Annie Mae

ANNIE MAE by Carol Markstrom (BMI)
VERSE 1:
Annie Mae, I think you knew you'd die young,
You had a passionate drive to get the work done.
From Canada to the U.S., you witnessed injustice.
Your purpose in life was helping the Indigenous.
VERSE 2
Standing tall, speaking truth gave no guarantees.
In the 1970s - Indian Country.
But you didn’t expect betrayal from those you relied upon.
They took you down an empty road one lonely dawn.
CHORUS:
Annie Mae, I wish I had known you.
Now the world knows of you.
They say the good die young; you stayed faithful and strong.
But this world isn’t kind to those fighting its wrongs.
VERSE 3
Life didn’t show who was friend or foe.
So you trusted yourself and what was known.
You knew the guilty who created dark designs.
They’d cast the die, your fate was a matter of time.
VERSE 4
A final ride in a red pinto through Dakota grassland.
Knowing your end would be in these badlands.
Your last words on Earth whispered in a gentle prayer.
Ended by a gunshot ringing through the air.
CHORUS
BRIDGE (spoken)
I'm Indian all the way and always will be.
I’m not gonna stop fighting until I die,
And I hope I'm a good example of a human being,
And of my tribe. “Annie Mae Pictou Aquash:”
CHORUS
TAG:Your heart was in it for the long run.