This song was originally recorded & released with minimal music in September 1990, in French only, on a 2-song cassette called ‘OKA” (LPN 008). Re-recorded in 1992 by the three-piece band, with original text translated from French to English.
OKA II cassette recorded & released in January 1992 in Tiohtià:ke / Montréal, Québec, as a benefit album to support the legal fees for hundreds of Mohawks defending themselves in local court, because “we all live in OKA.”
In 1990 there was a 78 day standoff between Mohawks and thousands of heavily armed Canadian soldiers, backed by tanks, APVs, jet fighters and more. Mohawks of Kanesatake, joined by Mohawks from Kahnawake, wanted to protect their sacred land from a golf course expansion and condo development pushed by the town mayor of Oka, Quebec
Side A is ‘Listen to the drums.’
Side B is ‘Les drums sonnent,’ the French version. (LPN 010)
lyrics
English lyrics follow
LES DRUMS SONNENT
Je ne veux rien savoir
De ces pouvoirs
qui parlent pour moi
quand ils parlent d’Oka
les maudits menteurs
ça fait 400 ans
qu’ils parlent comme ça
à tous les autochtones
ils parlent de promesse
de la démocratie
du respect pour la vie
puis ceux et celles qui crient:
“Pas vrai!”
ils les punissent
Je ne veux rien savoir
De ces pouvoirs
qui parlent pour moi
quand ils parlent d’Oka
ils demandent le respect
pour leurs actes criminels
ils justifient l’injustice
comme l’ordre national
ils dénoncent les autochtones
ils flatten l’armée
ils pardonnent le racisme,
le fascism
voilà le nouveau régime nazi
Je vois les “nègres rouges”
criminalisés
je les vois accusés, attaqués,
emprisonnés
je vois comment ça marche
votre célèbre democracy
avec vos tanks, vos hélicoptères et
vos fusils
Alors, écoutez bien
tous les messieurs qui se cachent
derrière vos masques
du law and order
Vous n’avez jamais parlé pour moi
vous savez
Touts vos excuses, votre marde,
ce n’était jamais la véritié, alors écoutez:
ce sont les autochtones
et leur drums
qui parlent pour moi
hier, demain
tous ces longs jours
tous ces longs mois
Oui, les autochtones et leurs drums
ils parlent pour moi
tous ces longs jours
tous ces longs mois
Alors écoutez bien
messieurs
je vous conseille fortement
de les écouter
de les écouter
de les écouter
– Norman Nawrocki
LISTEN TO THE DRUMS
I want nothing to do
With the powers-that-be
Who talk about ‘OKA’
Pretending to speak for me
Liars all
For 400 years
They’ve talked like that
With native people everywhere
Robbed, cheated, scrapped
They talk about ‘promises’
‘respect for life’
and ‘good will’
Then those who cry out ‘not true!’
They punish and sometimes kill
I want nothing to do
With the powers-that-be
Who talk about ‘OKA’
Pretending to speak for me
They demand ‘respect’
For their criminal acts
They justify injustice
As a natural order, in fact
They denounce the Warriors
Praise the Army
Excuse racism, fascism
All hail the new Nazis
I want nothing to do
With the powers-that-be
Who talk about ‘OKA’
Pretending to speak for me
I see the ‘red niggers’ *
Terrorized, criminalized
I see them accused
Imprisoned, more broken lives
I see what you mean by
‘democracy’
with your tanks, helicopters
and guns of hypocrisy
I want nothing to do
With the powers-that-be
Who talk about ‘OKA’
Pretending to speak for me
So listen closely
Mulrony, Bourassa,
Parizeau and the S.Q.: **
You’ve never spoken for me
Not a word of honesty
For once, listen carefully
It’s the Mohawks, the Warriors
And their drums
who speak for me
Yes, I said the Mohawks, the Warriors
And their drums, they speak for me
So listen to them
I said, listen to them
Listen to them . . .
– by Norman Nawrocki
(Rhythm Activism), Sept 1990, Montreal, Quebec
* “red niggers” comes from a well known book, ‘Nègres blancs de l’Amérique’ (White Niggers of America) written in 1968 by a Quebec radical, Pierre Vallieres, fighting for the independence of Quebec, who described his people using this analogy.
** Mulrony was the then Prime Minister of Canada; ‘Boubou’ was the nickname of Quebec’s then premier, Robert Bourassa; Parizeau was the leader at that time of the opposition nationalist party, Parti Quebecois; the S. Q. is the notorious Quebec provincial police.
credits
from OKA II,
track released January 1, 1992
Produced by Rhythm Activism: Sylvain Côté, guitar; Norman Nawrocki, words, violin & vocals; Elaine Stef, drums.
Engineered by Steve Kravac. Released by Les Pages Noires
The cassette came with a long, informative foldout cover, and a two-page insert.
Text typed on a 1945 manual Smith-Cornona old time typewriter, and laid out by hand with Letraset and a hand-held waxer.
Rhythm Activism (RA) was a Montreal-based ‘cabaret rock ‘n’ roll band / rebel news orchestra’ co-founded in 1985 by Sylvain Côté & Norman Nawrocki. They grew from a spoken word & music duo to a full scale band, & had a side project as ‘The Flaming Perogies’ – an East European flavoured dance band. During their 15 year career RA toured North America & Europe, released 15 albums plus dozens of compilations, wrote & performed several ‘community cabarets’ & theatre musicals & shared the stage with acts as diverse as Linton Kwisi Johnson, Fred Frith, The Ex, Mecca Normal, the Dog Faced Hermans, Trench Mouth, etc. They are the subject of a documentary film, ‘This is the way we tie our shoes,’ and were commissioned to do soundtracks for national radio & TV. They were often compared to Fugazi, Chumbawamba, The Ex & even Tom Waits ‘with a butcher knife.’
Norman Nawrocki is a Canadian Polish/Ukrainian violinist & composer based in Montreal, Quebec. A veteran of the city’s
underground music scene & also tours internationally. Since 1986, he's released 33 albums (solo & with his many bands like Rhythm Activism, DaZoque!, Bakunin’s Bum, SANN, Wild Plains, Crocodile!) & has 35 compilations. He's also an author & a playwright....more
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