DESCRIPTION:
Rayne Delaronde - This Man They Call Riel

Original Song

He sat on the floor, this man they call "Riel"
Encased in his memory, alone in his cell
Destined to hang, he decided to write:
"I lost this battle, but I won't lose this fight."

"I fight for my people, you call them Metis
Their rights and and their freedoms, they won't die with me
You'll say that I'm crazy, you'll say I'm insane
I'll swing from those gallows, no I won't die in vain."

"A hundred years from now Batoche will ring that bell
Remember my name, oh you'll get to know it well
I'll be cast in stone, I'll stand proudly on your ground
You might kill this man, but there's a Nation to be found."

He stood up in court, a bible in his hand
Swore to tell the truth about how they robbed this land
Found guilty of treason, for a cause he helped create
And in his final moments he prophesized his fate:

"A hundred years from now, when my People start to wake
You'll find a new resistance, what a difference they will make!
They'll battle in your courtrooms, you'll try to plead your case
I'm a Father of this Country, they'll make sure I claim my place."

He sat on the floor, this man they call Riel
Encased in his memory, alone...so alone, in his cell...

(c) Rayne DeLaronde