The words of many love-songs refer to the dawn, the time of the day when they are usually sung; but this reference is not a literal one. It figures the dawn of love in the breast of the singer. The Indian stands so close to Nature that he sees his own moods reflected or interpreted in hers. The Indian words of this song, freely translated, are:— As the day comes forth from night,
So I come forth to seek thee.
Lift thine eyes and behold him
Who comes with the day to thee.
| Miss Edna Dean Proctor has rendered into charming verse the scene and the feeling of the hour, giving us an Indian love-song in its entirety. By her courtesy I am able to reproduce here her poem written some years ago, on hearing the melody which I had then recently transcribed during one of my sojourns among the Omaha Indians:— Fades the star of morning,
West winds gently blow,
Soft the pine-trees murmur,
Soft the waters flow.
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
To the hill-top nigh,
Night and gloom will vanish
When the pale stars die;
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
Hear thy lover's cry!
From my tent I wander,
Seeking only thee,
As the day from darkness
Comes for stream and tree.
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
To the hill-top nigh;
Lo! the dawn is breaking,
Rosy beams the sky;
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
Hear thy lover's cry!
Lonely is our valley,
Though the month is May;
Come and be my moonlight,
I will be thy day!
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
Oh, behold me nigh!
Now the sun is rising,
Now the shadows fly;
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
Hear thy lover's cry!
| LOVE SONG. Omaha. Harmonized by Prof. J.C. Fillmore. [Listen] [PDF] [MusicXML]
music
music
Fades the star of morning,
West winds gently blow, gently blow, gently blow.
Soft the pine trees murmur,
Soft the waters flow,
Soft the waters flow,
Soft the waters flow.
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
To the hill-top nigh.
Night and gloom will vanish
When the pale stars die,
When the pale stars die,
When the pale stars die.
Lift thine eyes, my maiden,
Hear thy lover's cry.
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