HERE AND GONE: HEBRON

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“Here and Gone” is a tribute to Hebron, once a Moravian mission in Labrador and now The Hebron Project that drills for oil in the Jeanne d’Arc basin southeast of St. John’s. The story of Hebron encapsulates the tangle of good intentions and injustice, the hardship and sheer stamina behind the Canadian experience. Set to music that evokes both a folk song and a ceremonial slow-march, “Here and Gone” is living history..

LYRICS

The ancient Hebrew tongue has “Hebron” for “Friendship”
and “Friendship” was to be the Mission’s name
But the ancient tongues were young when the land had long been ancient
thus the Mission time and Fishin’ time could never be the same

But the people gathered and were welcomed kindly in
for the merit of their souls and their trade
while disease and famine fished the bones beneath their skin,
trading strife for strife, death for life, that’s how a land is made

And it’s oh, oh, here and gone
The People passed in helpless majesty
We think about their toil while we’re fishing for the oil
in the old, cold graves below the sea

They tore the Mission down and all The People scattered
They had to find a trail – hunting caribou and whale
The airforce and the crown were agreed the region mattered
thus the lions and the unicorns come marching through our tale

And the tale is holy – for the tale is all we know
All we know is what the mortal memory saves
like the name of “Friendship” in a tongue from long ago
And the soul is stirred to know the word still rides above the waves

And it’s oh, oh, here and gone
We all must pass in helpless majesty
So think about our toil, while we’re fishing for the oil
in the old cold graves below the sea