Sundance True Story Song
About
Song Type: Sundance
This song is commonly sung in Sundance ceremonies.
Translations
Wicasala Wan
Transcription of John Around Him Version:
Yay, hey, hey, yo
Yay, hey, hey, yo
Hey, oh, hey, ey, high, ya
Way, ah, hey-ey, high, ya
Way, ah, hey, ya, waya, hah, oh, oh
Heya, ya, ha, waya, ha, oh, wayo, hey, hoi
Wicasala wan (ya)
tewahila k’un (yo)
wan weglakin kta hunse (ho)
Hey, ya, ya, hah, eh-ya, ha, oh, wey-oh, hey-oh
x2
Translation:
Wicasala wan(ya)
tewahila k’un(yo)
wan weglakin kta hunse (ho)
First line = [There was] a (only one) young man
Wicasa = man
la = could make the word a superlative (here, great man; real man), but here it signifies “only” (as in, there was “only one man”)
So Wicasala means "only one young man"
wan = a (singular article)
Second line: I loved him dearly
tewahila = I loved dearly/I cherished; in Lakota, another spelling may be Thečhíȟila
k’un = article that refers back to the previous noun, which here is the “young man”; meaning “I loved HIM very much’
Third line: I will speak with him; OR: I desire to speak with him [again]
wan weglakin kta hunse
wan = one; one person; someone (here: him; that man)
weglakin = to speak with (root verb: glak)
kta = suffix indicating future tense (I will)
hunse = postpositional particle that softens the future tense; so: “I want to,” “I wish to,” or “I would like to”
Translation of entire song:
There was only one young man
Whom I loved dearly.
I will speak with him (OR: I desire to talk with him [again])
