Heroes And Survivors

I tell you there is goodness in the people of the earth

Welcome to new subscribers and regular readers! Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Heroes And Survivors” by Jim Page (2013). If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article. Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics.

✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

Map of the maximum extent of the conquests of the Choctaw tribe in 1800 before land cessions in relation to the U.S. state of Mississippi.

(977 words)

Part 1 - In the Choctaw Nation

The Choctaw people first lived in places in the U.S. that are now Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. These are areas that are full of woodlands and rivers. There was plenty to hunt and fish. In the War of 1812, the Choctaw helped a general who was fighting against the British. His name was Andrew Jackson. They helped him win the war.

In 1830, the Choctaw signed a treaty with the U.S. government, led by Andrew Jackson, who was now president. The Choctaw people agreed to give up their land so that European-American settlers could move in.

The treaty said that the government would pay for their lands, and it promised to protect them in the the new “Indian Territory”. However, many of these promises were not kept. The Choctaw lost much of their ancestral homeland. They were forced to leave their homes and walk a long, hard journey far away to what is now Oklahoma. The land there was much drier and more desert-like. That journey is now called “The Trail of Tears”.

21,000 Choctaws started on the journey to Oklahoma, but more than half died from cold, hunger, and sickness.

I’ll tell you a story, all good friends of mine
Of the heroes and survivors of a terrible time

Peoples means the men, women, and children of a particular nation, community, or ethnic group

Two great peoples separated by the sea
Joined in understanding of a great calamity
Of a great calamity

The total area of the Trail of Tears is 5,043 miles (8115 kilometers) and goes across nine states.

1831, it was the darkest of their years
Colonel Jackson drove (made them walk) the Choctaw on the Trail of Tears
With the saber and the rifle on a thousand-mile drive
To the land of Oklahoma, only half would survive
Only half would survive

They called it “reservation”, it was a cage without wire

From the 1800s, people in Germany knew about and were interested in Native Americans. Hitler knew about the United States' policies for taking land from Native Americans. These rules included moving Native Americans off their land and onto reservations, and trying to make them live like other Americans, cutting off their ties to their culture.

What a hundred years later the Germans would admire

The American government (state) had the power to help the people in the Indian Territory. Instead, the leaders ignored their needs.

Surrounded by a state that held the lock and key
To the vision of their future, and their free humanity
Oh, their free humanity

Ironically the man who forced them off their lands was Andrew Jackson, the son of Irish immigrants. (Irish Central)

Part 2 - In Ireland

In the 1800s, Ireland was ruled by Britain. Most of the land was owned by wealthy British landlords. Irish farmers rented small areas of land to grow food. However, they had to give most of their crops (like wheat and oats) to their landlords as rent. This left them with only potatoes for food. Then, the Irish Potato Famine happened in the 1800s. It was caused by a plant disease which destroyed potato crops. Many Irish people depended on potatoes. Without potatoes, people began to starve.

The British government didn’t do much to help. Some food was sent to Ireland, but exports of Irish-grown food to England continued, even while people starved. Many British leaders believed that the government shouldn’t interfere in business or trade. They also saw the famine as a way to reduce Ireland’s poor population.

County Waterford Countryside, Ireland

Half a world away in the emerald Irish land
Famine stalked the countryside with doom on every hand
Starvation, desperation, driven to extremes
They died eating grass, their mouths stained with green
Oh, their mouths stained with green

About one million people died, and another one million left Ireland. They moved to countries like the U.S., Canada, and Australia. The British government had the power to help the people on the island of Ireland. Instead, the leaders ignored the needs of the people.

And it was the British Empire that held the lock and key
To their island reservation and their free humanity
All along the hungry countryside they walked a trail of tears
Through death and emigration, half the people disappeared
Half the people disappeared

Part 3 - The Choctaw Donation

On March 23, 1847, Choctaw leaders met in Oklahoma. They had heard about the suffering of people in Ireland who were starving.
News travels fast when it goes from hand to hand
All across the mighty ocean to the Oklahoma land
When the Choctaw heard the story of the Irish in their plight
They knew they were related though their skins were red and white
Though their skins were red and white

They raised $170 (the singer says $140), which would be thousands of dollars today. The money was sent to groups to help the Irish. At the time they sent the money, almost a million Irish were starving to death. The Choctaw donation was one of the most amazing gifts given to help the Irish during this time.
And though their hands were nearly empty and their lands were nearly bare
They collected all the money that they thought that they could spare
And they sent it off to Ireland to their unknown new friends
Seven hundred dollars, it was a fortune to them then
It was a fortune to them then

You may wonder at my story, you may marvel at its worth
But I tell you there is goodness in the people of the earth
And I tell you there is beauty in the darkest of the days
And a light to come shining, blow the darkness all away
Blow the darkness all away

Even in times of terrible hardship there are people who are willing to do what they can to help others.

---

Question

Think about the geography and way of life for the Choctaw in their ancestral homeland. How was that different from the land in Oklahoma? How do you think this affected their way of life?

---

Vocabulary

ancestral (adj.) 先祖の
survivor 生存者
ethnic 民族
calamity 災難
saber 剣
reservation 居留地
admire 賞賛
surrounded 包囲された
humanity 人類
immigrants 移民
landlord 地主
famine 飢饉
starve 飢餓
exports 輸出
emerald 碧色, エメラルド
stalk 忍び寄る
doom 凶運,悲運
desperation 絶望
emigration 移住
plight 窮状
bare わずかな
spare 余裕がある
fortune 余裕
marvel 奇跡
hardship 苦難

Photos: Wikimedia Commons, public domain


Sources
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. (2023, January 4). Choctaw and Irish history. https://www.choctawnation.com/about/history/irish-connection/ . Accessed Feb 10 2025.
Digital history. (2021). The Irish Potato Famine. https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/voices/irish_potato_famine.cfm . Accessed Feb 10 2025.
IrishCentral.com. (2023, September 28). Choctaw Native Americans selflessly donated to Irish famine relief. https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/choctaw-indians-money-irish-famine-relief . Accessed Feb 10 2025.
Miller, R. (January 2020) Nazi Germany's Race Laws, the United States, and American Indians. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339598736_Nazi_Germany's_Race_Laws_the_United_States_and_American_Indians . Accessed Feb 14 2025.

National Park Service (2012). Park Archives: Trail of Tears national historic trail. Brochure. https://npshistory.com/publications/trte/index.htm . Accessed Feb 10 2025.


From his bio:
JIM PAGE is an American singer and songwriter living in Seattle, Washington. He’s made 24 full length albums, been on a dozen compilations, done numberless tours, and written hundreds of songs.
For more information about songwriter Jim Page, see his website at https://jimpage.net/

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