I love this. My friend Alana & I used to hear some Eisley lyrics as “rose-and-mermaid-entwined shrubbery” and it felt so magical. The real lyrics are “rows of mermaid-entwined shrubbery.” Still magical, but less so.
Another misheard Eisley lyric: I thought it was “Ca-Ca-Ca-Cassandra you’ve grown up really crazy. Have I been too denying of you?” which as a Classicist, felt perfect, but it’s actually “Golly, Sandra.” Less fitting.
I acknowledge that I live and work on unceded Lumbee, Skaruhreh/Tuscarora, and Shakori land. I give respect and reverence to those who came before me. I thank Holisticism for the text of this land acknowledgement.
We must acknowledge that much of what we know of this country today, including its culture, economic growth, and development throughout history and across time, has been made possible by the labor of enslaved Africans and their ascendants who suffered the horror of the transatlantic trafficking of their people, chattel slavery, and Jim Crow. We are indebted to their labor and their sacrifice, and we must acknowledge the tremors of that violence throughout the generations and the resulting impact that can still be felt and witnessed today. I thank Dr. Terah ‘TJ’ Stewart for the text of this labor acknowledgement.