Smile at All You See
I have always been a fan of Buffy St Marie. I played in a festival in Mission, British Columbia, where she was headlining, and of course she blew my mind. Her life as an advocate for indigenous peoples and so many other causes is the stuff of legends, because she is a living one. She was the first indigenous woman to win an Oscar for her song ‘Up Where we Belong.’ In 2017, I had heard on the CBC that she was due to do an hour-long interview looking back on her 50 years in the biz. I got my paper and pen ready and sat down at the laptop, streaming the interview. I just knew she would say something that would make me write.
I loved the interview, but after about 59 minutes nothing had inspired me to use the pen. Finally, the interviewer started to wrap-up and said, “Buffy, after all these years, writing and singing and fighting causes, what have you learned?”
She took a second and said to the radio guy, “Smile at all you see.” Something so simple, but she said that if you approach even the darkest issues, the smile allows you to start from a place of power and strength.
This song was premiered in Dawn Oman’s church gallery, for a fundraiser for refugee family sponsorship.
Oh I’m sure you know that everywhere you go there’s an opportunity
To bring a ray of light to someone’s daily fight and give them reasons to believe
You could be the one understanding
What it feels to know when there’s no hope
You can stand and stay or walk away and let silence take your voice
Or be a wall that’s strong and right the wrongs
You know some don’t have that choice
You can close your eyes and try to hide from what you’re born to be
You can choose to frown at all around
Or smile at all you see
A family far from home, they lost all they own, still fixing broken hearts
A hill too big to climb? Or do you take the time to help them make a start?
A thought is all it takes to welcome joy from pain
From dark to light, and loss to life
A father and a child, how cruel it is this life that kicks you when your down
But down he will not stay and he will never break, his love is solid ground
He doesn’t want your sympathy
And just because it’s him don’t mean it can’t be you or me
