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06 Nez Perce: Promises - In Pursuit of Freedom (LIve)
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| Description |
Short Song Description:
In Hailey, ID 7-15-12
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| Metadata |
Song Length:
| 9:03 |
Primary Genre:
| Classical-Contemporary |
Secondary Genre:
| - |
| Lyrics |
PART V - IN PURSUIT OF FREEDOM
NARRATOR
Sign or not,
The Nez Perce were
ordered
from their lands
to reservation confinement
forever.
CHORUS
But they said no - wetu
Led by Joseph
from the Wallowas
and other Nez Perce chiefs -
Wetu and wetu,
No
and they fled their homes
for Canada and freedom
hearts seized
with sorrow
women,
babies,
elders,
warriors,
chiefs
And many horses
In pursuit of peace,
Etwi kce e-yewine
In pursuit of freedom.
NARRATOR
For months they ran -
out maneuvering soldiers
and military minds
Miles, Howard, others,
In the end
They traveled
One thousand five hundred miles
So far...with so many dreamers
Joseph,
and chiefs
Ollocot,
Looking Glass
Yellow Wolf
White Bird
Toohoolhootzote (pronunciation)
With all their people
and horses
CHORUS
Pursued
across rugged mountains
raging rivers
Idaho,
Montana
White Bird
The Clearwater
Big Hole
Camas meadows
The Yellowstone
Clark's Fork
The Missouri
And finally
The end...
Bear Paw
NARRATOR
There
The warrior chef
White Bird
fled to Canada
with the strong.
Joseph
only forty miles
from freedom
remained with the weak.
And Joseph cried out
"Our chiefs are killed...
The old men are all dead...
The little children are freezing to death..."
"Hear me my chiefs.
My heart is sick and sad,"
"From where the sun now stands,
I will fight no more forever."
CHORUS
On the battlefield quiet -
Joseph sat down
alone
bowed over,
in surrender.
His enemies too
bowed their heads.
Perhaps to pray
to beg
forgiveness
Did the land shutter?
Did the skies darken?
In the face of bravery.
In the face of despair.
NARRATOR
Even then
they did not know
That faraway
General Sherman
was rewriting the surrender
agreement.
Instead of home,
As Howard and Miles promised,
the Nez Perce became
"prisoners of war."
Banished to "the hot place"
to Eeikish Pah -
...Oklahoma
CHORUS
"It does not require
Many words to speak
The truth"
Joseph mourned,
"Many of our people sickened
and died
and we buried them in this
strange land.
....my heart
suffered for my people."
NARRATOR
For eight years
he pleaded for
his people
until the survivors
were returned
to the northwest
...to face the terrible choice
at Walula junction
Christianity
and family at Lapwai
Or life
with the traditional ways
at Colville
CHORUS
Joseph,
chief,
hero,
speaker of truths
so feared by the military
was given no choice -
was sent to Colville
separated
finally
forever
from his beloved Wallowas.
What did we do
to the innocent?
the brave?
the strong of heart? |
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