And the last time I walked in the swamp/ I sat upon a Cypress stump/ I listened close and I heard the ghost/ Of Osceola cry
All of this talk of water and the ambiguous benefits of “progress” got me thinking of John Anderson’s beautiful song “Seminole Wind.”
Ever since the days of old,
Men would search for wealth untold.
They’d dig for silver and for gold,
And leave the empty holes.
And way down south in the Everglades,
Where the black water rolls and the saw grass sways.
The eagles fly and the otters play,
In the land of the Seminole.So blow, blow Seminole wind,
Blow like you’re never gonna blow again.
I’m calling to you like a long lost friend
But I know who you are.
And blow, blow from the Okeechobee,
All the way up to Micanopy.
Blow across the home of the Seminole,
The alligators and the gar.Progress came and took its toll,
And in the name of flood control,
They made their plans and they drained the land,
Now the glades are going dry.
And the last time I walked in the swamp,
I sat upon a Cypress stump,
I listened close and I heard the ghost,
Of Osceola cry.So blow, blow Seminole wind,
Blow like you’re never gonna blow again.
I’m calling to you like a long lost friend
But I know who you are.
And blow, blow from the Okeechobee,
All the way up to Micanopy.
Blow across the home of the Seminole,
The alligators and the gar.
lane batot says
How I love Osceola! And since we’re discussing native languages here(in the previous post)–anybody know what “Osceola” means? This one isn’t so obscure–it is the Anglicized version of the Creek term “Asi Yahola”, which means “The Black Drink”–made from the leaves of the Yaupon bush(kinda like holly), and was a stimulant similar to coffee–a beloved beverage in the Southeast! Used to cleanse/purge yer insides when brewed strong enough–projectile vomiting! Although Osceola eventually surrendered(yeah, I’ve read a lot on him and the Seminole/Creeks, too), a bit of trivia is that many of the remaining Seminole in the Everglades NEVER surrendered, and are still officially “at war” with the United States to this day! Or at least the day that I read about that years ago……