Song Blog: "Wavin' Flag"

"Wavin' Flag" was one of Canada's biggest hits of 2010. by K'naan. The Somali-Canadian singer/rapper K'naan first recorded it for his Troubadour CD in 2009. "Wavin' Flag" has led three lives, and I'll review all of them in detail.

K'naan (born Keinan Abdi Warsame in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1978) says the original melody and lyrics of "Wavin' Flag" took shape during a trip to New York City. He was at Manhattan's Sony Studios writing another song when the idea for "Wavin' Flag" came to him. When the melody started playing in his head, he put the other song aside and started writing what would become "Wavin' Flag."

“("Wavin' Flag" is) a song about the emergence of light after darkness," he told Jian Ghomeshi on his CBC radio show Q. "It's about the first moment of breath. Is that a resilient moment? Is that a hopeful moment? Is that a congratulatory moment? It's all of it," he says. K'naan describes many of his songs, including this one, as coming from a mournful place. But then it takes the listener to a more hopeful and celebratory place.

K'naan, which means "traveller" in Somali, credits hip-hop for keeping him alive when many fellow Somalians suffered an early death. His musical education came from his father, who sent him records from America after leaving their war-torn homeland. K'naan, his mother and his siblings briefly moved to Harlem before settling in Toronto. This is when he taught himself English phonetically by copying hip-hop and rap diction.

His music's political influences developed after addressing the United Nations' General Assembly over its failed aid missions to Somalia in 1999. This eventually led him to connect with people in the music industry, and to signing a recording contract.

"Wavin' Flag" was not K'naan's first hit, but it made him a household name. His original recording of "Wavin' Flag" went to #2 in Canada in 2009.

"Wavin' Flag" spent six weeks at #1 in 2010 when he re-recorded it with Young Artists for Haiti following that country's earthquake on January 12. This version has different lyrics addressing Canada's willingness to provide relief to the Haitian people. 

Some of the performers in this specially-assembled supergroup include: Nelly Furtado, Sam Roberts, Avril Lavigne, Kardinal Offishall, Jully Black, Lights, Deryk Wibley (of Sum 41), Serena Ryder, Jacob Hoggard (of Hedley), Hawksley Workman, Nikki Yanovsky and Justin Bieber. All the single's proceeds went to World Vision, Free The Children and War Child. This version has received a Juno nomination for Single of the Year (2011).

The third major incarnation of "Wavin' Flag" began when Coca-Cola approached K'naan about rewriting it for the 2010 World Cup. This is the most celebratory version of the three. The new lyrics emphasize all the participating soccer teams and fans celebrating the game and cultural diversity in South Africa. A Spanish Celebration Mix with Spanish pop star David Bisbal topped charts in Ibero-America and Mexico.

K'naan considers himself a songwriter first, and an artist second. Not only did he win the 2010 Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year, he was also named Artist of the Year.