The b… Read Full Bio ↴Crown Lands is a Canadian rock music duo from Oshawa, Ontario.
The band consists of vocalist and drummer Cody Bowles, and guitarist, bassist and keyboardist Kevin Comeau. Bowles is Mi'kmaq and Two-Spirit, while Comeau is Jewish. With a prog-rock flare, the duo compose music and lyrics inspired by Indigenous resistance to colonialism. They have stated that their name, "Crown Lands", communicates a desire to disrupt the concept of Canadian "crown land", government-held lands stolen from First Nations.
mountain
Crown Lands Lyrics
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He promised to take our land
I ran through the levee
Seeds of the dream in hand
They came 'cross the ocean
With all their loaded guns
Fear then swept my people
Oh
Yea
Mountain will shine again
I get up the Mountain
To heed their godless plans:
"We will run the savage from his holy land"
Fire and brimstone burning
Death as far eyes can see
Oh these earthly demons
Blinded by their own greed
Oh
Yea
Mountain will shine again
Tried to wipe us out but we're still here
Woah
Yea
Mountain will shine again
The lyrics of the song "Mountain" by Crown Lands delve into the history of the devastation brought about by colonialism that still affects Native Americans. The opening lines, "I saw through the devil, He promised to take our land," illustrate the exploitation and dispossession that people who have long lived on the land have suffered in the hands of colonial powers. The next line, "I ran through the levee, Seeds of the dream in hand," suggests the resilience of the people who have adapted and are still holding on to their culture and heritage despite being uprooted from their ancestral lands.
The following lines, "They came 'cross the ocean, With all their loaded guns, Fear then swept my people, Eclipsed in the hatred spun," elaborates on the horrors that the native has to face as the colonizers descend upon them. The next two stanzas narrate how the invaders tried to destroy the Native American's culture and dismantle their beliefs. The line, "To heed their godless plans: 'We will run the savage from his holy land'," reveals how the colonizers tried to take away their spirituality and separate them from their connection to their ancestral home.
The chorus, "Mountain will shine again," is the centrality of the song, an optimistic view of how the strength and resilience of the native people's heritage will overcome the challenges they have experienced. The final lines, "Tried to wipe us out but we're still here, Woah Yea, Mountain will shine again," express a message of hope and resilience, as the Native Americans' culture and legacy endures despite attempts to erase it.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw through the devil
I recognized the evil in the form of colonizers, who were here to take over our land and take away our freedom.
He promised to take our land
The devil (colonizers) offered the promises of prosperity and dignity but only to take away our land and resources.
I ran through the levee
I ran away with the dream of keeping our sacred land and natural resources away from the colonizers.
Seeds of the dream in hand
The dream of honoring our traditions and keeping our land safe from the colonizers was seeded deep in my heart and mind.
They came 'cross the ocean
The colonizers traveled across the ocean to claim our land and natural resources for their own personal gain.
With all their loaded guns
The colonizers arrived with their advanced weaponry and violent means of intimidation.
Fear then swept my people
The fear of the colonizers and their destructive ways swept across our community like a wildfire.
Eclipsed in the hatred spun
The hatred and racism perpetrated by the colonizers overshadowed our people and blinded them to our own self-worth.
Mountain will shine again
We will work towards regaining our strength and fighting against the colonizers to restore the beauty of our sacred land.
I get up the Mountain
I climb up the mountain to see the colonizers' plans and strategize our own means of resistance.
To heed their godless plans
I listen intently to their plans to take away our land and disregard the sacredness of our lifestyle.
"We will run the savage from his holy land"
The colonizers speak of our people as savages, planning to forcefully remove us from the very land that has been sacred to us since generations.
Fire and brimstone burning
Violence and destruction are left in the colonizer's wake, reducing everything to ashes and rubble.
Death as far eyes can see
The colonizers' actions resulted in countless deaths, leaving behind a trail of destruction everywhere.
Oh these earthly demons
The colonizers are no less than demons, destroying everything on this beautiful Earth.
Blinded by their own greed
Their greed and desire for power blinds them to the moral and ethical repercussions of their actions.
"Tried to wipe us out but we're still here"
The colonizers may have tried to wipe us out with their violent tactics and hatred, but we refuse to perish and stand tall, still here and resilient.
Mountain will shine again
Our mountain, our habitat, our culture, everything that has been taken away from us will shine again as we regain our ground and restore our heritage.
Contributed by Gianna P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@BubandXtal
No words to describe how nice these guys are.
@559BearDown
And how much ass they kick!
@missdawn9068
I saw Crown Lands last night with Jack White and HOLY CRAP was I impressed! Huge new fan for sure! <3
@RinaRanThatWay
I was there too and I was so amazed by their talent.
@kevinoakley8423
Going to see them both tonight, very excited
@mychannel8809
Omg same!! Took me forever to find their name! Couldn’t hear it at the concert
@VangeliRock
I was there to. The blew me away.
@1812Tac
Mountains will shine again my brothers n sisters
@VangeliRock
Best band on the planet right now.
@katleenc
I've only learned a couple of years ago how my great-grandmother was "brainwashed" into denying her aboriginal culture as a kid (even though she herself was mixed), thanks to an all-paid vacation in a convent. It worked, seeing how she praised her "paler" kids while detesting her own darker complexion. She never told anyone this, my grandmother only learned about it all after her mother died. It only makes me 1/16 Huron, but that baptism scene still punched me right in the gut. I’m mad for her and all the others who had to go through this, even though she herself seemed to have accepted and embraced her "conversion".