Kim Baryluk, c. 1993
From “Inside the Dreaming” 1994, by The Wyrd Sisters
“Warrior was written in response to the broad daylight murder of a woman by her stalker, a former health care worker against whom she had a restraining order. He shot her at a bus stop with a bunch of school children around. This was one of three murders of women (by their partners or ex-partners or former care givers) in the Winnipeg area in a space of about a month. Initially struck dumb by its stark brutality, Kim’s song was a way of speaking, of responding. Many individuals and groups sing this song on December 6th in remembrance of the women massacred in Montreal in 1989 and as a message of empowerment for all of us.” – Nancy Rheinhold, Wyrd Sisters
Lyrics:
I was a shy and lonely girl.
With the heavens in my eyes.
And as I walked along my way
I heard the echo of her cries.
[chorus]
I cannot fight.
I cannot a warrior be.
It’s not my nature or my teaching.
It is the womanhood in me.
I was a lost and angry youth.
There were no tears in my eyes.
I saw no justice in my world,
Only the echo of her cries.
I am an older woman now.
And I will hear my own cries.
And I can and will a fierce warrior be
‘Til not another woman dies!
[chorus variation]
I can and will fight!
I can and will a warrior be!
It is my nature and my duty!
It is the sisterhood in me!
