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Sedna of the Sea (live)

from the StorySinger set: Live in Germany by Leslie Hudson

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about

When the worst happens, how do we survive it? Rage is an option for many, especially at the start. This song was inspired by the journey of the Inuit goddess, Sedna, collected and edited by Jane Yolen in Favorite Folktales from Around the World, and first appeared on The Wanderlings Volume One (2015).

lyrics

Long ago, when the sea was void of life, a vacant swell
When the people hunted only on the land, the stories tell
I was raised in an igloo by my father on the shore
And refused to marry any of the hunters who implored me

Kayak-borne, came a man to me one day who promised more
And I sailed off with my chosen one beyond familiar shores
But alas, he was a spirit-bird and not a man at all
Island-bound and living lonely as the loon’s elusive call

Oh, the sea she is churning
Down where the medicine men go
To comb out her long hair
They comb out her long hair
Her long, tangled black hair
And soften her so

So I prayed that my father would deliver me from there
And he came and took me home from that cold place of my despair
But the sea became a black and angry boiling underneath
As our boat was tossed upon the waves that rose and fell beneath our feet

All at once I felt my father push me hard and in I fell
Overboard into the frigid Arctic waters of the swell
“Father, please!” I screamed in terror as the sea-ice sucked me down
But in his eyes I saw his fear and knew he’d rather let me drown

Clawing, I clung to the edge of his kayak
The storm would not be quelled
Swinging his paddle he cut off my fingers
In agony I yelled
But the sea took me under
To the dark ocean floor
And I started to wonder
What dying was for
Surviving on rage
I remember the pain
For this water’s my cage
And these animals stained
They are pieces of me
That were severed and bled
All the creatures you see
Are now my companions instead

Oh, the sea she is churning
Down where the medicine men go
To comb out her long hair
They comb out her long hair
Her long, tangled black hair
And soften her so
They soften Sedna so

credits

from the StorySinger set: Live in Germany, released May 1, 2020

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Leslie Hudson Stratford, Ontario

Leslie Hudson is a Canadian singer songwriter and pianist. Their albums range from storytelling styles to bluesy bar rock to dialed-up, full-band homages to pop culture. With lyrical piano skills and a voice that cuts through the crowd, their songs dive deep into archetype and folklore, modernizing ancient voices & shining a spotlight on the shadowy paths we walk through life, myth and media. ... more

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