Tap Sticks from Milyakburra by Emily Wurramara
This was the second song i ever wrote on a guitar. It was 26th January and I was 11 years old. I had just come back from my first march which ended at the Jabiru Hall in musgrave park. Me and mum were on the train and we were decked out from head to toe with black yellow red. We were standing and there were a bunch of teenagers who were laughing and sneering at us then they started screaming out "Aussie Aussie Aussie" and "Abo" this was my very first encounter with racism. When I went home I wrote this song to remind me that wherever I go, my spirits stand strong with me. Uncle enosh Wurramara is featured on this track, he is singing my grandmothers traditional song about a specific bird - “Ngark ngark”.
Tracklist
| 8. | Tap Sticks | 3:01 |
Lyrics
You fulla what’s the time of the day?
Woken to hell will it be okay?
Eyes wide shut cause I’m afraid
And all these thoughts
Invading my brain
And the time of the day is night time and the time of the day leaves me awake
And the time of the day is scary
I’m running from something I’m not supposed to be afraid
And the wake of the morning arises me
Great spirits come and walk with me
And the sound of the tapsticks bring me back home
Where I’m protected and I’m not alone
Walking around bare feet
Reminds me of what freedom felt like o be
And roaming the streets I look over my shoulders they judge me stereotypically
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
Emily Wurramara is a young Aboriginal woman who has been writing songs since she was 6, singing in both English and Annandilyakwa, the traditional language of her home, Groote Eylandt. She is a prolific song-writer and multi-instrumentalist, playing guitar, piano and ukulele.