In our hand
An old old old thread
Trail of Blood
And amens
Greed is the gift
For the sons
Of the songs
Hear this prayer
Of the wampum
This is the tie
That will bind us


Lyrics submitted by Mordak

Wampum Prayer Lyrics as written by Tori Ellen Amos

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Wampum Prayer song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

2 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    "The Southwest has this effect on her [Scarlet] where she looks deeper into things. And she's able to hear the ancestors more clearly. And she's been to a place where a long time ago there was a massacre that happened to the Apache, to most of the women and children. And there's a voice that she begins to hear of an old woman that's sitting by a fire. She's hearing in her dream time, and she's hearing it more and more with every day. And she starts to follow this trail, this voice, this story that she's picking up historically. So on some level, I guess, the aboriginal idea of song-lines has begun to sort of, mm, wrap itself around. That another culture is sort of supporting this concept that a song is, mmm, is determining where she goes. But if you don't know the song, you can't get into the next landspace. That's how song-lines work."

    UrbanGrieveron July 13, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Ahhh ... sorry:

    "There [in Tucson] Scarlet picks up the voice of the Native American ancestors on WAMPUM PRAYER after visiting the site of a massacre of the Apache people. "She has a dream and follows the voice and prayer of an old woman who survived and whose song is woven into the land." There's an obvious parallel with the songlines of Aboriginal folklore in Australia as Scarlet is propelled by the dream until she reaches Cherokee country and the ancestry of her own people."

    UrbanGrieveron July 13, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.