Laurie Anderson - Hey Ah (Burning Ice, 2008)

While passing along the shores of Canada on board of Grigory Mikheev (an arctic research vessel), Laurie Anderson tells a story of an old Cree Indian man singing the forgotten song of his fathers':
"I've spent a few weeks on a Cree Indian reservation. One day, some anthropologists arrived in a little plane with maple leaves painted on the wings. They said they were there to shoot a documentary of the tribe. So they set up all their video equipment and they asked the oldest man on the reservation to sing some songs. And he started to sing. But he just kept starting over and sweating. Soon it was obvious that he didn't know any of the words. And he just kept starting over and rocking back and forth and sweating. And the only words he seemed sure of were "Hey ah... hey ah hey ah hey ah... hey ah... hey ah..."

And the song went like:

(Hey ah hey hey ah hey ah hey hey) I am singing the songs,
(Hey ah hey ah hey ah hey hey) the old songs,
(Hey ah hey hey) but I can't remember the words.
(Hey ah hey hey ah hey hey hey) I am singing the songs
(Hey hey hey) of my fathers
(Hey ah hey hey hey ah) and of the animals they hunted down.
(Hey hey hey ah hey hey hey) I never knew the songs.
(Hey hey hey ah hey ah hey hey hey hey ah hey) I never went hunting.
(Hey hey hey ah hey hey) I remember Grandfather,
(Hey hey hey hey ah hey ah hey) he lay
(Hey hey) on his back while he was dying.
(Hey hey hey ah hey hey ah hey) I think
(Hey hey hey ah hey) I am
(Hey hey hey ah hey ah hey) no one.
(Hey hey hey ah hey ah hey ah hey hey ah hey)"
This video is an excerpt of the documentary film titled 'Burning Ice'.

In September 2008, documentary filmmaker Peter Gilbert joined more than 40 observers - including musicians Laurie Anderson, Jarvis Cocker, Robyn Hitchcock, Ryuichi Sakamoto and writer Suzan-Lori Parks - on an ice-breaking ship for a nine-day voyage off the coast of Greenland with artist-led climate change project, Cape Farewell.

Their goal was to see, experience and contemplate the effects of climate change first-hand - and to begin a creative conversation with the rest of the world about one of the most important and pressing issues facing the future of humanity.

Directed by Peter Gilbert.
FYI: You can watch the entire film for free under this URL:

http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/burning_ice/
More on the Cape Farewell project:

http://www.capefarewell.com
Laurie Anderson's involvement in the expedition:

http://www.capefarewell.com/people/arts/laurie-anderson.html

Видео Laurie Anderson - Hey Ah (Burning Ice, 2008) канала Mneme Mnemosyne