happened once again
The Métis of Saskatchewan were huddled on the plains
The buffalo were vanishing, the Indians fenced on farms
A famine raged, Riel returned, and gave the call to arms.
“We make speak a different language but we share a common land
And if the East ignores us now, in time they’ll understand
We’re a mix of tribes and peoples but brothers of Riel
And if we stand together, we can do it for ourselves.”
But this time things were different and the frontier was no more
And Riel faced an opponent he’d not had to face before
The CPR, though penniless, was almost now complete
He planned without the Railway; that led to his defeat.
Five thousand troops in just two weeks were rushed out to the site
As the call went out to Canada to come and join the fight
T’was Riel that saved the Railway that brought his people down
And Parliament approved a loan that saw the job was done.
In November at Craigellachie the final link was wrought
In Regina, nine days defeat, another line pulled taut
The line between the oceans choked the lifeline of the trains
And Métis ghosts re-echo in the whistle of the trains.
The West is restless once again and coming to her prime
The lords who run the Railway now live here on the line
They’re trying to learn our language, and listen when we say
“Riel il nous appelle encore, ‘Vive la liberté:’
“Même si on parle diffèrement, on partage un seul pays
Même si l’est nous ignore maintenant, un jour nous serons compris
De toutes les tribus et langues, nous sommes frères avec Riel
On y parviendra en se tenant ensemble et fidèle.”
“We make speak a different language but we share a common land
And if the East ignores us now, in time they’ll understand
We’re a mix of tribes and peoples but brothers with Riel
And if we stand together, we can do it for ourselves.”