"O Siem" is a song written by Inuit musician

Susan Aglukark Susan Aglukark, (Inuktitut syllabics: ᓲᓴᓐ ᐊᒡᓘᒃᑲᖅ ''suusan agluukkaq''), (born 27 January 1967) is a Canadian singer whose blend of Inuit folk music traditions with country and pop songwriting has made her a major recording s ...

and Chad Irschick. It was recorded by Aglukark on her 1995 album ''

This Child ''This Child'' is the second album by Susan Aglukark, released in 1995. The album was Susan's commercial breakthrough in Canada, spawning chart hits with "O Siem" and "Hina Na Ho (Celebration)", and making Susan the first Inuk performer ever to ...

'', and was released that year as the album's first single. The song went to number one on both the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

and

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts that year, and peaked at number three on the pop charts.

Content

Alternating between English and

Halkomelem Halkomelem (; in the Upriver dialect, in the Island dialect, and in the Downriver dialect) is a language of various First Nations peoples of the British Columbia Coast. It is spoken in what is now British Columbia, ranging from southeastern ...

, the song was the first top-10 hit in Canada for an

Inuk Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...

performer. Lyrically, it is a protest against racism and prejudice.

Musicians

* Susan Aglukark: vocals * Michael Francis: guitars * Tom Szczesniak: bass * Claude Desjardins: drums, percussion * Ray Parker: organ * Chad Irschick: synth, percussion * David Blamires: background vocals * Debbie Fleming: background vocals

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 85 on the Canadian ''RPM'' Country Tracks on the chart dated January 16, 1995 and spent 12 weeks on the chart before peaking at number one on April 3.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

In Media

"O Siem" was featured heavily in Season 7 of the popular Crave and

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...

TV series ''

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...

''.

References

{{Authority control 1995 songs 1995 singles Susan Aglukark songs Macaronic songs Songs against racism and xenophobia EMI Records singles