The Cheyenne Amazing Grace

Subject: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 07:27 AM

On March 14th I sang "Jesus Netavovehone" as part of my "Special Music" offering. This is a Cheyenne-language hymn that is sung to NEW BRITAIN, and thus thought of as "the Cheyenee Amazing Grace" although it is an independent text. Although I see threads about other tunes for "Amazing Grace", I don't see a thread about other texts (as opposed to extra verses) sung to that tune, so here it is all by its lonesome. Hopefully soon I will remember to post the lyrics.

MP3 of Haruo's solo of "Jesus Netavovehone" on 3/14/10

I also sang it in the Esperanto-language worship service in Bethesda, MD, on May 30, and then the congregation sang it in Esperanto, but that event was not recorded...

Haruo

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: maeve
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 09:30 AM

Thank you for posting a sample of "Jesus Netavovehone" , Haruo. I enjoyed it and hope you do post the lyrics as well as a full mp3.

Maeve

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: GUEST,bankley
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 01:03 PM

thanks... good to hear the voice of the land

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 01:08 PM

I thought that was a "full mp3". Wasn't it? What was it then? It was taken off a tape made during the service, and was first a WMA file, but I ran it through a WMA-to-MP3 converter. Otherwise, I haven't edited it; I sang a cappella (after the first bar or two, where the accompaniment was really more the transition/winddown from another song) and I think it sounds like me...

Haruo

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 01:34 PM

Here's the complete text, leaving off the dots; basically, if I didn't sing a particular vowel, it's probably got a dot above it in the Cheyenne, which means it's more or less whispered, and almost dropped when singing depending on the scansion.

Jesus netavovehone. Tse' ohkeameotsehaetse,
Tse' ohkevovohneh sehaetse oeseva! Hahoo, netahetone.

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: maeve
Date: 23 Nov 10 - 01:51 PM

Ah... Perhaps I'm just greedy and liked it so much I wanted more!

Thank you.

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 01:57 PM

Well, I got a positive review from David Flick, pastor of Watonga Indian Baptist Church in Oklahoma; he wrote (in a thread at BaptistLife.com)

Haruo,

Great job of singing "Jesus Netavovehone." Every word was easily recognizable. You sang with sort of a "Seattleite brogue," but otherwise, well done. When you pass by this way (through Oklahoma) sometime, you can join us as we sing it in our services. We sing that one and "Esenehane Jesus" almost every Sunday. We've taught our children to sing "Jesus Namehota" (#83 in the hymnal). They love it.

In a private message he indicated that my "brogue" consisted mainly of vibrato, which the native singers don't use.

Haruo

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: frogprince
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 02:18 PM

Nice to hear, thanks; one more request? A translation into "paleface"?

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 24 Nov 10 - 03:19 PM

A very rough translation into what we call Boston-wawa up this way would be "Let's sing praise to Jesus. He guides us continually. He cares for us every day. So we say thank you." (I'm basing that on the Esperanto singing text, so it may not be as close as if I knew enough Cheyenne to be sure of myself directly.) The Esperanto text (which we sang in worship in Bethesda, MD, last Memorial Day Sunday) goes

Ni laŭde kantu al Jesu',
Li ade gvidas nin,
Kaj zorgas pri ni dum tago post tag',
Ni dankas do al Li.

Haruo

Subject: RE: The Cheyenne Amazing Grace
From: Haruo
Date: 07 Feb 11 - 09:55 AM

I've put mp3s of a couple other Cheyenne hymns in my hymnblog just now, here (the two posts dated Feb. 7, 2011). Enjoy. There are actually 3 mp3s there, one is in English translation.