When I Get Older: The Story Behind K’Naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”

One day last week, The We Create Change Tour stopped at Northlake Woods Public School in Waterloo. It was a really amazing show, you could tell that the kids were ready to create even more change in their communities and in the world. At every school the We Create Change Tour is given a private room where all the staff hang out before, during and after the show and at Northlake Woods, this space was the library. I loved that because there were some pretty cool books that were displayed including books about the environment, history, social justice and human rights. There was one book that stood out to me, When I Get Older, The Story Behind Waving Flag, by K’naan. I am sure that everyone knows the song “Wavin’ Flag.” K’naan wrote a kids book to share the inspiration and the story behind the song. I could not resist reading it and I am happy to share it with you.

Until K’naan was 13 years old, he lived in Mogadishu, Somalia with his mother, grandfather, brother and sister. In Somalia, K’naan loved his life and one of his favourite things to do was hang out and skateboard with his friends. But one of the things he loved most was his grandfathers poems. His grandfather, Haji Mohammed, was a very famous poet and was always writing something. One night, K’naan and his family woke to the sound of gunfire and bombs. He realized that war was happening. He was very scared of what was going on, so his grandfather went into his room and wrote a poem for K’naan. The poem that was brand new at the time, might sound familiar to you:

“When I get older, I will be stronger they’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag.”

It made both K’naan and his grandfather feel more comfortable about the sounds of war that was happening all around them.

K’naan’s mom immediately knew that her family could not continue to live in Mogadishu – it was too dangerous – she wanted to move her family to another country where they would be safe from the war. After a few days, she got the right papers to take her family to the United States. Unfortunately, K’naan’s grandfather died just before they left for America. K’naan would always remember his grandfathers poetry, especially this piece:

“When I get older, I will be stronger, they’ll call me freedom, just like a wavin’ flag.”

K’naan and his family first went to live in New York City and six months later, they made their way to what would become their new home in Toronto! They became refugees in Canada and K’naan and his siblings signed up and went to school. It was not easy for them – lots of his classmates thought that because K’naan was different, he did not belong. Some people bullied him even because he lived came from a different place and did not speak English very well. Time passed and one year later, K’naan knew lots more english and got to know his classmates better. One day, he showed everybody his poem that his grandfather wrote and he instead of just reading it, he sang it. They thought that he had an amazing voice and that he should share it with the world. Then K’naan had a great idea, at the talent show, him and his entire class sang the poem. The class became united and they all sang together to show that they were no different.

Years later, when K’naan released his album, Wavin Flag was one of the singles. He wrote lyrics around his grandfather’s poem and the song was about the struggles of refugees during war and what was happening in his home in Somalia. The original version of the song went to #2 on the Canadian charts. In 2010 it was chosen by Coca-Cola to be the anthem for the FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa and the lyrics were changed a little bit to make it an uplifting and unifying song. Then following the massive earthquake in Haiti, the song revolutionized into something even more inspiring. K’naan brought together more than 50 Canadian musicians such as Hedley, Nicky Yanofsky, Nelly Furtado, Serena Ryder, Josh Ramsay and they united to become “Young Artists For Haiti”. They recorded another version of Wavin’ Flag and raised more than 1 million dollars for relief efforts in Haiti.

This was a great book for kids because it showed what happens with a ripple effect. The song started as a short poem that K’naan’s grandfather wrote, something that meant so much to the musician. It always made him feel safe and also just to know that he is strong and that he can change the world. After the poem, it became a song that K’naans classmates sang to show that they were in it together and that they could make a difference. After that, They accomplished so much and now people care more about causes in developing communities. K’naan is such an inspiration and will stay that way for a long time.

I loved the song, but knowing the full story behind it, I love it even more. Don’t you?