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Pictures and Illustrations.
Picture Accompanying Title Page 2
Page 13 — Song of the Deer Dancing
Page 15 — Beautiful is Our Lodge
Page 17 — Sleep, Little Daughter
Page 19 — The Loons are Singing
Page 23 — Song to Make a Baby Laugh
Page 27 — What is This I Promise You?
Page 29 — Song of the Frog Waiting for Spring
Page 31 — It is I, the Little Owl
Page 39 — Song of a Boy Growing Up
Page 41 — The Spirit Will Appear
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Front Matter.
Title Page.
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Copyright Page.
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Contents.
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Introduction.
Page ImageThe songs in this book were collected near the western shores of the Great Lakes by the ethnomusicologist Frances Densmore during the early 1900's and by the pioneer ethnographer Henry Rowe Schoolcraft more than half a century earlier. Students of Indian literature have long admired the clarity, the brevity, the haiku-like precision of the lyrics in Densmore's collections. The words to at least two of the Schoolcraft songs are well known in the literary adaptations of Longfellow:
Who is this, that lights the wigwam?
With his great eyes lights the wigwam?
Ewa-yea! my little owlet!
Little, flitting, white-fire insect,
Little, dancing, white-fire creature,
Light me with your little candle,
Ere upon my bed I lay me,
Ere in sleep I close my eyelids.
III, lines 81-4, 111-16
But Chippewa melodies, as opposed to lyrics, are comparatively little known, though they are of equal if not greater interest. It is the aim of the present collection to offer
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a representative sampling of this musical lore, with emphasis on fidelity to the recorded texts. In most cases the melodic lines are exactly as set down by Densmore, and in a few of the songs the original Chippewa words have been retained. In others, where Densmore's English translations are substituted, it has usually been necessary to re-word the lyric in order to preserve the musical line. In the case of the Schoolcraft songs, the music was never recorded. These lost melodies have here been replaced with melodies from Densmore, selected on the basis of mood, rhythm, and general artistic merit. The accompaniments have been kept as simple as possible, not only to make them accessible to beginning instrumentalists, but to keep them from overwhelming the songs themselves. Page Image9
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Songs.
Lullaby.
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Page Imageway way way way way
way way way way way
way way way way
repeat indefinitely
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Song of the Deer Dancing.
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Page Imagetee-bee-wenda-bah-no-gwen eye-ya-bay
tee-bee-wenda-bah-no-gwen eye-ya-bay
eye-ya-bay
eye-ya-bay
tee-bee-wenda-bah-no-gwen / whence does he spring?
eye-ya-bay / the deer
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Beautiful Is Our Lodge.
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Page ImageBeautiful as a star hanging in the sky is our lodge.
Here in company with the spirit together we abide.
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Sleep, Little Daughter.
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Page Image1. Sway away away to sleep,
little daughter, go to sleep.
Oh, sway away away away
away away, swinging away oh,
little daughter, go to sleep.
2. Turn and dip away to sleep,
little one I safely keep.
Oh, dip away away away
away away, swinging away oh,
little one I safely keep.
3. Out away and back to me,
have no fear, I care for thee.
Oh, out away away away
away away, swinging away oh,
have no fear, I care for thee.
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The Loons Are Singing.
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Page ImageHush, do you hear? Hear the loons sing-ing up in the sky.
Can you see over the wood passing by in the sky,
flying high singing all through the sky?
Can you hear? Hear the loons singing in the sky.
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Light My Way to Bed.
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Page ImageCome with your shining white fire,
come with your shining white light.
Firefly, come light my way,
come give me light before I sleep.
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Song to Make a Baby Laugh.
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Page ImageA plump little pig hangs over your bed.
Four funny feet it has, and a little plump head.
Here, no there, no here. Look away.
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Flute Song.
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What Is This I Promise You?
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Page ImageWhat is this I promise you?
The skies shall be bright and clear for you.
This is what I promise you.
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Song of the Frog Waiting for Spring.
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Page Image1. Spirits! you press me under!
Spirits! you weigh me down!
Shining white spirits up above,
why are you falling down?
2. Why do you press me under?
Why do you weigh me down?
When will you disappear?
Oh, when will you leave and spring return?
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It is I, the Little Owl.
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Page Image1. Who is it up there on top of the lodge?
Who is it up there on top of the lodge?
It is I, the little owl, coming down.
It is I, the little owl, coming down,
coming down down, coming down down.
2. Who is it whose eyes are shining up there?
Who is it whose eyes are shining up there?
It is I, the little owl, coming down.
It is I, the little owl, coming down,
coming down down, coming down down.
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Very Much Afraid.
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Page Imageeh-nee-wek kah-yea neen
eh-nee-wek kah-yea neen
ko-ko-ko neen-go-sah
nay-jee-kay-wuh-bee-ah-neen
ah bay ah ya, bay ah ya, bay ah ya, bay ah ya
eh-nee-wek / very much
kah-yea / also
neen / I
ko-ko-ko / of the owl
neen-go-sah / am afraid
nay-jee-kay-wuh-bee-ah-neen / when I'm sitting alone in the wigwam
ah bay ah ya / nonsense syllables
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Dream Song.
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Page ImageHigh in the sky I go, walking in the sky I go,
high above the way below, way below.
By my side a bird will go, bird and I above the way below, way below.
High across the sky I go, walking with a bird I go, all around the sky we go,
all around we go, in the sky we go, bird and I.
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Menominee Lullaby.
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Page ImageSwing high-a-low gently down,
up away again back and around,
around and around not a sound,
hush-a-bye baby go gently down.
repeat indefinitely
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Song of a Boy Growing Up.
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Page Imageah-nee-nen-way-way
ah-nee-nen-way-way
wah-zee-swun im-bee-zin-dah-go-nay
ah-nee-nen-way-way / the receding sound
wah-zee-swun / of the nest
im-bee-zin-dah-go-nay / I listen to it
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The Spirit Will Appear.
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Page ImageWhen the waters are calm and the fog rises,
I the spirit will now and then appear.
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Do Not Cry.
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Page Imagekah-ee-gwoo nee-mah-jah
kah-ee-gwoo nee-mah-jah
kah-ee-gwoo nee-mah-jah
kay-go-soo mah-wee - ken
kay-go-soo mah-wee-ken
kah-ee-gwoo nee-mah-jah
kah-ee-gwoo nee-mah-jah
kah-ee-gwoo / now
nee-mah-jah / I go
kay-go-soo / do not
mah-wee-ken / cry
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Notes.
Page ImageThe following abbreviations have been used to identify sources:
| Schoolcraft 1845 | Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, "Nursery and Cradle Songs of the Forest," Oneota, or Characteristics of the Red Race in America, 1845, pp. 212-20. |
| Schoolcraft 1853 | —, Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, Vol. III, 1853. |
| Schoolcraft 1855 | Ibid., Vol. V, 1855. |
| Densmore 1910 | Frances Densmore, Chippewa Music, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 45, 1910. |
| Densmore 1913 | —, Chippewa Music — II, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 53, 1913. |
| Densmore 1932 | —, Menominee Music, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 102, 1932. |
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Page Image| PAGE 11 / | Lullaby. The repeated way way, like the familiar English rock-a-bye, is used to suggest a gentle swinging motion. Words and music: Densmore 1913, no. 127. |
| PAGE 13 / | Song of the Deer Dancing. Pronounce the words as though they were English. Eye rhymes with "my," etc. Words and music: Densmore 1913, no. 97. |
| PAGE 15 / | Beautiful Is Our Lodge. A sacred song used in ceremonies of the Midewiwin, the Chippewa medicine society. Words and music adapted from Densmore 1910, no. 44. |
| PAGE 17 / | Sleep, Little Daughter. Music adapted from Densmore 1932, no. 139. Words adapted from Schoolcraft 1845, p. 214. Schoolcraft adds the following description: "If the lodge be roomy and high, as lodges sometimes are, the cradle is suspended to the top poles to be swung. If not, or the weather be fine, it is tied to the limb of a tree, with small cords made from the inner bark of the linden, and a vibratory motion given to it from head to foot by the mother or some attendant. The motion thus communicated is that of a pendulum or common swing, and may be supposed to be the easiest and most agreeable possible to the child. It is from this motion that the leading idea of the cradle song is taken." |
| PAGE 19 / | The Loons Are Singing. Most Indian songs are very brief. Like imagist poems or Japanese haiku, they merely symbolize an idea, an emotion, or an experience. As if to make up for the brevity, the singer repeats his song over and over again in a continuous chant — usually for the purpose of bringing about, as if by magic, something he desires very much. The loons, in this case, are an omen of victory in war. Words and music: Densmore 1910, no. 128 (the melody is unchanged; the words have been adapted). |
| PAGE 21 / | Light My Way to Bed. For Longfellow's literary version, see p. 5 of this book. The Chippewa word for firefly is wah-wah-taysee. Words adapted from Schoolcraft 1855, p. 564. Music: Densmore 1910, no. 152. |
| PAGE 23 / | Song to Make a Baby Laugh. Improvised hand motions and facial gestures make a simple game out of this little chant. Words and music adapted from Densmore 1913, no. 179. |
| PAGE 25 / | Flute Song. Usually played on the pibegwun (Chippewa flute), but also hummed or crooned, especially by young men serenading their sweethearts. Densmore 1913, p. 42. |
| PAGE 27 / | What Is This I Promise You? A sacred song, promising happiness and long life to the young Chippewa who devotes himself to the religion of his ancestors. Words and music adapted from Densmore 1910, no. 64. |
| PAGE 29 / | Song of the Frog Waiting for Spring. Words adapted from Schoolcraft 1853, p. 329. Music adapted from Densmore 1913, no. 37. |
| PAGE 31 / | It Is I, the Little Owl. For Longfellow's engaging but distorted version, see p. 5 of this book. Words adapted from Schoolcraft 1845, pp. 213-14. Music freely adapted from Densmore 1913, no. 39. |
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Page Image| PAGE 33 / | Very Much Afraid. All Chippewa children were taught to fear the owl. This chant is said to have been composed by a little boy one night when his mother had gone to visit a neighbor. Alone in the wigwam, he became frightened of the owl and began to sing. People in nearby wigwams overheard him, picked up the song, and eventually it became known throughout the village. Eh rhymes with "say, " nee with "see," wek with "neck," etc. Words and music: Densmore 1910, no. 121. |
| PACE 35 / | Dream Song. Words and music adapted from Densmore 1913, no. 85. |
| PAGE 37 / | Menominee Lullaby. A melody used by the Menominee of Wisconsin, a tribe closely related to the Chippewa, who now live mostly in Minnesota. The words are my own, based on suggestions given in Schoolcraft 1845, pp. 212-15. Music: Densmore 1932, no. 140. |
| PAGE 39 / | Song of a Boy Growing Up. American Indian songs are admired by musicians the world over for their intricate rhythms. This rather difficult chant, requiring some practice before it can be sung, is a good example. Words and music: Densmore 1913, no. 100. Densmore adds that the song is associated with the old Indian custom requiring youths to hold fasting vigils in the wilderness. Her informant learned it as a boy from his grandfather. When the grandson had blackened his face and was ready to go forth alone from the camp, he danced while the old man sang. |
| PAGE 41 / | The Spirit Will Appear. Another sacred song used in Midewiwin ceremonies. Words and music adapted from Densmore 1910, no. 27. |
| PAGE 43 / | Do Not Cry. The mournful, haunting melody identifies this as a typical Indian love song. Words and music: Densmore 1913, no. 106. |
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Credits.
Page ImageDesigned by Jane Byers Bierhorst
Printed by Reehl Litho, Inc., New York City
Bound by A. Horowitz and Son, Clifton, New Jersey