11 July, 2012

White Buffalo

Rod MacDonald is a wonderfully talented American folksinger and songwriter - and a fraternity brother from our University of Virginia days in the late1960s. Described by one critic as "… one of the most politically and socially aware lyricists of our time, Rod MacDonald has been entertaining audiences worldwide for over 30 years with his timeless ballads, modern folk songs, satirical commentaries, wry humor, and diverse music genres.” In 2012, he released his latest and ninth album entitled Songs of Freedom.

White buffalo are considered sacred signs by several Native American tribes and have great spiritual importance to them. They are frequently used in prayer and other religious ceremonies. Rod spent a period of time with the Oglala Sioux Indians and developed a close friendship with Frank Fool's Crow, a ceremonial chief and medicine healer. The album "White Buffalo" is a tribute to the chief's influence on Rod's thinking.

TGB   

They say you've got to lose before you can win.
They say you've got to choose before you can give in.
And you've got to cut loose to get back again.
And it's a long way back home.

They say you've got to fall before you can land.
They say you've got to crawl before you can stand.
And you've got to lose it all to get what you planned.
And it's a long way back home.

And it's a long way, a long way back home
When you're standing on some place you've never known.
And I might see you where the rivers flow.
Like me you're looking for White Buffalo.

They say you've got to die before you can live.
They say you've got to cry before you can give.
And you've got to say goodbye to get back again.
And it's a long way back home.

They say you've got to seed what you're going to grow.
They say you've got to need what you're going to let go.
And you've got to believe what you're going to know.
And it's a long way back home.

And it's a long way, a long way back home
When you're standing on some place you've never known.
And I might see you where the rivers flow.
Like me you're looking for White Buffalo.

So I say to you farewell for we will meet again.
In the hottest flames of hell I could only call you friend.
And when you hear that final bell, do not ask whose round you're in.
Till you've found your way back home.


Copyright © 1976 Rod MacDonald, Blue Flute Music (ASCAP)

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