This is the very first full-run recorded of an original song, “Okagesama.” Sometimes the first run of a song has some magic despite some imperfection. Madi just learned the drum line moments before this recording and I worked the sax part out with Lisa yesterday. We’ll actually perform this live tomorrow. This is just a snapshot in the life of a song.
Okagesama roughly means “because of you,” and this song is written about my Grandmother, who was born to Japanese immigrant parents who farmed the Central Valley. Like most Japanese Americans on the West Coast, my grandmother, an American citizen by birth, was incarcerated during the war following Executive Order 9066 due to her race. She went to “camp” in Rohwer, Arkansas during her high school years.
I wanted to write a folk song about/for Japanese Americans of the Central Valley, those hard working communities a bit removed from the major urban centers. This is by no means the first such song - there are early examples, but some ondo do not have surviving records. I also have been reflecting on what makes a “folk art,” partially prompted by ongoing discussions with Roy Hirabayashi. When I think of the old Japanese music that Grandma listened to, I am reminded that her memories are not of Japan, but of rural America, which is often coded as the domain of the White conservative. But this land is where my Buddhist grandma fed chickens and rode a boat across the river to school. This is as much her America. These are her American songs and memories.
That we are still asked where we are “really from,” when our family has been here as long or longer than most contemporary Californians is a sad part of this state’s complicated history. It’s also a reflection on a lived, ethnic experience that is more than just anecdotal evidence of an unequal dominant society. It shows a patchwork society made of uneven networks with unequal access to sources of power. Where my current thinking is, the fight for equality is not and cannot be a call for assimilation - history has shown this to be an empty promise time and time again. Instead, we might turn to the politics of self-determination and radical coalition building between communities. I think folk art, including new folk art, embraces this call and reflects on these lived realities. In fact, in so much as it builds a people, folk art may be one of our most important tools in seeking self-determination and liberation.
I first composed an early version of the song on an early morning car ride through the Central Valley, not far from where my Grandmother lived, on the way to a contract job. Long car rides tend to be a great time for me to compose - it’s tricky though because I can’t really record my ideas. On a number of archaeology jobs, though, I’ve driven through the area, and the sights and sounds of the Central Valley have a deep emotional content for me. This song kind of rose from the landscape over a few drives.
Okagesama (2022) - Demo
Music: Gregory Wada
Lyrics: Gregory Wada, Lisa Shigenaga
Performed by: Gregory Wada (vocals, box guitar), Lisa Shigenaga (alto saxophone), Madi Do (taiko)
Lyrics:
Asahito oki
Torini esa yari
Fune de gakkou e
Inaka no kotachi
Mouichido yume o
Hakon de yuku yo
Mizu no mukou e
Oyamoto no youni
Okagesama
Okagesama
Uetekureta tsubaki wa madasakuyo
Okagesama
The music she plays
Is an old Enka song
The time it recalls
In the California sun
The temple was built
With American pine
An immigrant dream
In a turbulent time
Chorus
Solo (Verse Length)
Chorus
Nihon no uta wo
Yoku kiku obaachan
Furusato wo
Omoidasu yo
Kawa no oto ni
Tsutsumare te ite
Taiyou ni abiru
Sakuramento kana
Chorus
Негізгі бет Okagesama (First Run)
Пікірлер