Before America Was Her Name (Official Lyric Video)

AMERICA 250 BAND Produced by the ‪@America250Band‬ for our Native American bandmate Dakota, as an important Native American anthem for those people who were living here in Makoce (mah-KOH-chay) long before America was her name. WE LOVED HER FIRST ( BEFORE AMERICA WAS HER NAME) (Song Lyrics, Music and Arrangement by Dr. Donny "Rocker" Deever) [Intro] Before the muskets, before the claim, before the fireworks spelled out your fame… We heard the rivers, we knew vast plains, we loved this country— Before "America" was her name. [Verse 1] Everybody speaks of the Mayflower, like a golden family tree, I’ll admit my grandpas missed that ship because they were looking out to sea. As they stood upon the shoreline where the strangers touched the sand, not to be a footnote… but the keepers of the land. They had songs for every season, they had prayers for every stream, they had names upon the mountains, they had maps inside a dream. Long before the flags were flying, long before the marching drums, they were listening to the thunder, knowing where the voice came from. [Pre-Chorus] So when you say "America," I hear something older too, Makoce in my heartbeat, underneath red, white, and blue. I can smile at your birthday With some tears behind both eyes, and love can hold a memory, yet still lift up to the sky. [Chorus] We loved her first, before the banners waved… We knew her first, before the plains were paved. We held her first, like a child of earth and rain, We kept her name alive before she had this name. We stood here first, under stars without the stripes, we sang here first… With sacred chants and pipes. So let me, Dakota, say with every nation in the song… Happy birthday, America— We loved you all along! [Post-Chorus] First, first, we loved this land first… First, first, through the blessing and the hurt. First, first, let the whole world hear it strong… Happy birthday, America— We loved you all along. [Verse 2] We were the first homeland watchers on the ridgelines in the snow, reading every broken twig and each shadow down below. Not because we wanted glory, not because we needed praise, but because the land was family… and you guard the ones you raise. We knew the taste of summer rain, we knew the bison on the run, we knew the medicine in silence, we knew the language of the sun. We weren't waiting to be discovered, we weren't lost and standing still, we had homes and laws and laughter… we had gardens, songs, and will. [Pre-Chorus] Now I walk in two directions with my people at my side… One road that holds the sorrow, one road that holds the pride. And I won’t make the story simple, but I won’t let it turn to frost… I can bless the coming birthday while remembering what it cost. [Chorus] We loved her first, before the banners waved… We knew her first, before the plains were paved. We held her first, like a child of earth and rain, we kept her name alive before she had this name. We stood here first, under stars without the stripes, We sang here first with sacred chants and pipes. So let me, Dakota, say with every nation in the song, Happy birthday, America— We loved you all along [Rap] I got no Mayflower yarns, no old vessel in my line, but my people on the shoreline waved, “Welcome, take your time.” Then time got complicated, the welcome turned to chains, but the hearts of Native people still remembers sacred names. Don’t mistake forgiveness, for forgetting what was done, don’t mistake our birthday wishes for pretending that we're one. But if love means telling truth, then I’ll sing it brave and clear— We were first to love this land and, yes, we're still right here. [Bridge] America, I see you like a sunrise through the smoke, beautiful and broken, still learning what you woke. You are not the only monuments, you are not the only scars, you are children in the schoolyards looking up at bigger stars. So here’s my birthday blessing from the old ground to the new: May you learn to know the people who first learned to welcome you. May your freedom grow more honest, may your promises come true, may your future find the wisdom that this land once always knew. [Final Chorus] We loved her first, before the banners waved… We knew her first, Before the plains were paved. We held her first, like a child of earth and rain… We kept her name alive before she had this name. We stood here first, under stars without the stripes… We sang here first, with sacred chants and pipes. So let, me, Dakota say with every nation in the song— Happy birthday, America, we loved you all along. [Final Post-Chorus] First, first, we loved this land first… First, first, through the blessing and the hurt. First, first, let the whole world hear it strong— Happy birthday, America we loved you all along! [Outro] Before the muskets, before the claim, before the fireworks spelled out your name… I place my hand down on the ancient ground— Happy birthday, America, from the first hearts that you found.