 | Indian melodies |  |
[To rove with the wild bird, and go where we will]
To rove with the wild bird, and go where we will,
Oh this is the charm of the forest-life still,
With our houses of bark and our food on the plain,
We are off in an instant, and back there again.
Oh this is the charm of the forest-life still,
With our houses of bark and our food on the plain,
We are off in an instant, and back there again.
No farms can detain us—no chattels prevent,
We live not by ploughing—we live not by rent;
Our herds rove the forest—our flocks swim the floods,
And we skim the broad waters, and trip through the woods.
We live not by ploughing—we live not by rent;
Our herds rove the forest—our flocks swim the floods,
And we skim the broad waters, and trip through the woods.
With ships not of oak wood, nor pitchy, nor strong,
We sail along rivers, and sail with a song;
We care not for taxes—our laws are but few,
And the dart is our sickle—our home the canoe.
We sail along rivers, and sail with a song;
We care not for taxes—our laws are but few,
And the dart is our sickle—our home the canoe.
If enemies press us, or evil feet stray,
We seize on our lances and fight them away;
And when we have nothing more pressing on hand,
We shake the proud rattle, and dance on the land.
We seize on our lances and fight them away;
And when we have nothing more pressing on hand,
We shake the proud rattle, and dance on the land.
We read no big volumes, and clearly from this,
If truths we don't gather, the errors we miss;
Our seers and our chieftains, they tell us what's right,
And freely we sing and we dance and we fight.
If truths we don't gather, the errors we miss;
Our seers and our chieftains, they tell us what's right,
And freely we sing and we dance and we fight.
| Indian melodies | |