A Note from the Songwriters
To Our Dear Star Island Community:
In November, a small team of Shoaler-songwriters embarked on a mission to create a new island anthem. The intent for this new song was that it should capture the celebratory spirit of the retired Grand March song, as well as the voices and values of our treasured island community. In order to do this, we asked for your help.
Why is Star Island your Spirit’s Home?
Although you come from a wide range of conferences and life experiences, hundreds of you wrote back to our November survey with answers that deeply echoed each other. You wrote about morning fog and ghost stories; the chapel bell and candlelight and laughter. You wrote about acceptance and family; about feeling connected to others and to a deeper history. You wrote about children and peace.
The song “Our Spirits' Home” is the result of a true community effort that began with you. We’d like to express our gratitude to the hundreds of people who contributed to the making of this song–from those who answered the survey to those who recorded tracks or contributed videos. Our hope is that this song will allow us to forge new memories together as we march hand-in-hand across the front porch.
Warmly,
Ray Castoldi, Carla Diaz, Isaac Eddy, Kemp Harris, Wren Kitz, Justina Maji and April Rosario
With deepest gratitude to Gary Lue for putting together this special video.
How was the new song created?
Although the process for retiring and replacing the song has gone slowly, as it has coincided with the complicated work related to the pandemic, it is a priority project of the Beloved Community Taskforce.
We hope to recognize the old song and all it has brought to many Shoalers with an exhibit in Vaughn Cottage this summer.
Throughout creation of the new song, the goals were to let the song represent our community, be accessible and easy to learn for new people, and to include important elements and the spirit of the old song.
This song was created as a collaboration among many members of our community. You gave us hundreds of responses to the question “Why is Star Island your Spirits Home?” and a group of Shoaler musicians from across our community was assembled to transform this into a new song.
Some of the main themes from your feedback:
Peace, rejuvenation, simplicity, separation for hustle of life or troubled world
Connection to nature, rocks, sun, sky, beauty, place
Community, kindness, caring
Family, generations, children
Be your true self, acceptance
Together, with these values and the goals of our strategic resolution and Beloved Community Project, we will carry forward the singing tradition that has brought our community together for decades. This is an important moment in Star Island's history that we can all be excited about!
Why are we changing the song?
Many people have fond memories of the decades old tradition of singing “Star Island is My Spirit’s Home” on Star Island. However, the song comes with a troubling history.
We believe the tradition of singing “Star Island is My Spirit’s Home” began in the 1960s. The tune and most of the lyrics are taken from the song “Marching to Pretoria” which originated during the Boer Wars in South Africa. As such, the song comes with a troubling history rooted in colonialism, violence, racism, and oppression. “Marching to Pretoria” was adapted from an Afrikaans version into English and introduced to the U.S. by South African composer Josef Marais in the 1930’s. This song was used on the island in that form until the 1960’s, when some Shoalers realized the origins of the song and new (although very, very similar) words were written by Edith Pierson (and Ginny McGill wrote the new Pelican words at that same time).
As we communicated in the past, when the Beloved Community Project took a broad and in-depth look at Star Island, we worked closely with Star Island’s leadership to weigh if there’s a better way forward and not just changing things for the sake of changing things. One conversation that we came back to repeatedly was “Star Island is my Spirit’s Home,” which many of us love and our families love. After extensive conversations with people in our community and Star Island leadership, we came to be aware of the problematic origins of the song and we also found out that there are Shoalers who have known the history and have felt uncomfortable or marginalized by its use. Thus, the new Star Island song was created with love and intention to bring our community together to celebrate our Spirit's Home.
For more information on Star Island's Beloved Community Project please visit our website: https://starisland.org/beloved-community-project/
The New Star Island Song Lyrics
You will come back, come back to Star/ No matter who or where you are/ Be ye near, or be ye far/ It’s our Spirit’s home
The Laighton brings us to the Pier/ To this spot we hold so dear/ From the porch, take in the view/ You see me and I see you/ Ancestors and future kin/ Looking out, Looking in/ It’s our spirit's home/…woo-hoo!
Be with me (with me!), I’ll be with you (with you!)/ Cause here on Star that’s what we do (we do!)/ Here on Star, be who you are/ It’s our Spirit’s home
East Rock for the rising sun/ Muskrats waddle one by one/ Softball's playing on the lawn/ Rocking chairs are rocking on/ Generations laugh and bound/ Then we hear that fog horn sound/ It’s our spirits home/ … woo-hoo!
Dance with me, I’ll dance with you/ Cause here on Star that’s what we do/ Here on Star, be who you are/ It’s our Spirit’s home
Lanterns floating up the hill/ Candlelight, and all is still/ Quiet steps and quiet night/ Children sleeping, all is right/ Sing together on a star/ Gathering is who we are/ It's our spirit's home/ …woo-hoo!
Sing with me, I’ll sing with you/ Cause here on Star that’s what we do/ Here on Star, be who you are/ It’s our Spirit’s home
