I Thank You

From the Album Songs for My Grandchildren

I thank you for my grandchildren.
I thank you for their health.
I thank you for the food we have
to eat upon the shelf.
I thank you for each holiday
in my mother’s house.
May there be nobody here
this year who does without.

I thank you

I thank you for my family.
May they be free from pain.
If they do, I pray that you
will give them strength again.
I thank you for the laughter
when I hear the children play.
May they always know the joy
of living every day.

I thank you

I thank you for the month of June.
I thank you for the birch.
I thank you for the seeds that grow.
I thank you for Mother Earth.
I thank you for the songs I sing
filled with peace and joy.
May this year be free from fear
for every girl and boy.

I thank you

I thank you for the wild rice
and for the winds that blow.
I thank you for the sharp knife
and for the grinding stone.
I thank you for the recipe
of which I still have none.
May all the children of this earth
have family to love.

I thank you

I thank you for the bells
that ring on this blest day.
Filled with peace, may all wars cease,
together we now pray.
I thank you for this place of grace
in fellowship alone.
May all the children of this earth
have a place called home.

I thank you

Words & Music by Larry Long
Copyright Larry Long 2023 | BMI

*Lyrics collectively written with Youth & Elders from the Anishinaabe White Earth Nation in Naytahwaush, Minnesota. Inspired by Jean Accobee.

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