Don’t Give Up Original Song

'Don't Give Up' was written and recorded by a group of youth from Tuktoyaktuk in the North West Territories.

Written and recorded by:

Eriel, Jones, Zion, Darryl, Miley, Carmen, Sophie Deana, Kiara, Peter, Waylon and Natalie.

Traditional singing by:

Betty

Traditional singing and drumming by:

Tucker and Trent

Produced by:

Milan André Boronell, Andrei Savu and Derwin Watt

Mixed by:

Milan André Boronell

Mastered by:

Kristofer Harris

LYRICS:

ERIEL

I think about it everyday

I feel like we don’t have a say

We’re not the cause but we feel it all

You must be blind but we see it all

JONES

All these erosions, I’m exploding

With emotion, I feel broken

I hope we can, keep the culture going

Push past our limits and keep the culture growing

ZION

I love hunting caribou

Let me show you how we do

Cut the ribs and make a stew

Take it home on the skidoo

DARRYL

I wanna get my message straight

No I’m not feeling great

I see the waves, when the seasons change,

my people’s pain, we gotta stay

CHORUS

No No No we don’t wanna relocate (THIS IS MY HOME, MY HOME)

No No No there’s no better place (WE LIVE HERE)

And we’ll never go

MILEY

Bad memories, float like a boat, with the children from my past

In my family, It’s haunting me

Gotta go, in my soul, let go of what they stole

CARMEN

They thought we were fools

They sent us to school, on a boat with their rules

I feel hurt but I must be strong

Searching for the light at the break of dawn

SOPHIE DEANA

Flashbacks and panic attacks

I don’t belong, I’m trapped

But listening to music keeps me calm, that’s a fact

I had to raise myself, it wasn’t safe

Now I use art as an escape

PETER

Most of us have depression

We all show one, bad expression

From sundown to sunrise

That’s when the long lonely nights arrive

WAYLON

I saved my sister’s life, twice

I was scared, I was hopeless

But now I got a voice, I can fight for the kids that don’t wanna live

Forgiveness and love, is all that I give

NATALIE

Life is hard, you’ve been through enough

Keep moving on, and don’t give up