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IN THREE PARTS APPENDIX 1307
B,
Stanza II (sung twice)
tsu 'i5:sA?Ani—StUl loving you
t6A s:at kuq^ana(xa)—I wiU die.
Teqwe(ye)di-yAtii—Teqwedi-chUdren,
s-hAnde ('e) 'idjin—Give me your hand
(?awEs) good-by—Thus good-by.
Cg
('a 'u *eya, 'ahe 'auheya,)
('a ya hani 'aya)
The structure of the song is:
Refrain: A B C
Stanza I: A B? Cg (repeated)
Stanza II: A Bg Cg
Mrs. Chester Johnson's Lament for Teqwedi-Children, etc.
1954, 5-1-1; recorded by Mrs. Chester Johnson on
AprU 29.
This song is unusual in having three stanzas (each
sung twice) as weU as an initial refrain. The whole song
lasts 3:16 minutes. The words were dictated by the
composer (omitting the vocables); my transcription
was corrected and translated by John EUis.
In the first stanza the composer sings to TeqwedichUdren
(Minnie Johnson), whom she leaves behind in
Yakutat, when going to Juneau for an operation. In
the second stanza, she refers to her friend, Maggie
Harry, K^'actca and daughter of a YAnyedi man,
whom she found in the hospital. Knowing that her
friend was also to have an operation on the same day
as herseK, she was not afraid. The third stanza refers
to her dead husband, Clarence Peterson (1890-1942)
who is reproached for having died.
A
B
C
A
B
C
Refrain
'eye 'uweye 'eyu 'eyuha, 'eyehu 'eyeya,
'u 'eyu 'eyeyu 'eyehu 'eya, 'eyehu 'eyeya,
'eyehu 'eyeya, ya 'ehani 'ayeya
Stanza 1 (sung twice)
tlex [tlAx?] wulitici,—Very lonesome it is
ye 'ey-ya-pleyn ?a—This airplane
'inAx 'AWE,—From you now
xan yakdaqin xawEs—With me flying, thus
Teqwedi-yAtxi 'eyehu 'eyaya—Teqwedi-chUdren,
'eyehu 'eyeya, ya 'ehani 'ayeya
A
B
C
Stanza II (sung twice)
dAq yaq^'alcuqw yawEs—Back [in the graveyard]
I'U be smUing, thus,
YAnyedi-yAtAi-tin,—With Yanyedi-children
[Maggie Harry],
?at kuq^anawu,—If 1 die
'a? tuwu xawEs—My feelings, thus
keguxsAgu (-wu, or xawEs)—WiU be happy,
'eyehu 'eyeya
(as above)
Stanza 111 (sung twice)
A 'itulitsin xawes—You were strong-minded [i.e.,
mean, hard-hearted]
CAiikuqedi-yAtii—CAnkuqedi-chUdren [her husband],
'igutci-yis-a—For [to] your WoK,
B 'itulitsin 'a 'eyehu—You were hard-hearted [by
dying],
'eya, 'eyehu 'eyeya
{hutd! on repeat)—That's all!
C (as above)
The structure is:
Refram: A B C
Stanza 1: A B C (repeated)
Stanza II: A B C (repeated)
Stanza III: A B C
A B
Mrs. Chester Johnson's Song for Teqwedi-Children and Norwegian-Children
1954, 2-1-1; recorded by Mrs.
June 10.
Chester Johnson on
There had been some rivalry between Mrs. Frank
Dick and her friend, Mrs. Chester Johnson, over the
singing and recording. The former was said to have been
piqued because the latter had recorded so many songs
to Teqwedi-chUdren, so she, Mrs. Frank Dick, was
going to compose one to Norwegian-children. However,
Mrs. Chester Johnson made hers first. It was composed
shortly before it was recorded.
The Norwegian-children are presumably those of
Louise (K^ackca) and Ben Peterson; the Teqwedichildren
are probably those of Louise's younger sister,
Mary, and WUliam Thomas. Although the composer's
husband is Norwegian, she could not sing to his children,
for they would be CAnkuqedi like their mother.
The song lasts 1:44 minutes, and lacks a spoken
introduction. There is a refrain and two stanzas (each
sung twice). The text was dictated by the composer;
the translation made by Helen Bremner. It wiU be