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IN THREE PARTS APPENDIX 1293
The song is introduced in Tlingit by the singer, and
lasts 1:50 minutes. The words were dictated by him.
Later, John EUis checked my transcription and helped
with the translation. As dictated the words are:
Stanza I
t6A kawayik—Just aimlessly [in space]
gaxnas hEtc—Crying always,
Kagwantan-yAt^—Kagwantan-children,
det6a 'idatuwu—Just because longing for you
'adje yit—?-
yexayaqanuktc—(Always makes me feel badly)?
Stanza II
tuwunuktc—By sick feeling
XAt quqadjaq—I am kUled.
daq yel CAk^cE—Which Raven perhaps
gutc keyuk'^qagax—WUl pity the Wolf?
As sung, however, the words depart markedly from
the dictated version, and it is evident that the last three
lines (which were dictated for Stanza I), are reaUy the
last three hues of the previous song (1954, 1-2-B).
The present composition has a stanza (sung twice), a
refrain, and a second stanza (sung twice). The gay
melody and quick meter contrast with the sad words, a
fact which the composer admitted, but indicated that
this was the way the song had come to him.
McAUester writes: "The temptation to 'control' this
exuberant syncopation by putting in bar lines should
be resisted. There's not a 'down beat' but a steady 'one,
one, one, one, etc' The musical point of the song is the
play between the steady drum-beat and the tricky
rhythms of the vocal part. I am taking my cue for
phrases from the singer's breathing, marked with short
vertical lines above the staff. In Stanza 1, '1st' means
that the singer breathed there on the first time through,
but not the second. In Stanza II, '2d' means that he
breathed there the second time through, but not the
first. I have indicated the drum introduction and then
the drumbeats where there is something special going
on. It should be understood, of course, that the drum
continues throughout the song."
The words as sung, however, seem to be:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
A'
I
J
(F)
F
G
H
A
K
F
G
H
Stanza 1 (sung twice)
kawayik qa-dja-gaxnas-hEtcka-dja-si
'i gutci Kagwantani-yAtxi
'i da-ha tuwu yau ha ni
'i yi ye ya" hani
'e he 'e ya"
ha ni 'e he 'e ya" ha ni 'e he
ha" ha ya
'a ni hay ya
Refrain
ha 'a ni 'e ye 'e ya" 'a ni 'e ye ye
ya" 'a ni 'e he
yau ha ni 'e he ye yau
ha ni 'e he
yau ha ni m m 'a yau ha ni 'e he
['e he]
ho ha ya
'a ni ha ya
Stanza II (sung twice)
tuwu(u)ni [k]? xAt kuqv/adja-yaq daq yel CAk^'cE
gutc 'ayakqagax [keyuk^'qagax ?] 'a ya ha ni he he
yau ha ni 'e he 'e yau ha ni 'e he
'a he ya
'a ni ha ya
The structure of this song is complex:
Stanza 1 (sung twice) :A B C D E F G H
Refrain: A' 1 J (F) F G H
Stanza II (twice): A K F G H
Blind Dave Dick's Reproach to Teqwedi-Children
1954, 5-2-C; recorded by Minnie Johnson and Mrs.
Chester Johnson (with drum) on April 29.
David Dick, who became blind with cataracts, was
a CAnkuqedi man and the son of Outcda, the
Tluk'^axAdi shaman of Dry Bay. He was born before
1870, and died before 1916. He was known as Qacdjaq
and DAxquwAdEn, and was an uncle to Mrs. Chester
Johnson and her sister, Mrs. Jenny White. In addition
to the three songs described below, he composed a
sib mourning song for his brother and nephew who
died of bad liquor in 1907 (1954, 3-2-K; p. 1174), and
the peace song for his sister, Mary (Mrs. Lituya Bay
George), who was taken as a 'deer' for the ceremony
to settle this trouble (1954, 1-1-A; pp. 1247-1248).
This song of admonition must have been composed
after the mission was established in 1888, and may
have been sung before 1900. It is addressed to a
Tl'uknaxAdi woman, daughter of a Teqwedi man. She
had been married first to Dave Dick's brother
T'awligau, and then to his younger brother, Jack
Peterson, Qunak".
The song is introduced by a few words in Tlingit
by Mrs. Chester Johnson, the composer's niece, and
is followed by a recorded explanation in English by
Minnie Johnson, here summarized: "This song is
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