After many years of using his voice, Gumatji leader Yunupingu wrote these words in 2016.
And now, it is time for others to do the singing.
Yunupingu was born on June 30, 1948, and died on April 3, 2023.
His family said ceremonies to honour Yunupingu's legacy began on Friday in Gunyangara, northeast Arnhem Land, and will continue until May 24.
A public memorial for family and friends and will be held on Thursday at Gunyangara, where Yunupingu was born.
"Yunupingu lived his entire life on his land, surrounded by the sound of bilma (clapsticks), yidaki (didgeridoo) and the manikay (sacred song) and dhulang (sacred designs) of our people," his family said in a statement.
"He was born on our land, he lived all his life on our land and he died on our land secure in the knowledge that his life's work was secure."
Yunupingu means "the rock that stands against time".
In 1963 he helped draft the first Yirrkala bark petition presented to the Australian parliament, calling for Yolngu land rights to be recognised.
An accomplished painter, singer and dancer, Yunupingu met former prime minister Robert Menzies in the 1960s and dealt with every serving Australian prime minister since Gough Whitlam.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Indigenous leaders from all parts of the country are expected to attend the ceremony.
In 1973 Yunupingu served as an advisor to the Whitlam government's royal commission into land rights in the Northern Territory.
He also worked with the Fraser government on the development of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.
Yunupingu worked for many years with the Northern Land Council and also helped his people secure negotiations with mining companies on their land, before eventually establishing the Gumatj-owned Gulkula Bauxite Mine - the first Aboriginal-owned and operated mine in Australia.
With his brother, Dr M, Yunupingu established the Yothu Yindi Foundation, which hosts the annual Garma Festival.
While his achievements are many, his graceful manner of walking in two worlds, as a Gumatj man of the Yolngu people able to take his people's message to Balanda (non-Indigenous) leaders, is perhaps what he will be best remembered for.
"I have lived my song cycle and I have done what I can to translate the concepts of the Yolngu world into the reality of my life," he wrote.
"My inner life is that of the Yolngu song cycles, the ceremonies, the knowledge, the law and the land.
"This is yothu yindi. Balance. Wholeness. Completeness.
"A world designed in perfection, founded on the beautiful simplicity of a mother and her newborn child; as vibrant and as dynamic as the estuary where the saltwaters meet the freshwaters, able to give you everything you need."
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