Archive entry · NB-0012
The Ground Beneath Us
Nubian Beats
Cinematic · 5:23
Description
“The Ground Beneath Us” is a cinematic bilingual anthem about memory, generational change, and the emotional cost of modern life in Canada. Set during a quiet Victoria Day dinner beneath fireworks, the song follows a conversation between a grandfather who came of age in the Canada of the 1970s — where one income could build a home — and a younger generation struggling to find stable ground beneath rising costs and fading certainty. This is not a political song. It is a song about remembering. About the Canada people once believed in. And the Canada many are still hoping to rediscover. Featuring English and French lyrics, reflective spoken word, and cinematic visuals inspired by real Canadian experiences. 🇨🇦 “We still sing the anthem… just softer now.”
Lyrics
(Le sol sous nos pieds) Intro (Soft crackling fire, distant fireworks, quiet guitar) [Sound of cutlery, faint laughter in the distance. Fireworks softly booming outside.] Grandpa (spoken softly): Beautiful night, eh? Victoria Day again. Feels like yesterday I was your age. You know… by twenty-six I already had the house. Your grandmother stayed home with the kids. One paycheck did the trick back then. [Pause. Fireworks crackle in the distance.] So how come you young guys today don’t own homes? Verse 1 (Young man – soft, reflective) Grandpa… the Canada you knew and the Canada we stand in feel like two different winters somehow. You stood on solid ground. We inherited the echo after it cracked. You tell us to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps… except ours were cut before we even put the boots on. So what exactly do we pull, Grandpa? You bought homes when homes were places to live. We bid against corporations and numbered companies. You built futures from one steady wage. We survive with side hustles and overtime. And still somehow fall behind. Chorus (Bilingual – swelling cinematic anthem) O Canada… je me souviens encore, (O Canada… I still remember,) The quiet kind of dignity from shore to shining shore. On ne demandait pas des palais ou de l’or, (We did not ask for palaces or gold,) Just enough earth beneath our feet to build a life worth more. O Canada… where did the stillness go? The simple kind of happiness our parents used to know. Sous les lumières rouges et blanches dans le ciel, (Beneath the red and white lights in the sky,) We search for something slipping through the fingers of this land. Verse 2 (Conversation continues) Grandpa (spoken gently): But son… you kids got opportunities we never had. Technology. Better jobs. Bigger cities. Young man: Maybe bigger screens, Grandpa… but smaller futures. The rent rises faster than our names can climb. And every year feels like running on ice uphill. You see that steak you’re eating tonight? I swallowed hard when they scanned it. Swallowed harder when they scanned the cheese. And when the strip loin hit the counter… it felt like something sharp moved through my chest. Not because I can’t eat. Not because I’m starving. But because ordinary life now feels expensive enough to make a grown man nervous in a grocery store. Verse 3 (French – melancholic, poetic) Je me souviens des rues plus silencieuses, Des vies modestes, mais peut-être plus heureuses. Les voisins se parlaient jusque tard dans la soirée, Comme si le temps lui-même avait ralenti. Aujourd’hui tout bouge, tout coûte davantage, Les tours montent plus vite que les salaires. On travaille sans cesse pour rester au même endroit, Comme courir dans la neige sans laisser de traces derrière soi. Grand-père regarde les lumières dans le ciel, Et je vois dans ses yeux qu’il comprend un peu mieux. Ce n’est pas de la colère… juste une fatigue étrange, Le sentiment qu’un rêve s’éloigne doucement. Pre-Chorus (Soft female harmonies) Maybe every generation loses something with time… But ours feels like it lost the map before the journey began. Chorus (Larger, emotional) O Canada… est-ce qu’on t’a laissée changer? (O Canada… did we let you change?) Or did the world grow colder year by year this way? On cherche encore un endroit pour respirer, (We still search for a place to breathe,) A little piece of peace that doesn’t disappear by Monday. O Canada… malgré tout je t’aime encore, (O Canada… despite everything I still love you,) Even through the crowded streets and unaffordable shores. Car sous le bruit moderne il reste encore des braises, (Because beneath the modern noise there are still embers,) And maybe somewhere underneath… the old dream still remains. Bridge (Spoken – fireworks louder now) Grandpa (quietly): Maybe the world changed faster than I knew. [Long pause.] Young man: Funny thing, Grandpa… the country’s birthday still comes every year. The fireworks still rise. The anthem still plays. But for a lot of us… it feels like the future stopped being born a long time ago. Final Chorus (Huge cinematic finish) O Canada… écoute encore nos voix, (O Canada… still listen to our voices,) We are not your enemies… we are your sons and daughters. Et même si le vent devient plus froid qu’avant, (And even if the wind grows colder than before,) A country can still find its way back home. O Canada… le vent chante encore, (O Canada… the wind still sings,) Through the pines, the lakes, the endless northern roads. And somewhere beneath tomorrow’s weight and yesterday’s glow… There’s still a light worth carrying through the snow. Outro (Soft ambient fade, distant fireworks ending) [Fireworks fade. Plates clink softly.] Grandpa (almost whispering): I barely recognize this town myself anymore. [Long silence.] Young man: Yeah… that’s what scares us.