crowdsourceinspiration:

Tonight’s song is for Ratohnhaké:ton (aka Connor Kenway) from the upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3 game, which I can’t wait to play. I recently contacted the guys at the awesome On The Level Gaming blog to see if they had any song ideas, and they gave me great ones, including:

We pitched around the idea of a song on upcoming Assassin’s Creed 3’s protagonist Connor Kenway.  Possibly something about how most people can’t pronounce his proper Indian name Ratohnhake:ton (pronounced Ra-doon-ha-gay-doon).  There’s got to be some comedy gold in there, right?

I agreed, and tried to mine said gold. It remains unclear how Connor’s story connects to Desmond’s—the overarching story in Assassin’s Creed—so I focused on what we know now (which is very little). To write a song that would logically survive the release of the game, I needed to tell the story of the man, the story of a legendary assassin who fought during the American Revolution. I literally researched about oral tradition and colonial folk music to understand what makes a folk song distinctly American and timeless (à la “Yankee Doodle”). Hence the banjo and the Native-like chanting of the recurring, catchy refrain. Rhythm is essential in such songs, but hand claps are not easy to record; so, I leave it to all of you to clap as you sing along. Along with the bloggers at otlgaming, I dedicate this song to these awesome Assassin’s Creed blogs I read in my research: allsoundsasscreed, f***yeahasscreed, f***yeaassassinscreed, thetumblrhoodheadquarters, f***yeah-connor, assassin22, nyiro, and k-e-n-w-a-y. Enjoy everyone! If you like my work, share it! Free downloads of this song are here, and you can stream it on YouTube here. And may the Gaming Gods continue to bless America. — Kavalier Calm

     Ra-doon-ha-gay-doon

Though he left The Valley of his birth,
he wears his people’s name at his hips.
Like a bird among the trees he watches;
a Mohawk with Eagle Vision.

Ra-doon-ha-gay-doon, the Redcoats are doomed.

His moral compass guides him through the snow
like a wolf’s nose guides him to blood.
The Templar’s fingerprints are on this war,
and he will freerun them down for our freedoms.

The Founding Fathers know they’re outnumbered;
he is their ally in the shadows.
A new nation’s fate lies in the balance,
and he fights to tip the scales.

Stealthy as a whisper he moves,
with his tomahawk in hand.
He’ll scratch out your life
if you try to take our rights.

So, gamers, can you spot all the references to Assassin’s Creed?

OMG

This. is. AMAZING.

THANK YOU SO MUCH crowdsourceinspiration!!