Song No. 1

1

Here we stand ready now to go on our way
To the field, buried under leaves dead and gray.

Refrain:  Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha! 
              Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha!

[Music]

By the end of the first line of the refrain the dancers will have reached the “field” and have begun to dispose themselves over the space.  Seven must stand in the first row, where they are to make the seven ceremonial hills.  These seven dancers should lead the motions of all the others, so that the movements may present even lines, as in the bowing of violins in an orchestra.  The refrain should be repeated as many times as is necessary while the dancers are taking position, clearing the field, etc.  The number of repeats must be determined upon at the rehearsals of the dancers.  Sufficient time should be taken to bring out the picture and to give it in perfect rhythm with the music.  When the refrain closes, the dead leaves and twigs are supposed to be gathered into heaps ready to be burned.

2

See the fire send its “word of flame” mounting high,
Now the smoke rolls about the earth, shuts out sky.

Refrain:  Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha! 
              Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha!

The action for this stanza should indicate the heat of the fire; shielding the face, pushing back stray leaves or twigs to the burning heap; the rolling smoke follows the dancers, who here and there try to escape it.  This scene will require study to bring out the picture rhythmically.  It should form a contrast to the preceding and the following scene, in both of which the movements are more or less uniform.  In this scene groups should emphasize certain conditions:  the fire, the smoke, the work of keeping the heaps together, so that the picture will be one of action diverse to a degree and yet every movement dominated by the rhythm of the song; the picture will thus be made a unit.

3

Mellow earth, make the little, hills smooth on top,
On the earth softly the kernels we drop.

Refrain:  Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha! 
              Ah hey they,
            Ah hey hey they,
            Ah hey they ha!

In the action of this stanza the seven dancers in the front row make seven ceremonial hills, mellowing the earth with the wooden hoes and gathering it into little hills made smooth on top.  The pouches are swung to the front, the corn taken out with one hand while the other holds the hoe at rest, and the kernels are dropped on the softened earth.  The dancers should be careful to remember that in the ceremonial row of seven hills but one kernel is to be dropped in the first hill, two in the second, and so on up to seven in the seventh hill.  All the dancers scattered over the “field” must follow the movements of the seven in charge of the seven ceremonial hills.