Worn and Weary
"I will fight no more..."
© Richard Coffey - All Rights Reserved
Our chiefs are killed...
The little children are freezing to death...
My people have no blankets, no food...
My heart is sick and sad...
I will fight no more forever.
- Chief Joseph
"Oh, I am very weary,
Though tears no longer flow;
My eyes are tired of weeping,
My heart is sick of woe. "
- Anne Bronte
Worn and Weary
This melancholy tune is musical tribute to the sad and empty feeling Native Americans felt when their Nations were torn apart through war with the never-ending white settlers' quest westward for more land. The tragic saga of the New Perce led by Chief Joseph (see link below) epitomizes the tragic injustices of America's "of sea to shining sea" obsession: Manifest Destiny.
The unamed photos are from the Edwin Curtis collection mentioned elsewhere on the site.
About the Music:
A while back I recorded a crazy tune where I sang and played a traditional flute at the same time (a trademark sound of Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull). On a whim, I started experimenting doing the same technique on the Native America flute--this time singing in unsion, fourths or fifths above and below the note I was playing on the bass Native American flute. Its a haunting and mysterious sound. Multiphonics