1924: More info about the “Kanaweesan” Tsimshian CW love song?
Listen to a singer 100 years ago…and tell me if this is the famous “kʰánawi sán” song…
The above isn’t Tsimshian, it’s Haida (image credit: historymuseum.ca)
“Tsimshian music — Love song” is in the collections of the History Museum of Canada.
Collector: Charles Marius Barbeau
Location: Gitwanga [Kitwanga], British Columbia.
Participant / Performer / Singers: Johnny Lagaxnitz & Mary Wilson, of Gitwanga [Kitwanga].
Language: Chinook (Chinuk Wawa)
“kanawee san” and “Hello Sweetheart” are not the same song. Different lyrics and different tune.
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naika wawa mirsi kopa maika, alik. Can you make out Jargon lyrics in the “Hello Sweetheart” recording?
Dave
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It isn’t easy to make sometimes, but in the full version I hear:
Hello sweetheart. Hello sweetheart. a….
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart. Hello sweetheart. a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart. e a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart. e a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart, qʰa may(ka) swithart q’uʔ*. a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart, qʰa may(ka) swithart q’uʔ. a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
nayka chako kʰopa (sneis?). a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
nayka chako kʰopa (sneis?). bin ha…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart, qʰa may(ka) swithart q’uʔ. a…
Hello sweetheart. e…
nayka chako gitwanso…
Hello sweetheart. e…
nayka chako gitwanga…
Hello sweetheart. e…
Hello sweetheart, hello sweetheart.
*qʰa may(ka) swithart q’uʔ – my Anglo brain first heard “come on sweetheart.” That would make the “ko” part of the doowap I guess.
*gitwanga = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gitwangak_Indian_Band. It’s possible that gitwanso = the gitxsan name for Klemtu (=kitastoo) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klemtu
I guess this was the sort of song a group of guys would sing trading off the Chinook part to say where they/their girlfriends came from? “where did your girlfriend come from”, “Mine is from X”.
They don’t say the lyrics for “Kanawee San” anywhere in the recording and if you go off the sheet music, the tune is quite different.
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Just realizing now, I don’t think we’ve yet gotten an audio file of the “Kanaweesan” song. Speaking as a professional researcher, I find this museum’s online interface hard to use for locating these old recordings
Dave
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Speaking from experience, the software used for museum databases is often not nearly as easy to use as an external researcher as archival software is… Especially when dealing with more archival-type records as you are here.
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nawitka kakwa maika wawa!
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