Rhiannon Giddens’s book "We Could Fly," inspired by and featuring the lyrics of the song, is out now on Candlewick Press: rhiannongiddens.com/we-could-fly
The song "We Could Fly" is from Rhiannon Giddens's 2017 album 'Freedom Highway': rhiannongiddens.lnk.to/Freedo...
The song draws on a heritage of African folklore, capturing an incantatory dialogue between a mother and daughter to celebrate love, resilience, and the spiritual power of the “old-time ways”-tradition and shared cultural memory-to sustain and uplift.
Illustrations by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu
Video Produced by Noir Prism Studios
WE COULD FLY
(written by Rhiannon Giddens & Dirk Powell)
Mama, dear mama, look in yonder tree
See that pretty little sparrow, a-lookin' back at me
She can soar above the clouds, way up in the sky
She can fly away from here, why, o why, can't I?
Daughter, dear daughter, I'll tell you something true
Remember Gran Eliza, well, every night she flew
They tried to keep her down but there was nothing they could do
She could fly, she could fly
She could slip the bonds of earth and rise so high
She could fly across the river
Her spirit in her hands
Searching, always searching for the promised land
Mama, dear mama, mama tell me more
I feel a trembling in my arms, I've never felt before
Daughter, dear daughter, listen what I say
Your granny always told me you'd feel that way some day
Every time she looked at you she saw the old-time ways
When we could fly, we could fly
We could slip the bonds of earth and rise so high
We could fly across the mountains
Together, hand in hand
Searching, always searching for the promised land
Mama, dear mama, come and stand by me
I feel a lightness in my feet, a longing to be free
My heart it is a-shakin' with an old, old song
I hear the voices sayin', it's time for moving on
She took her mama by the hand, they rose up in the air
They held each other tight and then
They flew away from there
They held each other tight and then they flew away from there
They could fly, they could fly
They could slip the bonds of earth and rise so high
They could fly across the ocean
Together, hand in hand
Searching, always searching for the promised land
#rhiannongiddens #dirkpowell #wecouldfly #kidsbook