Music
Craig Ginn - Spirit To Be
The Animal Kinship Project
Getting Started
Not long after I had finished the Songs of Justice Project in 2021, I was asked what my next music project would be about. Next project? I wasn’t sure if I was up to the task creatively, and I did not have an album concept in mind for a follow-up project. Upon reflection, the references to bison and eagles referenced in the Songs of Justice Project served to provide a sequel. While these references were meaningful, I knew there was more to say about animals. And as I started to think about their presence and impact, song ideas started to develop. It took almost three years, but here it is, an album dedicated to animal kinship.
Personal Connection
This project is only a small glimpse into the vast world of animals. The animals I write about in the album are native to the lands known to me; lands that know me. The album cover features a polar bear walking on the shores of Hudson Bay near Churchill, the photo taken by Paul Souders. 1 The image provides a personal connection for me to land, water, sky, and animals. I grew up in Northern Manitoba until grade eleven, my early childhood years in Churchill. The first song I wrote was about a flock of Canada geese. I can still remember the words:
Vs 1
The geese are lovely just like you
Their feathers are damp like the morning dew
They fly like your hair on a windy day
They sound like your voice when I hear you say
Chorus
I can see the geese in the sky
I can even hear them fly by
Where are they going and why?
No one knows besides you and I
Vs 2
The geese in the sky fly lovely
The geese in the sky fly noiselessly
The geese in the sky fly swiftly
The geese in the sky fly beautifully
OK, the second verse loses the plot, but I was only nine. Many years later you might say I’ve come back full circle, a bit like the geese returning to the north after wintering in a warmer climate.
Inspired by Teachings and Research
From the outset I wanted to write lyrics that were informed by Indigenous histories and worldviews. I was inspired by the Seven Grandfather Teachings 2 that uphold the values of respect, love, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility, and truth, each value represented by a different animal. 3 For example, the buffalo represents respect. In January 2023 I attended a meeting of the Continental Bison Working Group, a group dedicated to restoring bison herds. 4 The meeting featured presentations and discussions including Elders, tribal policy directors, buffalo herd managers and researchers, as well as those who work in education, parks and wildlife conservation, law and policy, veterinary medicine, and more. At the time I was working on Let the Mountains Hide You, a song that recounts the near extinction of the bison. 5 The meeting was a landmark experience for me. I came away with increased confidence that the Animal Kinship Project could contribute to meaningful research and educational resources.
From the Deep pays tribute to the majesty and destiny of Orca Travel Without Me commemorates the loss of Inuit sled dogs Lord of Rivers acclaims the engineering mastery of the beaver Let the Mountains Hide You recounts the near extinction of the plains bison Wonders of the Sky acknowledges the dominion of the soaring eagle To the Wild honours the spirit of wolf as the spirit of the wild Raven recalls the raven as a symbol of transformation Ever Wandering One venerates Nanuq’s journey through every storm and season Messenger of Destiny narrates a life-changing encounter with a snowy owl This Life Mystery contemplates the spirit of life awake in all beings
Through the Continental Bison Working Group I met Jordan Kennedy, an interdisciplinary field researcher with strong ties to her Blackfeet tribal community. In October 2023, the International Indigenous Studies Program hosted Jordan at the University of Calgary in partnership with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and the Faculty of Science. Jordan’s plenary talk, “Building Like a Beaver, Moving Like a Buffalo, Singing Like a Bird: Interdisciplinary Land - based Research Within Tribal Lands” included highlights from her PhD research. 6 I was recording a song at the time that celebrated the beaver’s extraordinary capacity to build. I was confident that I was on the right track with the lyrics, but Jordan expanded my horizons as I learned that beavers not only build intricate dams but also shape entire ecosystems with extensive canals. Lord of Rivers, a rock anthem celebrating the engineering mastery of the beaver, seemed more and more a worthy title and fitting music genre.
Awareness and Survival
I have learned to appreciate the reverence for the beaver among the Blackfoot peoples, which differs from my experiences in Northern Manitoba, where trapping beaver was common. I was most interested to learn that Peter Fidler had a similar experience over 230 years ago when he traveled from York Factory to the Rocky Mountains to map the fur-trade route. Fidler, a significant figure in Métis history and ancestry, recounts in his journal how the Piikani were reluctant to kill beaver. 7 As described by James Daschuk, “Archaeological studies indicate that an important prehistoric adaptation to the grasslands was a prohibition on the killing of beaver as a means to manage water supplies in a region prone to drought.” 8 In Blackfoot Ways of Knowing Betty Bastien describes the beaver and otter as “potent underwater beings” essential to maintaining the cosmic world of balance 9 and, that more generally, animals gave knowledge to humans who otherwise had no knowledge of survival on earth. 10
In these songs I reflect on some ways that humans have survived because of animals, such as the polar bear teaching humans to hunt and the beaver teaching humans to build. Arguably, even if human life came into being in the absence of animals, I’m not sure that humans would have had much of a chance to survive without them. So, while I have tried to feature Indigenous worldviews that value kinship with animals and include histories that have impacted Indigenous peoples, these songs are for humans, regardless of Euro-centric or Indigenous worldviews. We can all gain from an increased awareness of animals. And for what it’s worth, I believe that animals can teach us how to be better humans.
Selecting a Title
Reading through the song lyrics and looking for a stand-alone phrase or term that represented animal kinship I settled on the phrase “spirit to be” from the final song This Life Mystery. Understanding the origins of life and the parameters of consciousness is a longstanding endeavour, and many humans across cultures, communities, tribes, nations, religions, and philosophies have developed ways of knowing to understand being.11
Questions in the Songs
While looking for a phrase, I noticed that I asked many questions in these songs. Twenty-five, to be exact! There are rhetorical questions that emphasize the impact of animals. I ask Orca, “Who is not silenced by your presence from the shoreline?” I ask Eagle, “Where is the nation that does not know your name?” In my attempt to speak for qimmiit I ask a vital question of kinship and loss, “How will you travel without me?” I draw attention to the Qikiqtani Truth Commission 12 in asking about the deaths of sled dogs, “Who would shoot us by the hundreds, by the thousands?” and “Did they bring you to your knees when they sent us to our graves?” There are questions I ask to gain understanding from animals. Of the birds I ask, “Will you make your home in these familiar skies? Or will you travel with the changing seasons of life?” I bring questions of knowing and being to Orca asking, “What is your nature, your language, your incarnation? Finally, there is one question that I asked of myself about the impact of animals, “Will I learn from their ways to journey on this path?” These questions are not just a display of curiosity but, I trust, a testament to humility. In the Seven Grandfather Teachings, humility is represented by the wolf.
An Educational Resource
The Animal Kinship Project is an educational resource – which I believe it is. Still, I will admit that I have sometimes erred from romanticizing the wild and idealizing animals. Perhaps this tendency is to be expected due to poetic license that tends toward hyperbole. Lyricists can easily default to idealism and exaggerate love and devotion when writing about humans. Would a human really walk 500 miles to fall down at another human’s door as sung by the Proclaimers? Or, living up to Vanessa Carlton’s lyrics, walk 1000 miles just to see them tonight? 13 The promises in these songs may express the best of intentions but who can actually travel these distances? And does anyone expect that they will even try? In contrast, think of the remarkable will and endurance of animals. In the summer of 2018, a female orca carried her lifeless calf for seventeen days and more than 1,000 miles. 14 In 2008 a polar bear was tracked swimming 426 miles continuously for 232 hours. 15 Perhaps a bit of idealism is warranted. Animals have inspired humans since time immemorial. In Wonders of the Sky I depict the eagle’s capacity to inspire bravery, freedom, and truth across generations, empires and nations. In the Seven Grandfather Teachings the eagle represents love. Indigenous peoples honour the eagle, seen as a messenger to link the physical and spiritual worlds. 16 The eagle was observed to fly higher than other birds and trusted to carry prayers to Creator, its feathers considered sacred. The recent introduction of the eagle feather in Canadian courtrooms to hold while swearing oaths is a tangible way to honour Indigenous worldviews and is another step towards Truth and Reconciliation, even if a small one. 17
Parallel Paths
Elders and Traditional Knowledge Keepers carry ancestral understandings of life and the world, including land, water, vegetation, seasons, climate, and animals. In particular, region-specific knowledge can be helpful in education and wellbeing. I have been fortunate to witness efforts to include Indigenous knowledges in academia. The Indigenous Strategy at the University of Calgary supports relational reciprocity and walking together in a good way, encouraging parallel paths by “weaving Euro-centric and Indigenous worldviews.” 18 In my research of the Christian missionary impulse and participation in Truth and Reconciliation, I am interested in the intersections and differences between Indigenous and Christian worldviews. In his seminal work God is Red, Vine Deloria Jr. contrasted the worldviews of tribal religions with the Christian religion. For Deloria Jr. tribal religions value kinship between humans and other living beings as “a great conception” shared by many tribes in distinction to the alienation between different life forms that is shaped by Christian readings of the Genesis account. 19 Might kinship with animals help these traditions walk together in a good way? In Raven and To the Wild I have tried to weave stories and traditions. Some listeners will recognize the reference to the Genesis flood narrative in Raven, which shares the archetypal figures of Creator and animal helpers known in many flood stories. 20 I have also braided references to the wolf in the song To the Wild, setting Isaiah’s apocalyptic image of the wolf living with the lamb 21 parallel to “the Pawnee conceptualization of the wolf” 22 as a cosmic symbol of renewal, “who was the first to be killed and the first to return from the dead.” 23 I have watched with interest as animal theology and the ethical treatment of animals have gained momentum in western Christianity due in part to interaction with eco-theology and Indigenous knowledges. But kindness and kinship are not synonymous. In kinship humans respect relationality with animals and the interconnectedness of life.
Healing and Meaning
The increasing urbanization of our lives can create a cityscape environment that diminishes our awareness of wildlife and interconnectedness. I wonder how many of us consider ourselves and our lives to be removed from land and animals. In the song To the Wild I have attempted to narrate something of this disconnect and convey the desire to nurture kinship. Writing songs about animals has increased my understanding of the presence and impact of animals and Indigenous worldviews. And it has been therapeutic, which came as an unexpected surprise. Upon reflection, perhaps I should have anticipated that I would experience elements of music therapy and animal therapy in these melodies and lyrics. I trust that others will find healing and meaning in these songs and, in the spirit of kinship, an awakened sense to be.
1 Paul Souders Photography https://worldfoto.com/ I am very grateful to Paul for his generosity, allowing usage of his photography within a modest budget. There are many more of Paul’s polar bear photos featured in the video Ever Wandering One.
2 Also referred to as the Seven Sacred Teachings. John Borrows expands the title to the Seven Grandmother/Grandfather teachings. See Borrows, John. Law’s Indigenous Ethics. University of Toronto Press, 2019.
3 The teachings may have originated with the Anishinaabe but were embraced broadly by other Indigenous nations over time. Amy Klemm Verbos recognizes that the Seven Grandfather Teachings come from a Potawatomi and Ojibwe story. See Verbos, Amy Klemm, and Maria Humphries. “A Native American Relational Ethic: An Indigenous Perspective on Teaching Human Responsibility.” Journal of Business Ethics 123, no. 1 (2014): 1–9.
4 The meeting was led by team members from Indigenous Led. See https://www.indigenousled.org/
5 In Let the Mountains Hide You I present two main causes of the slaughter, the scorched earth policy of the Frontier Army and the buffalo hide industry. I am grateful to George Colpitts for the recommended reading. In particular see Smits, David D. “The Frontier Army and the Destruction of the Buffalo: 1865-1883.” The Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 3, 1994, pp. 313–38; Dobak, William A. “The Army and the Buffalo: A Demur. A Response to David D. Smits’s ‘The Frontier Army and the Destruction of the Buffalo: 1865-1883.’” The Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 2, 1995, pp. 197–202. I have also considered the work of M. Scott Taylor who attributes free trade in buffalo hides as a critical cause. Taylor also recognizes the promotion of shooting buffalo from rail cars and native overhunting. See Taylor, M. Scott. “Buffalo Hunt: International Trade and the Virtual Extinction of the North American Bison.” The American Economic Review, vol. 101, no. 7, 2011, pp. 3162–3195.
6 Kennedy, Jordan R.M. “Building in Flow.” ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2023.
7 Bruce Haig, ed. Peter Fidler, Journal of a Journey over Land from Buckingham House to the Rocky Mountains in 1792 & 93. (Lethbridge: Lethbridge Historical Society, 1992), 10-15, Nov. 10, Nov. 15, 1792. In James Daschuk, “Who Killed the Prairie Beaver? An Environmental Case for Eighteenth Century Migration in Western Canada.” Prairie forum 37, no. 1 (Fall 2012): 151-172, 162.
8 James Daschuk, “Who Killed the Prairie Beaver? An Environmental Case for Eighteenth Century Migration in Western Canada.” Prairie forum 37, no. 1 (Fall 2012): 151-172.
9 Bastien, Betty. Blackfoot Ways of Knowing:The Worldview of the Siksikaitsitapi, edited by Jurgen W. Kremer, University of Calgary Press, 2004, 11.
10 Ibid, 92.
11 Or maybe humans developed ways of being to understand knowing. Which came first, theories of knowledge or theories of being? I think, therefore I am? I am, therefore I think? The metaphysical inquiry into essence and existence fascinates me. Do human beings have a soul? A spirit? A self? What of animal beings? What is the capacity of animal communication, consciousness, and individuation?
12 Qikiqtani Truth Commission. https://www.qtcommission.ca/en
13 Even my lyrics of the geese in the sky are subject to analysis, for certainly the line, “no one knows besides you and I” is an unlikely truth-claim.
14 Gathright, Jenny. “After 17 Days And 1,000 Miles, A Mother Orca's 'Tour Of Grief' Is Over.”
NPR, August 12, 2018. https://www.npr.org/2018/08/12/638047095/after-17-days-and-1-000-miles-a-mother-orcas-tour-of-grief-is-over.
15 Durner, G.M., Whiteman, J.P., Harlow, H.J. et al. Consequences of long-distance swimming and travel over deep-water pack ice for a female polar bear during a year of extreme sea ice retreat. Polar Biol 34, 975–984 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0953-2
16 Poks, Małgorzata. Decolonial Animal Ethics in Linda Hogan’s Poetry and Prose: Toward Interspecies Thriving. Routledge, 2024, 111. Perhaps there is a parallel with the dove as a form of the Holy Spirit, though this I did not include this in the lyrics.
17 Sinclair, Niigaan. “Eagle feathers in law courts just small step.” Circles for Reconciliation, Originally printed by the Winnipeg Free Press 09/27/2019 https://circlesforreconciliation.ca/eagle-feathers-in-law-courts-just-small-step/
18 Explore ii’taa’poh’to’p https://www.ucalgary.ca/indigenous/about-ii-taapohtop/explore-strategy I am grateful for the wisdom of balance and spirit of reciprocity expressed in the U of C Indigenous Strategy. Euro-centric and Indigenous knowledges are treated with mutual respect.
19 Vine Deloria Jr. God is Red: A Native View of Religion. 30th Anniversary Edition. Fulcrum Publishing, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, 2003, 88.
20 Asch, Michael, Borrows, John and Tully, James. Resurgence and Reconciliation: Indigenous-Settler Relations and Earth Teachings. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018, 252.
21 Isaiah 11:6
22 Lopez, Barry Holstun. Of Wolves and Men. London: J.M. Dent, 1978, 112.
23 Ibid, 132.
Lyrics - Spirit To Be
The Animal Kinship Project
From the Deep
You break the surface of the water
You have come up from the deep
The water creatures, they know of your cunning
You strike fear, all across the Salish Sea
Even the great white will abandon
Desert its hunting grounds, concede to you
Keeper of waves, you know the shores of every ocean
Spirit free, travel by light of the moon
Majesty of water
Destiny of hunter
Agony of nature within you
Who is not silenced by your presence from the shoreline?
Watch you ride the waves, defy the tide, leap high in air
What is your nature, your language, your incarnation?
Do you know affection, the pain of loss and despair?
Majesty of water
Destiny of hunter
Agony of nature within you
Majesty of water
Destiny of hunter
Agony of nature within you
Within you
You break the surface of the water
You have come up from the deep
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Rachael Ginn, Renée Rapitta, Wendy Walker
Beatboxing: Connor Curcio
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Electric guitar: Russell Broom
Acoustic guitar: Russell Broom
Violin: Isaac Willocks, Robert Mulchrone
Bass guitar: Jon Lagore
Drums/percussion programming: Craig Ginn, Jon Lagore
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Travel Without Me
I took my place in the traces
the hunter’s voice my command
Many times my weight, I pulled to bring this sled home
gave my life to the journeys of man
From the darkness of the morning
until the darkness end of day
My destiny to serve you master
10,000 years of blood in my veins
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
I can feel the trail and I know the distance
I’ve been your eyes in every storm
Through the blinding wind you could put your head down
trusting me to find the way home
I have been bred to face the biting cold of winter
so many miles across the snowpack I have run
I stood on guard against the dangers in the shadows
but I have fallen now against the gun
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
Put down the vicious one that lunges at your children
cut the harness of the one you cannot save
But who would shoot us by the hundreds by the thousands?
Did they bring you to your knees when they sent us to our graves?
Did they bring you to your knees, when they sent us to our graves?
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
Oh---Oh How will you travel without me?
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Throat singing: Tapisa Kilabuk
Background vocals: Carla Ginn, Aron Curcio, Connor Curcio, Craig Learmont
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Pedal steel guitar: Mitch Jay
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Co-producer: Doug Romanow
Recording engineer: Derek Pulliam, Dog in the Window Records, Calgary;
Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Lord of Rivers
The bear will find its shelter in the hollow of the cave
Into the earth the wolf will dig its den deep into the clay
You will build, you will build
From the trees, from the trees you fall
Birds of prey gather branches for their nests on high
Deer and fawn run to the forest when the storm clouds fill the sky
You will build, you will build
From the trees, from the trees you fall
Lord of rivers, sacred water
Lord of rivers, sacred water
Humankind learned from your ways, stood silent at your shore
They saw your lodge kept you safe from danger, protected from the storm
You will build, you will build
From the trees, from the trees you fall
Lord of rivers, sacred water
Lord of rivers, sacred water
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Carla Ginn, Aron Curcio, Craig Ginn, Berna-Dean Holland,
Beth Lagore, Kimberly Nicole, Randy Schroeder
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Violin: Isaac Willocks, Robert Mulchrone
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Let the Mountains Hide You
Once upon a time there was an ocean
waves of thunder like a flood across the plain
Spirit rising from the sweetgrass of devotion
Land of the bison before the iron horse came
Orders to destroy came from the general
Clear the plains usher in this new world to dawn
Send the army cut them down silence their thunder
Everyone you kill is another Indian gone
Let the mountains hide you
Let the mountains hide you, hide you
You cannot outrun this army, cannot escape their cannons
Fortune hunters leave a trail of carnage far and wide
They scorch the earth, stand in conquest on the fallen
You must find a refuge, sanctuary to survive
You cannot outrun this army
You cannot escape their cannons
You must find
Find a refuge
Sanctuary
Let the mountains hide you
Let the mountains hide you, hide you
Let the mountains hide you
Let the mountains hide you, hide you
Let the mountains
Hide you
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Stephanie Chapman, Alice Christiansen, Beatrice Christiansen, Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Craig Ginn, Beth Lagore, Jonathan Top
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Piano: Doug Romanow
Electric guitar: Russell Broom, Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Russell Broom, Jon Lagore
Violin: Isaac Willocks, Robert Mulchrone
Bass guitar: Jon Lagore
Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Wonders of the Sky
What do you see from the heights of sky?
Does the face of the earth rise to you wherever you fly?
When you spread your wings, feathers, sacred, meet with the air
Will you carry my song, deliver my prayer?
Who watches over the wonders of the sky
wonders of the sky
who watches over the wonders of the sky like you?
Where is the nation that does not know your name?
Lead me to a mountain, show me a valley outside your domain
Kingdoms and empires inspire bravery from you
For all generations you are a vision of freedom and truth
Who watches over the wonders of the sky
the wonders of the sky
who watches over the wonders of the sky like you?
You are closest to Creator
you hear every language sing
You guard the pathways of the heavens
in the shelter of your wings
Who watches over the wonders of the sky
the wonders of the sky
who watches over the wonders of the sky like you?
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Craig Learmont
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Organ: Carla Ginn
Electric piano: Stephanie Chapman
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Pedal steel guitar: Mitch Jay
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
To the Wild
Guardian from Creator, once a star in the sky
First of all the creatures, born to this earth, to die
Spirit of the wilderness, the shadows your domain
The healer knows your power, the warrior the courage of your name
You see across two horizons, hear the clouds pass in the sky
You study the fear of any man who stares into your eyes
I have heard the haunting of your howl, echo in the night
Across the lake, above the trees, rise to mountain heights
Above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
Let me run with you, let my heart learn to pound with the land
Let me follow you through rising smoke, purify my hands
Will I see my soul awaken, when your countenance is white?
Will I hear the sound of silence, when you wear the cloak of night?
Above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
Is it true that one day you will lie down beside the lamb?
Bring an end to marching armies that desecrate the land?
Where is the child who will lead you to end the ravages of war?
When will the earth be restored, creation reborn?
Above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
Above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
Above the towers of this city call my spirit to the wild
Above the towers of this city call my spirit, call my spirit
to the wild
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Craig Ginn, Kimberly Nicole
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Organ/synth: Doug Romanow
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Phil Robertson
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Raven
Keeper of secrets help me find my hidden thoughts
Show me the way to find the land from the clouds you fly across
Did you disarm the night with your disguise?
Capture the light release the morning sun to rise?
Raven
Raven
No fear of the thunder you saved the woman from the storm
your domain will be the winter when the lightning does no harm
You saw the great rains fall on the world of man
After the flood you were the first to see dry land
Raven
Raven
Did you sacrifice your fairness to the flame?
Overcome the smoke and fire to be born again?
Raven
Raven
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Craig Ginn, Rachael Ginn, Beth Lagore, Jonathan Top
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Violin: Isaac Willocks, Robert Mulchrone
Cello: Liam Epp
Bass guitar: Silas Ginn
Drums: Phil Robertson
Additional percussion: Corbett Frasz
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Ever Wandering One
I look across the white horizon
watch for any movement there
Against the backdrop of the winter
See the shadow, see shadow of the bear
In the north the greatest hunter
Land of ice above the trees
Of all the bears Nanuq is master
Runs the land swims the sea
Runs the land swims the sea
Ever wandering one
Ever wandering one
Incarnation of the moonlight
reflection of the midnight sun
Aurora sky knows your journey
through every storm, every season
every storm, every season
Ever wandering one
Ever wandering one
Born to this land before humankind
From you we learned to hunt, from your ways to survive
Across these arctic lands, lands of your domain
we tell stories of your strength and legends of your fame
Ever wandering one
Ever wandering one
Ever wandering one
Ever wandering, wandering
wandering one
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Craig Learmont
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Organ/synth: Doug Romanow
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Co-producer: Steve Dierkens
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
Messenger of Destiny
Majestic wings, could not fly
Eyes swirling fire like a sun, looked into mine
You took me past my fear, to set you free
My hands trembled cold, as you stared through me
Messenger of destiny
Messenger of destiny
Messenger, messenger, of destiny
Against my chest, this broken branch held you down
Could I find the strength to bend the steel that kept you bound?
You watched the cage release, you knew you would fly again
I watched you find the sky, but I was too young to understand
Messenger of destiny
Messenger of destiny
Messenger, messenger, of destiny
From the great mysterious, the great mysterious
The choice to save your life was meant for me
Messenger of destiny
Messenger of destiny
Messenger, messenger, of destiny
Messenger, messenger, of destiny
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Carla Ginn, Aron Curcio, Beth Lagore
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Organ: Carla Ginn
Electric guitar: Russell Broom
Acoustic guitar: Russell Broom
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
This Life Mystery
As I look across the beauty of this earth
I see the beings of the water, land, and sky
Will I learn from their ways to journey on this path?
From the waters deep, to mountains steep, by day by night
We brave the winter and the storm
We share life and death from the day we were born
This life mystery
Spirit to be
Awake in you, awake in me
Birds of the sky you share your song
Fill the air with melody invite the sun to rise at dawn
Will you make your home in these familiar skies?
Or will you travel with the changing seasons of life?
We brave the winter and the storm
We share life and death from the day we were born
This life mystery
Spirit to be
Awake in you, awake in me
Creatures of the field and forest born to walk the ground
Teach me life has meaning lived in relation to the land
Creatures that dwell in rivers, lakes, oceans, and seas
Show me through the life of water flows our destiny
This life mystery
Spirit to be
Awake in you, awake in me
This life mystery
Spirit to be
Awake in you, awake in me
Awake in you, awake in me
Credits:
Music: Craig Ginn
Lyrics: Craig Ginn
Lead vocal: Craig Ginn
Background vocals: Aron Curcio, Carla Ginn, Berna-Dean Holland, Beth Lagore
Keyboard programming: Craig Ginn
Electric guitar: Jon Lagore
Acoustic guitar: Jon Lagore
Mandolin: Randy Schroeder
Cello: Liam Epp
Bass guitar: Chris Byrne
Drums: Drums: Kent Macrae
Producer: Craig Ginn
Recording engineer: Steve Dierkens at StudioD, Calgary; Jon Lagore, Calgary
Mixing engineer: Douglas Romanow, dR Music, Toronto
Mastering engineer: Noah Mintz, Lacquer Channel Mastering, Toronto
©2024 All songs written by Craig Ginn
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge that these songs were recorded on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region, which include the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprised of the Siksika, the Piikani, and the Kainai First Nations), the Tsuut’ina First Nation, and the Stoney Nakoda (including Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney First Nations). The City of Calgary is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Districts 5 and 6. Mixing and mastering were completed on the traditional lands of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Additional recording was completed on the shared, unceded traditional territory of the Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen and other Coast Salish Peoples.
To begin the Animal Kinship Project in a good way Michael Hart, Vice-Provost of Indigenous Engagement at the University of Calgary, led a smudge at the first bed track recording session.
I am thankful to Michael for his continued support and mentorship. I have received encouragement and support from a great many other individuals at the University of Calgary: Marica Cassis, Monique Riel, Lesley Bolton, Peter Toohey, Durga Kale, Lisa Hughes, Kristi Fitzpatrick, Brigitte Clarke – Dept of Classics and Religion; Adela Kincaid, Tapisa Kilabuk, and Johnathan Williams – International Indigenous Studies Program; George Colpitts – Dept of History; Yvonne Poitras Pratt – Werklund School of Education; Aoife Mac Namara, Steig Johnson, Amelia Kiddle, and Jason Wiens – Faculty of Arts Dean’s Office; Natasha Kenny – Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning; Ed McCauley – Office of the President; and Paul Verhoef, Kelly Johnson – Faith and Spirituality Centre. Thanks to all of you for lending your voices of encouragement!
Project costs were funded in part by a fellowship with Evolve to Innovate with special thanks to Adam Cragg, Jeff Ryzner, and Steven Larter. Additional funding was provided through a Teaching and Learning Grant from the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning with special thanks to Heather Jamniczky and Isadora Mok-Kulakova.
The project has received ongoing support from consultants at the Social Innovation Hub and Vice-President Research/Innovation & Entrepreneurship with special thanks to Joanne Nowark, Tara Barnas, Meredith Perich, and Vince Iannelli.
I was very fortunate to work with competent and patient engineers in the studio: Derek Pulliam at Dog in the Window Records who assisted with the early stages of recording; Steve Dierkens at StudioD who engineered the bed track recordings; Phil Robertson who recorded additional drum tracks; Jon Lagore who managed the audio files for the project, engineered overdub sessions, edited tracks, and prepared the project for mixing; Douglas Romanow at douglasRomanowmusic who mixed the album, also adding final touches to keys, Noah Mintz at the Lacquer Channel for mastering. And to all the musicians, thank you for working alongside me on these songs. I have included musician credits with each song under the lyrics, recognizing each of you by name.
For website construction, graphics, and music industry insights, I am grateful to Dave McCann at Broken Edges Graphic Design and Creative Strategies. The album cover was a bear! And thanks to Dave Horrocks at Infinite Wave for embedding graphics and additional coding.
In two cases I felt that the lyrics expressed ways of knowing and being that I could not represent. My heartfelt thanks to Kristin Kozar, a member of the Hwlitsum First Nation, for reviewing the lyrics to the song From the Deep, and to Tarralik Duffy artist and writer from Salliq (Coral Harbour), Nunavut currently based in Saskatoon for reviewing the lyrics to Ever Wandering One. And I am profoundly grateful for Tapisa Kilabuk’s throat singing on Travel Without Me, especially learning that members of her family were directly impacted by the sled dog slaughter.
I am humbled by the ongoing encouragement I receive from the Métis community. Special thanks to Elder Doreen Dumont Vaness Bergum, Judy Gentes, Peter McPherson, Travis Ronald, Berna-Dean Holland, Yvonne Poitras Pratt, Zak Cunningham, Karen Acuna, Joe Pimlott, Wendy Walker, Adrian Pruden and Daniel Voth.
I am so deeply blessed to have family around me, joining me in the studio and cheering me on in so many ways. You supported this project from beginning to end, no questions asked! And it is especially rewarding to hear your contributions on the album, Aron and Rachael for background vocals, Silas for recording bass guitar, Beatrice and Alice for background vocals, Connor for background vocals and a beatbox track, and Carla for recording background vocals, playing keyboard parts, and providing feedback during the song writing process. I cannot imagine getting a project like this across the line without you.
I honour you Creator, the Great Mysterious. Music is gifted from you. May these songs carry teachings of spirit and being in a good way.
Donate
Craig has partnered with CUPS Calgary Society to help raise funds for CUPS services. CUPS is a community-based charity that builds resilience and improves quality of life by providing integrated care including health services, housing and economic supports, parenting and childcare, and social/emotional supports.
There is no cost for the download or CD. Instead of paying for the album, please consider donating to CUPS. For those requesting a CD, please consider additional costs related to packaging and postage.
If you would like to order a CD, please send a request to info(at)craigginn.ca providing your name and mailing address. Please use “SOJ CD order” in the subject line.