"Water spirit feelin' springin' round my head"
"Makes me feel glad that I'm not dead"The tune Witchi-Tai-To was written by the late jazz saxophonist, Jim Pepper, who was a native American of the Creek and Caw (Plains) tribes. It is based on a ritual peyote chant, and although Jim and his family have done the original chant at numerous pow-wows down through the generations, nobody in the family seems to know the exact translation of the Comanche lyrics. The English lines "water spirit feelin' springin' 'round my head, Makes me feel glad that I'm not dead..." capture the essence of the chant.
posted by Paul @ 4:15 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Interesting combination of chanting and a sound not unlike the Stone Ponies...I love hearing this obscure (to me) music.
I think its unfortunate that in many cases, the translations, origins, context are being lost over time, particularly in oral history traditions.
I think there are some things we wont be able to maintain.
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