songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire also includes subjects of love, war, religion, and mysticism.
In 1997, she founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, an educational curriculum devoted to better understanding Native Americans. She has won recognition and many awards and honours for both her music and her work in education and social activism.
Buffy Sainte-Marie was born in 1941 on the Piapot Plains Cree First Nation Reserve in the Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was later adopted, growing up in Massachusetts, with parents Albert and Winifred Sainte-Marie. She attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, earning degrees in teaching and Oriental philosophy and graduating in the top ten of her class. She went on to earn a Ph.D in Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts.
In 1964, on a return trip to the Piapot Cree reserve in Canada for a powwow she was welcomed and (in a Cree Nation context) adopted by the youngest son of Chief Piapot, Emile Piapot and his wife, who added to Sainte-Marie's cultural value of, and place in, native culture.
In 1968, she married surfing teacher Dewain Bugbee of Hawaii; they divorced in 1971. She married Sheldon Wolfchild from Minnesota in 1975; they have a son, Dakota "Cody" Starblanket Wolfchild. That union also ended in divorce. She married her co-writer for "Up Where We Belong," Jack Nitzsche, on March 19, 1982. He died from a heart attack on August 25, 2000. As of 2007, she lives in Hawaii.
Although not a Bahá'í herself, she became an active friend of the Bahá'í Faith by the mid-1970s when she is said to have appeared in the 1973 Third National Bahá'í Youth Conference at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and has continued to appear at concerts, conferences and conventions of that religion since then. In 1992, she appeared in the musical event prelude to the Bahá'í World Congress, a double concert "Live Unity: The Sound of the World" in 1992 with video broadcast and documentary. In the video documentary of the event Sainte-Marie is seen on the Dini Petty Show explaining the Bahá'í teaching of progressive revelation. She also appears in the 1985 video "Mona With The Children" by Douglas John Cameron. However, while she supports a universal sense of religion, she does not subscribe to any particular religion.
Sainte-Marie claimed in a 2008 interview at the National Museum of the American Indian that she had been blacklisted by American radio stations and that she, along with Native Americans and other native people in the Red Power movements, were put out of business in the 1970s.
In a 1999 interview at Diné College with a staff writer with the Indian Country Today, Sainte-Marie said "I found out 10 years later, in the 1980s, that President Lyndon B. Johnson had been writing letters on White House stationery praising radio stations for suppressing my music" and "In the 1970s, not only was the protest movement put out of business, but the Native American movement was attacked."
As a result of this blacklisting led by (among others) Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and Nashville disc jockey Ralph Emery (following the release of I'm Gonna Be a Country Girl Again), Sainte-Marie said "I was put out of business in the United States".
Goodnight
Buffy Sainte-Marie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If dawn comes I don't worry
Something deep inside keeps me awake
I wish that you were here right beside me
I recall when I was very young
And could not go to sleep
My father sang me songs to make me tired
Goodnight
Wherever you are sleeping
And I hope that if you dream
You dream of me
Oh, goodnight
Wherever you are sleeping
And I hope that if you dream
You dream of me
Now I lie awake and it's no fun
Tossing and turning
I'd call you if it weren't so very late
But telephones don't bring you close to me
I recall the times we stayed up late
Wide awake but still dreaming
There was nothing on this earth could make me tired
But memories don't make it easier so
Goodnight
Wherever you are sleeping
And I hope that if you dream
You dream of me
Goodnight
Wherever you are sleeping
And I hope that if you dream
You dream of me
The song "Goodnight" by Buffy Sainte-Marie speaks about the feeling of longing for someone who is not present with the singer at the moment. Despite having trouble sleeping and being awake until the dawn, the singer wishes the person they miss could be there beside them. As the song progresses, the singer reminisces about instances where they could not sleep, and their father would sing them songs to make them tired. However, as a maturing adult, they cannot rely on mere memories to fall asleep. The singer admits that telephones do not bring them closer to the person they miss, but they still hope that the person they miss dreams of them.
The lyrics, "Sleepless nights don't bother me at all, if dawn comes, I don't worry, something deep inside keeps me awake," reflect the singer's longing for the other person. The phrase "Something deep inside keeps me awake" shows that the singer is not just worried about a particular issue or matter, but that a deeper sense of feeling is responsible for their inability to fall asleep. The chorus, "Goodnight, wherever you are sleeping, and I hope that if you dream, you dream of me," shows that the singer is willing to let the person they miss sleep while also hoping that they are present in their dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Sleepless nights don't bother me at all
I am not bothered by sleepless nights.
If dawn comes I don't worry
I don't worry when dawn arrives.
Something deep inside keeps me awake
Something within me keeps me awake.
I wish that you were here right beside me
I desire your presence beside me.
I recall when I was very young
I remember my past when I was a child.
And could not go to sleep
I couldn't sleep.
My father sang me songs to make me tired
My father sang me songs to help me sleep.
But memories don't make it easier so
However, memories don't make it any easier now.
Goodnight
Have a good night.
Wherever you are sleeping
No matter where you are sleeping.
And I hope that if you dream
I hope that if you dream.
You dream of me
You dream of me.
Now I lie awake and it's no fun
Now, I stay awake, and it's not enjoyable.
Tossing and turning
I'm tossing and turning in bed.
I'd call you if it weren't so very late
I would call you if it wasn't so late.
But telephones don't bring you close to me
However, phones can't give me the feeling of having you close to me.
I recall the times we stayed up late
I reminisce on the nights we stayed up.
Wide awake but still dreaming
Even though we were wide awake, we were still dreaming.
There was nothing on this earth could make me tired
Nothing on this earth could make me sleep then.
Goodnight
Have a good night.
Wherever you are sleeping
No matter where you are sleeping.
And I hope that if you dream
I hope that if you dream.
You dream of me
You dream of me.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Buffy Sainte Marie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
VelvetGal5
This is a haunting beautiful love song. It's applicable to anyone who loves someone & is thinking of him or her a lot & is having dreams of him or her. It's a perfect song for those who miss someone, haven't talked to a person in a while, are having good thoughts for that person. This is a timeless song. I wish there were more songs out there like this. There are people out there in this world who are romantic & who like to think deep thoughts & to listen to songs that are worded beautifully.
SensaiMan
Buffy, has one of the best voices of all time, she has brought enjoyment to many people around the world. Sleep soundly tonight. Peace to everybody!!
Mary Alice Pollard
She still manages to bring tears to my eyes - even after all these years ! LOVE YOU BUFFY !!!!! xox
Brigitte Marx-Lang
❤️❤️
Marie Thiers
Me too!! ❤❤
Katherine Roddy
This album and song came out just after my dad died. It's the song I always think of when I think of him.
Mno theredhedgehog
I don't think I can ever thank this woman enough for being part of my childhood and being a voice of inspiration when I was a teenager. This and many other of her countless songs will stick with me forever :') "Goodnight" is beauty in notes.
Arbor Vista
spot on! recall blurry image from hotel tv in 60s, poof am 59 as I rejoin fans...power of clarity, conviction, crystal clear stances on rights, social causes, wise conservativism vis-a-vis eco - what wise solon she'd be!
bradly2007
Another haunting gem from "Coincidence & Likely Stories" masterpiece, "Goodnight" with soft soulful mesmerizing atmosphere is hypnotic in its beauty and everything in this tremendous collection remind one this lady is a brilliant legendary musical genius...Bravo Buffy and thank you for this amazing & wondrous collection filled with classic songs and performances that are so illuminating & sound glorious over and over again!
Marie Thiers
Buffy Sainte-Marie is magnificent, beyond words. I have loved her and her music, and everything she stands for for many decades. I do admire her. ❤🌹