Lyrics:
We’ll unpack our suitcases
Begin to embrace this
Unfamiliar place so
Different from what we’ve known
We’ll learn and go exploring
We know our best stories
Happen well outside of
Our comfort zone
We can make anywhere home
Constant changing is our sameness
Uprooting is our routine
We’ll bloom in winter
Our resilience is our stability
I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be
Not a number on a street
I’ll send you a letter
We’ll compare the weather
I need to borrow languages to tell you how I feel
You’ll listen like a true friend
Like when we jumped in the deep end
We’ve moved six times since then
That’s how you know that it’s real
Constant changing is our sameness
Uprooting is our routine
We’ll bloom in winter
Our resilience is our stability
I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be
Not a number on a street
I’m moving again
Soon you’ll hear it in my accent
Uprooting again
Daydreaming in past tense
I’ll unpack my suitcases
I promise I’ll embrace this
Unfamiliar place so
Different from what I’ve known
I promise I’ll be open
Won’t bury my emotions
My heart’s caught between oceans
But I can make anywhere home
We can make anywhere home
I am all the places that changed me
I am all the cities that made me me
I am all the people who named me
Home is wherever I happen to be
We are all the places that changed us
We are all the cities that shaped us
We are all the people who named us
Home is wherever we’re known and we’re loved
Not a number on a street
Thoughts from the author:
Just wanted to explain two lyrics.
“We are all the people who named us” — When you are invited into a new culture, you are often given a new name. In Oniyan (Bassari)in Senegal, there are ordinal names meaning “first son” or “second daughter” that tell your place in the family. In Southeast Senegal I am “Ingama.” In Dakar, I am “Khady” which is short for Khadija, but works for me because it sounds like “Haddie.” In the US, various groups of friends have given me different nicknames, which is different than cultural names but still, in the act of naming there is affection, a sense of relationship, and belonging. And of course, my parents named me Hadassah, and my family is a part of me as well.
“I am all the people who named me” is another way of saying my identity has been shaped by all the people who are important to me.
“Constant changing is our sameness” — sameness being the shared identity of all third culture kids.
Other original songs by Haddie Grace
Denizen (Distance)
Neutral Room
Bittersweet