Although she has become a popular performer at Canadian folk festivals, she is best known both in Canada and internationally for her collaborations with Björk, including concert tours and the 2004 album Medúlla. She has also performed with the Kronos Quartet and featured on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.
In 2005 her CD entiled Sinaa (Inuktitut for Edge) was nominated for five awards at the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards. At the ceremony on 25 October 2005 the CD won awards for Best Producer/Engineer, Best Album Design and Tagaq herself won the Best Female Artist award.
Her Sinaa CD was nominated for the 2006 Juno Awards as the Best Aboriginal Recording.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Tagaq_Gillis
http://www.tanyatagaq.com/en/home/
Tongues
Tanya Tagaq Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They tried to take our tongues
We lost our language
And we didn't
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
We didn't
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
You can't take that from us
You can't take our blood
You can't take that from us
You can't have my tongue
You can't have my tongue
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
You can't have my tongue
You can't have my tongue
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
Tukisivunga (I understand)
You can't have my tongue
I don't want your god
I don't want your god
Put him down
Put him down
I don't want your shame
I want to come
I don't want your shame
It doesn't belong to me
You can't have my tongue
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
The lyrics of Tanya Tagaq's song "Tongues" convey a powerful message of resistance, identity, and reclaiming one's language and heritage. The opening lines, "They took our tongues, they tried to take our tongues, we lost our language" suggest a history of colonization, where indigenous cultures were forcibly silenced and their languages suppressed. However, the repeated refrain of "we didn't, Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)" emphasizes the resilience and determination of the Inuk people to retain their cultural identity.
The lyrics express a defiant refusal to let go of their language, as evidenced by the lines "You can't take that from us, you can't take our blood." The reference to blood signifies the deep connection between language and cultural heritage, implying that the Inuk identity and their language are integral parts of who they are.
The repeated statement, "You can't have my tongue," further emphasizes the refusal to surrender their voice and identity. The phrase "Inuuvunga" reinforces the declaration of being Inuk, providing a proclamation of self-identification and self-assertion.
The later verses take a confrontational tone towards external influences, with lines like "I don't want your god, put him down" and "I don't want your shame, it doesn't belong to me." This suggests a rejection of imposed beliefs, values, and guilt that may have been imposed on the Inuk people through colonization or assimilation attempts. It signifies a desire to break free from the burden of external expectations and reclaim their own agency and self-expression.
Overall, Tanya Tagaq's "Tongues" is a powerful anthem of cultural resilience, asserting the right to language, identity, and self-determination while challenging the forces that attempted to suppress them.
Line by Line Meaning
They took our tongues
Our language was forcibly taken from us by others
They tried to take our tongues
Others attempted to take away our ability to communicate through language
We lost our language
Our native tongue was lost or taken away
And we didn't
But we refuse to forget or abandon our language
Inuuvunga (I am an Inuk)
I proudly identify as an Inuk, a member of the Inuit community
You can't take that from us
Others cannot strip us of our cultural identity or heritage
You can't take our blood
Our ancestry and heritage cannot be taken away from us
You can't have my tongue
Our language is a part of who we are and will not be surrendered
Tukisivunga (I understand)
We comprehend and acknowledge the importance of our language
I don't want your god
We reject the imposition of foreign religious beliefs onto our indigenous culture
Put him down
We demand that external religious influences be dismissed or removed
I don't want your shame
We refuse to carry the burden of shame imposed upon us by others
I want to come
We desire to be accepted and acknowledged on our own terms
It doesn't belong to me
The shame placed upon us is not our own, but a product of external judgments and prejudices
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: JESSE ZUBOT, SAUL WILLIAMS, SUMACH VALENTINE, TANYA TAGAQ GILLIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@IrGoDKeesa
This is so powerful. Incredible work! The imagery is so telling, and the message is clear. Beautiful, Tanya!
@ppcbernier9945
Tanya Tagaq is a disgrace to Canada. She is ungrateful, toxic, hateful, and a professional victim. She literally smears all Canadians by claiming internationally to be one of us.
Tanya Tagaq doesn't cut it for REAL Canadians, and she is NOT welcome here.
SHAME ON TANYA TAGAQ
#ProfessionalVictim
@gavmcadam6932
I adore Tanya's work, the bleak electronics just finish it off perfectly. Goosebumps...
@Elidoransgar
Well this was far too short. I need more. Thanks to NPR for leading me here. I'm going to have to listen to this each day for several weeks to truly absorb it.
@phdra8283
Thank you. Thank you. The soundscape, the animation, the words. Brilliant! I’m grateful to be witnessing this.
@SabirdH
Months later‚ and god I have to say I still think this is one of the most beautiful and haunting songs Tanya has ever made. Fucking incredible. What a shame it’s so short‚ I wish it could be ten minutes long!
@AylexAraque
I can’t stop listening to this…you can’t take that from us
@foenhohenheim1762
Heard this on MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) and came to check it out. Wish I could think of or describe a word that fits how all the visuals, lyrics, and instruments come together. Soulful? Haunting? Avant-garde? It all falls short, yet madam Tagaq should keep it up~
@ppcbernier9945
Tanya Tagaq is a disgrace to Canada. She is ungrateful, toxic, hateful, and a professional victim. She literally smears all Canadians by claiming internationally to be one of us.
Tanya Tagaq doesn't cut it for REAL Canadians, and she is NOT welcome here.
SHAME ON TANYA TAGAQ
#ProfessionalVictim
@LegeCre
thanks for your work Tanya, for being wild, sharp and fierce and woke; and inspire and wake us since all these years throughout your work