2015 Program Notes, Book 1 |
45
Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20, 2015
Ye gods, who dwell everywhere,
Let us see, is this real,
This life I am living?
Part II: Songs of War and Its Aftermath
IV. Ghost Dance (Arapaho)
They say
the spirit army is approaching,
the spirit army is approaching,
the whole world is moving onward,
the whole world is moving onward.
See, everybody is standing, watching.
Everybody is standing, watching.
V. The Warrior’s Vow (Chippewa)
In distant lands
The warriors brave enter the fray;
Thick fly the arrows, while overhead
Shines the lance.
But at its foot, how many warriors lie
Dead beneath the lance?
VI. Where The Fight Was (Chippewa)
(Translation by Alice Corbin Henderson and Frances Densmore)
In the place where the fight was
Across the river,
In the place where the fight was
Across the river:
A heavy load for a woman
To lift in her blanket,
A heavy load for a woman
To carry on her shoulder.
In the place where the fight was
Across the river,
In the place where the fight was
Across the river:
The women go wailing
To gather the wounded,
The women go wailing,
To pick up the dead.
VII. Only The Earth Endures (Sioux)
(Translation by Frances Densmore)
The old men say
Only the earth endures.
The stones are all that last that long.
You spoke truly
You are right.
Earth always endures.
