1914: LBDB’s “Chinook-English Songs”, part 5 of 15 “Wah, Hy-as Chuck Cooley”
More of Laura Belle Downey-Bartlett’s odd use of Chinuk Wawa for you today, in this long-delayed episode.
(A link to all installments in this mini-series.)
From pages 20 & 21 of LBDB’s book, “Chinook-English Songs” (Portland, OR: Kubli-Miller, 1914)…
…song #5 is “Wah, Hy-as Chuck Cooley“, corresponding to the then well-known song “O, Restless Sea“.
Before we read this, let me tell you:
- LBDB’s Jargon uses very Settler pronunciations and spellings.
- She also uses obscure “dictionary words” that would be unfamiliar or unknown in real conversation during her life.
- And she tries to put known Jargon words to unique new uses that hardly anyone would understand — although it would’ve helped to already know the original English-language song that she was trying to translate. Nonetheless, I’ll stick to my “good faith” policy in interpreting LBDB’s work, by assuming she knew how to speak the language and was trying to speak it well.
Things tagged with an asterisk* are points that I consider unclear in LBDB’s lyric.
Look closely at the differences between my translation of her Chinook Jargon & what the original lyrics said…You may be astonished.
WAH, HY-AS CHUCK COOLEY.
[Grand Ronde-style spellings:] xwá*, háyás chə́qw kúli.
[literal meanings:] wow*, big water flow.
[my fluent translation:] ‘Wow, the (Columbia) River is flowing!’
/ [original lyric:] ‘O, RESTLESS SEA.’Ict.
íxt.
one.
‘First [stanza].’
/ ‘–‘Hy-as chuck cooley,
háyás chə́qw kúli,
big water flow,
‘The (Columbia) River is flowing,’
/ ‘O, restless sea,’
Kwanisum wau-wau sick tum-tum,
kwánsəm wáwa sík-tə́mtəm,
always say hurting-heart,
‘Always say you’re sorry,’
/ ‘Still murm’ring thy sad strain,’
Wau-wau pee nika, alki nika nanich tellicum;
wáwa [Ø] pi nayka, áłqi nayka nánich tílixam;
say it and me, eventually I see friend;
‘Say it and I’ll eventually see a friend;’
/ ‘Tell me, O tell me, shall we ne’er meet again.’
Alki yah-ka chaco,
áłqi yaka cháku,
eventually he come,
‘Some day he’ll come here,’
/ ‘Will he return,’Alki yah-ka chaco,
áłqi yaka cháku,
eventually he come,
‘Some day he’ll come here,’
/ ‘will he return?’Wau-wau pee nika, mika tum-tum alki chaco?
wáwa [Ø] pi nayka, mayka tə́mtəm áłqi cháku [Ø]?
say it and me, you think eventually come it?
‘Say it and I (will)*, do you think some day it’ll happen?’
/ ‘Tell me, O tell me, will he ne’er return?’
Nesika alki mitlite sahale,
nsayka áłqi míłayt sáxali,
we eventually be.located above,
‘We’ll be above some day,’
‘Meet him above,’Kah, halo snass pee cole chaco,
qʰá, hílu snás pi kʰúl chaku,
where no rain or cold come,
‘Where no rain or cold come,’
‘Where storms can ne’er come,’Mitlite nika nanich kopa Sahale Papa house.
míłayt nayka nánich kʰupa sáx̣ali-pápá-háws.
be.there I see in sky-father-house.
‘There’ll be me looking at the Sky Father House.’
/ ‘There you will meet, in a bright future home.’Sahale Tah-manawis,
sáx̣ali t’əmánəwas,
sky spirit.power,
‘Sky Spirit Power,’
/ ‘Immortal soul,’Mika halo mamook,
mayka hílu mámuk,
you not work,
‘You won’t work,’
/ ‘For thee there is rest,’Nah-witka, halo mamook mitlite Sahale Papa house,
nawítka, hílu mamuk míłayt [Ø] sáx̣ali-pápá-háws,
yes, no work be.there in sky-father-house,
‘Yes, there’s no work at the Sky Father House,’
/ ‘Yes, there is rest in that bright future home.’Nika win-a-pie pee yoult-cut,
nayka wínapi* pi yúłqat,
I wait* and long.in.size,
‘I’ll wait* and be tall*,’
/ ‘I’ve waited so long,’Wake nanich yaka chaco,
wík nánich yaka cháku,
not see he come,
‘Not seeing him coming,’
/ ‘Will he never return?’Hy-as chuck lo-lo nika kopa Sahale Papa house,
háyás chə́qw lúlu nayka kʰupa sáx̣ali-pápá-háws,
big water carry me to sky-chief-house,
‘The (Columbia) River will carry me to the Sky Father House,’
/ ‘Restless sea, take me home to that bright future home.’Delate mika wau-wau, yah-ka wake chaco,
dléyt mayka wáwa, yaka wík cháku,
really you say he not come,
‘Are you telling the truth that he’s not coming here,’
/ ‘Is it true, shall I never more behold thee?’Nika tikegh nanich yah-ka ict sun,
nayka tíki nánich yaka íxt sán,
I want see him one day,
‘I want to see him one day,’
/ ‘O, could I but meet him once more on earth.’Tah-manawis chaco, lo-lo nika,
t’əmánəwas cháku, lúlu nayka,
spirit.power come, carry me,
‘Spirit power come, carry me,’
/ ‘Angels come, bear me home,’Tah-manawis chaco, lo-lo nika,
t’əmánəwas cháku, lúlu nayka,
spirit.power come, carry me,
‘Spirit power come, carry me,’
/ ‘Angels come and take me home,’Lo-lo nika, lo-lo nika,
lúlu nayka, lúlu nayka,
carry me, carry me,
‘Carry me, carry me,’
/ ‘Take me home, O take me home,’Kopa Sahale Papa house,
kʰupa sáx̣ali-pápá-háws,
to sky-father-house,
‘To the Sky Father House,’
/ ‘To that bright future home,’Cooley, chuck, wah cooley chuck.
kúli, chə́qw, xwá* kúli chə́qw.
flow, water, wow!* flow water.
‘Flow, water, wow!*, flow, water.’
/ ‘O, restless sea, O, restless sea.’
