Michael Simms: Four Songs from the Sioux

Behold

This is a ceremonial song of the Sioux Sun dance,
the three verses being sung by a leader in the ceremony.

Where holy you behold
in the place where the sun rises
holy you behold

Where holy you behold
in the place where the sun passes us
holy you behold

Where goodness you behold
at the turning back of the sun
goodness may you behold

—

Song at Sunrise

This also is a song of the Sun dance and was sung
by the leader as the sun rose on the second day of
the ceremony.

Here am I
behold me
I am the sun
behold me

—

Song of a Medicine-man

At night may I roam
against the winds may I roam
when the owl is hooting
may I roam

—

A Warrior’s Horse

This is the personal song of Lone Man, a warrior
who fought at Little Big Horn, who received it
in a dream and sang it in times of danger,
believing it to have supernatural power.

Friends, my horse, behold it
Friends, my horse will run, behold it
Friends, my horse flying
is running

—

Copyright 2016 Michael Simms. These four songs were adapted from original transcripts based on phonograph recordings by Frances Densmore in 1917 and digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from The Library of Congress.
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Sitting Bull (1831 – 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people during years of resistance to United States government policies. He was killed by Indian agency police on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation during an attempt to arrest him, at a time when authorities feared that he would join the Ghost Dance movement.