1895: “Chinook Hymns” in Chinuk Pipa (Part 3: O Tloos St Joseph)
Page 1 of the small book “Chinook Hymns” (6th edition, 1895, Kamloops) has today’s featured song.
There happens to be a page before page 1, with a different hymn on it, for your information.
(Here’s a link to all installments in this mini-series.)
The lyrics you’re about to read are standard Northern Dialect stuff. A couple of the words might be unfamiliar to you, and kuli is used in the Northern Dialect sense of ‘wander’ instead of Southern ‘run’.
So read and learn!
The tune, I betcha, is something from France. It’ll be fun for someone to do the little bit of extra research on the musical side of these Chinook hymns from French & Belgian missionaries in British Columbia.
< O Tloos St. Joseph >
O tlus Sin Shosif maika drit tlus nanich
‘Oh, good Saint Joseph, you took really good care of’
Shisyu pi Mari(,) nsaika drit tlus taii
‘Jesus and Mary, our very good chief;’
Alta nsaika wawa maika tlus mirsi
‘Now we say a good thanks to you,’
O tlus Sin Shosif
‘Oh good Saint Joseph.’O tlus Sin Shosif drit nsaika klahawiam
‘Oh, good Saint Joseph, we’re really pitiful;’
Drit ayu liiam tiki tolo nsaika
‘Really lots of devils want to trick us’
Kopa masachi(,) kopa kanawi yutl
‘Into evil, into every (kind of) pride;’
O tlus Sin Shosif
‘Oh good Saint Joseph.’O tlus Sin Shosif patlach wach man tomtom
‘Oh, good Saint Joseph, give a guardian’s heart,’
Patlach fait tomtom(,) patlach styuil tomtom
‘Give a fighting heart, give a praying heart,’
Pus wik nsaika kuli kopa masachi
‘So we don’t wander into bad things,’
O tlus Sin Shosif
‘Oh, good Saint Joseph.’
