GAMAN (to endure)

120,000 stories buried in the sand

120,000 stories

120,000 stories buried in my skin

120,000 thousand stories

Pacing the barbed wire, measuring my life

You're all our there and I'm here inside

Why did you put me here?

Will I be here all my life?

They're planting flowers, using up their time

Counting the hours, some are losing their minds

How long will you keep them here?

Will we be here all their lives?

Walking to mess hall, I hold Obaachan's hand

Passing rows of barracks, we fight the wind and sand

Why do they hate us so, grandma?

Will we be here all our lives?

And my baachan said:

GAMAN – you be strong, moto gaman shite iko, neh

Dance class and graduations, make life go on

Pretending things are normal as the war rages on

When will it ever stop?

Will we be here all our lives?

We enlist, we swear allegiance, they never found a spy

The bravest of battalions, 800 soldiers died

Did they prove their loyalty?

And will we be repaid?

Stories unfolding, hidden feelings burst like flames

We tried so hard to forget, but now we re-live the pain

So no one will say again

Will we be here all

Manzanar, Poston, Rohr, Tule Lake

Will we be here all

Minedoka, Amachi, Gila River, Heart Mountain

Will we be here all

Jerome, Topaz, Crystal City, Fort Sills

Will we be here all…our lives?

GAMAN - be strong, moto gaman shite iko neh