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".
Piney Wood Hills
Buffy Sainte-Marie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and a wanderer it seems
I've traveled all over
chasing after my dreams
But a dream should come true
and a heart should be filled
and a life should be lived
in the piney wood hills
I'll return to the woodlands
I'll return to the snow
I'll return to the hills
and the valley below
I'll return like a poor man
or a king if God wills
but I'm on my way home
to the piney wood hills
I was raised on a song there
I done right I done wrong there
and it's true I belong there
and it's true it's my home
From ocean to ocean
I've rambled and roamed
and soon I'll return
to my piney wood home
Maybe someday I'll find
someone who will
love as I love my piney wood hills
I was raised on a song there
I done right I done wrong there
and it's true I belong there
and it's true it's my home
I'll return to the woodlands
I'll return to the snow
I'll return to the hills
and the valley below
I'll return like a poor man
or a king if God wills
but I'm on my way home
to the piney wood hills.
The song "Piney Wood Hills" by Buffy Sainte-Marie tells the story of a wanderer who has traveled all over in pursuit of their dreams. However, they come to realize that a dream should come true, a heart should be filled, and a life should be lived in the Piney Wood Hills. The verses describe the singer's nostalgia and desire to return to the woodlands, snow, hills, and valleys of their home. The repetition of the line "I'll return" emphasizes the singer's determination to go back home, even if it means returning as a poor man. The chorus creates a sense of belonging, indicating that the singer was raised on a song there, done right and done wrong there, and that the Piney Wood Hills are their true home.
Overall, the song is about the sense of identity that comes from being rooted in a specific place, and the importance of finding one's way back home. It captures a feeling of yearning for a simpler way of life and the beauty of the natural world. The song's poetic language and gentle melody add to its introspective and wistful tone, making it a timeless classic about the human experience of wanderlust and the importance of finding a sense of belonging.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a rambler and a rover
I have a restless nature and enjoy wandering from place to place.
And a wanderer it seems
It appears as though I'm constantly moving and exploring new places.
I've traveled all over
I've been to many different locations.
Chasing after my dreams
I've been pursuing my personal goals and aspirations.
But a dream should come true
The purpose of having a dream is to see it realized and fulfilled.
And a heart should be filled
One's emotional well-being should be satisfied and content.
And a life should be lived
A person should make the most of their time on earth and enjoy its experiences.
In the piney wood hills
The artist associates a particular place, the piney wood hills, with these feelings of fulfillment and contentment.
I'll return to the woodlands
I plan to go back to where trees are growing.
I'll return to the snow
I plan to go back to where ground is covered by snow.
I'll return to the hills
I plan to go back to the sloping or elevated land.
And the valley below
The accompanying low area to the hills mentioned.
I'll return like a poor man
I might come back without much money.
Or a king if God wills
On the other hand, I may return as a wealthy and successful person if it's in God's plan.
But I'm on my way home
Regardless of my future circumstance, I'm making my way back to where I feel is home.
To the piney wood hills
The particular geographical location where the artist feels a sense of belonging.
[Chorus]
Repeating previous sentiments and emphasizing the importance of this place in the artist's life.
I was raised on a song there
The singer has personal history and memories associated with this place.
I done right I done wrong there
The singer has experienced both good and bad times in this place.
And it's true I belong there
The artist feels a strong connection to this place and identifies with it as part of their identity.
And it's true it's my home
The piney wood hills are a place of familiarity, comfort, and security for the artist.
From ocean to ocean
The artist has traveled a great distance and has seen much of the world.
I've rambled and roamed
The singer has wandered aimlessly and often without direction.
And soon I'll return
The artist has firm plans to go back to their home.
To my piney wood home
Repeating the affectionate name of the place I consider home.
Maybe someday I'll find
The singer still has hope for the possible future.
Someone who will
The singer desires companionship and connection with another person.
Love as I love my piney wood hills
The artist wants their potential partner to also appreciate and understand the importance of the place that the artist calls home.
[Chorus]
Repeating the importance of the piney wood hills in the artist's life and feelings of belonging.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Buffy Sainte Marie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joan Nagy
I have loved this song since I am 16, now 68, still love it.
vestcoat
Me too! 68 and still loving her….even more so!
Christine Cordone
Me too! After hearing this after so many years has brought tears to my eyes.
Lastname First
@Diane Brumfield met a guy the other day who is 68 and been a Buffy fan since 16. We are the Buffy 68 Club
Diane Brumfield
All these 68 year-olds. We've all loved Buffy Sainte-Marie. Now I drive my grandchildren crazy listening to her. This is in Philly, btw. Long ago, it was in the pine lands of N.J.. Sitting, listening to her double album. Small world!
Lastname First
Me too, Joan. 16 and played Buffy's double album for hours. Now 68. Can you believe we're 68? Life has gone fast yet I remember those times as a teenager playing this song ovet and over. Kind of a lonely feeling now-Sue
Joanne Brodie
I have adored since the 60,s - she is so much part of my story! Stupendous woman and her voice can bring tears
Synia Carroll
Thank you Buffy. This song has always touched my heart. My big sister and I would sing this together in harmony, both strumming our guitars- a rather odd sight in North Philly- during the 70's. She has since passed on some months ago. Through the aching and sadness I feel in my soul and being I have no doubt that she has returned home to her 'Piney Wood Hills' and that she and I will one day sing in harmony again.
Craig Ramsay
Still get chills hearing this song after all these years. And congrats to her for receiving our Polaris Award 2015 for album of the year.
N. C.
This song is so beautiful ❤ I remember a home I have never known