A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

In the first place you came to us
stole the truth and burnt it
we were left with the ashes 
of a land we loved
Then we found how
to make you disappear
life without fear
returned once more
We danced you away a long time ago
you died in the snow at Wounded Knee
Your body not frozen
but your soul
This is the ghost world
this is the lie
you are the ghost not I.
This kingdom of yours
stinks of death
You are old and tired
hollow men.
It is time for you to start again.

I will show you how to dance with me.
the last dance
dance with no beginning
and no end.
Dance with the clouds, the snows, the storm
teach your eyes to see 
When the winter comes
I will return
to dance with your dead ones.
You will fly
above these winds of change
reborn
set down on a new path
unearthing
resurrection.

Wounded Knee

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

Medicine man he came to me
taught me how to see
I looked through all the walls of cars
and could not see a tree
I looked through all the concrete
and could not see a leaf.
In the city sky there are no stars
Hey man where are the stars gone?
Let me out of here
no stars anymore.
The only light is poison to the night.

Holy Man

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

In the Drying Grass Moon
a Messiah came
He was in white
dark hair flying.
He held out his hands
to show me the wounds
I was afraid
he said have no fear
lay down your cares
for your white man’s world
and all it holds
is ended.

You have been swallowed 
by a new earth
yet you do not know it.
Once you bled our life dry
left our women dead,
children crying 
in their mother’s blood
So we put on our ghost shirts
we Paiute, we Sioux, Arapaho
which freed us from bullets
we few that were left.
Warriors without spears
we danced
Those who had been, were again
riding wild horses
warriors
wise men,
Returning to us pasture, water, trees
all became as it once was
as He said it would be
and we were free .

Drying Grass Moon

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

PART 1

I was lost and I was lonely
I was lost and I was lonely
Cried a lot of tears
Got to know my fears
In those wilderness years

You appeared in every dream of mine, Lord
You figured in every scheme of mine, Lord
But there was too much dreaming
There was too much scheming
It was as much as I could do to keep a hold of you

It was all that I could do, Lord
To keep a hold on you, Lord
The sun was always hot
You were out a lot
Hardly ever here in my wilderness years

Got to cry a lot of tears, Lord
Got to cry a lot of tears, Lord
In those wilderness years
In those wilderness years
In those wilderness years

PART 2

Time glides so slowly
Slow like a dream
We enter the garden
A king and a queen
So easy, so freely
We walk to the stream
The willow hangs over
Silver and green

Barefoot in cool brook
Day slides on by
We wander together
In long grass we lie
No hurries, no worries
A day free of care
A Sunday in Eden
King and a queen

Wilderness Years

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

Dancing in the snow
nowhere else to go
no food, no wife
no work, no life
Somewhere he is waiting
somewhere he is waiting
somewhere he will find me
in the frozen stream
in the dying dream
in a secret place lies his heart
at rest
warrior supreme
all those we’ve lost
all those we’ve lost
all those we’ve lost
waiting for the new earth.
waiting for His new earth
White man come disarm me 
your bullets cannot harm me
I will dance on through
dance from first light
into the night
the dance is everything
the dance is everything
end and beginning.
White man come dance
and learn the truth.

Dance Chant

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

Now my eyes have opened
and I can see anew
see your sweet face smiling, Lord
no need to be blue.

The grass is green again
spring is here to stay
birds are all singing
children can play
apple trees growing
clean water flowing
fresh air to breathe
a prayer for us daily
a world that is free.
Life is for living
loving and giving.
Lord can you hear us
Lord can you hear us
Lord can you hear us
Lord can you see
How dearly we love you
How glad can we be.
No sadness
no crying
no sorrows
no sighing
no fighting
no killing
no spoiling
no spilling.
The world is all over
the world is all new
we’ve danced through the darkness
prayed on through.

Lord we’d like to thank you
for gving us a new world
for making us glad
sunlight and moonlight
nighttime and day
a clean world, a bright world
new hope, new way
a prayer for tomorrow
a chance for today
Lord we must thank you
Lord we must thank you
Lord we must thank you
Lord we can dance.

Lord We'd Like To Thank You

A remix by Snipe of the jazz opera "Ghost Dance" by Ann Harrison-Broninski (libretto) and Keith Harrison-Broninski (score).  See set description for more information.

It was the end of the line
I was out of time
I’d turned the water into wine
they were waiting for me
ropes ready
Nowhere to go
I’d run every show
sung every score
kissed them all, blessed them
fed them, dressed them
I walked down the corridoor
heard the key in the lock
noose round my neck
tick of the clock.
said goodbye to the crew
they didn’t know me
or pretended not to.
Couldn’t let on - it was all a con
Life’s too short to let it hurt.
Last moment’s hang on
as I swing in the dark.

Suddenly the world turned white
bright light
sky was rent
earth bled 
I watched it die
catastrophe consuming.
what you need to know is why
how are we to survive life
how are we to survive it
how are we to survive life 
we only see what we want to see?
There’s facts that need addressing
if we want his blessing
we gotta listen more
we gotta listen more
we gotta listen more
get to know the score
get real
and see.
Lets look at what we got here
yeah? Lets look at what we’ve got;
a dying earth
a loss of faith
too much dirt,
too much waste, 
not a desirable situation
not a place to raise a baby in
deserts that were green plains
pouring poisons down our drains.
selling our last wilderness

Messiah's Song

Excerpt from a jazz opera based on the Sun Dance, a Native American ritual of purification and spiritual renewal (libretto by Ann Harrison-Broninski, classical/rhythm section score by Keith Harrison-Broninski, horn section score by Pee Wee Ellis).   See set description for more information.

I am a spiral
looking within
iced perfection
better than rejection
seeing my reflection
in a glass eye
fins wing the sky
I smell water 
swim like a fish
gasping air
find me a prayer
gotta stop sinking
bubbles all around 
your eyes shining 
deep green.
Higher and higher
splashin’ through solitude
this mood is a rainbow
It’s got me thinking
Noah and the flood
when it all turned to mud
what did he do?
 
I dive from a rock
feel the waves beat
sun hardly reaches
my cool green pool.
Winding, you could be
winding me
Set me spinning,
brimming over 
drinking 
all of your juices.
 
Dreams of dolphins
I hear your call
see a silver tail
scales catch the light
shimmering.
We fall through water
acrobats
tumbling
entwined in the wash
row through 
white waters’ 
surge
urging me on
arms ache with the swell
you are somewhere
swallowing up the whole
whirling
 
Caught in the vortex
between the devil
and the deep.
Place of peace
looking glass
stars rest
epiphany.
My need is forever
no easy way out.
A mermaid must walk
or swim in the dark.

Sun Trance - Excerpt

Excerpt from a jazz opera based on the Sun Dance, a Native American ritual of purification and spiritual renewal (libretto by Ann Harrison-Broninski, classical/rhythm section score by Keith Harrison-Broninski, horn section score by Pee Wee Ellis).   See set description for more information.

Breaking through ozone
into a new zone
glorious planet
place of sweet grass,
harmony
symphony
daisies
hip hop
somewhere to skip hop
sink roots
grow shoots
eat cake
drink tequila.
Clean green soul
unfurling
beat sets us whirling
we will win through
tango at dawn
barefoot
dress torn
trails in the dew.
 
Do you believe
in Adam and Eve now
she holds out her heart
for a first bite
his delight
crisp skin crunching
flesh inside
ecstasy
spitting pips out
to sprout in the soil
growth of a tree
apples fall
wisdom
fantasy.

We all started 
with the snakes’ hiss
fear and loss
whispering
Now the dance
bliss
waltz
His breath
on her hair
longing
belonging
while there’s a chance.
Petals in rainfall
 
I recall you from somewhere
somewhere
somewhere before
scent of spring
rhythms repeat
reawakening.
Yes we can
Yes we can breathe
we can breathe
we can breathe again.
 
Stretch like a snake
shedding his skin
Hiss hiss
smooth gleam
sliding
glistening
Glide to a dream
Your fullness
within
your fullness within me
water, earth, blood
listening, listening
pulse of our life
man, woman
woman, man
making
making
making a child
woman and man 
making a child.
Lies in the sun
like a cat with cream
cool breeze
clover
fever is over 
freshness
wonder
 
Breaking through ozone
into a green zone
glorious planet
place of sweet grass
harmony
symphony
torn apart
newborn
now the dance
the dance, dance...

Sun Dance - Opening

Excerpt from a jazz opera based on the Sun Dance, a Native American ritual of purification and spiritual renewal (libretto by Ann Harrison-Broninski, classical/rhythm section score by Keith Harrison-Broninski, horn section score by Pee Wee Ellis).   See set description for more information.

No retreat from the heat
sun's beat keeps on pounding
hanging here, could be swinging
maybe for eternity
eyes feel like they're burning
I'm learning to be a bird.
Nerves plunge beyond a cloud
gotta swoop down to the ground
hear a snake hiss
think of your kiss
but you're nowhere to be found.
'Cos I'm out here , facing my fear
spinning on a wire
like some twisted desert flower.
I'm all parched, scarlet, threaded
snatched from the air
swiftly scour the landscape
for some carrion
sand-splayed
lizard-like
dry twigs scrapin'.
See a skullbone, I think
this is not about creation
but the ultimate destination.
 
We're all swinging here
in mid air
need to find a way around
the darkness 
blood roars in my ear
I'm no Navaho or Sioux
so maybe I gotta screw loose.
Flying higher and higher
with wings of fire
spreadeagling in the sky
leaving the world behind
moving to another place
somewhere up in space
where I can rap with stars
words count more than money
a land of milk and honey.
 
Leaving all my cares, leaving all the cars
all the carbon monoxide and parking lots
We're poisoning this planet
what we gonna do about it
So many supermarkets and precinct shopping
we don't want yoghurt with a muesli topping
we want festivals, fair trade, home made lemonade.
Let's scrap the scooby snacks, the genetically modified crap.
This isn't my usual kind of poetry
but I needed to write with a different beat
realisation, sort of transformation
reinterpretation of metre.
Gotta find release soon
or I'm gonna burst into flame.
Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink
not even in the kitchen sink.
There's a stink of scorching feathers
I'm gonna fall like Icarus.
 
Return to shore an ancient mariner
sit on a porch
listen to the oceans' roar
pick up pebbles on the beach
walk in the waves
catch fish for breakfast.
A nice way to die
but there's more to life 
gotta keep reaching out
follow the beat whever it leads.
Cos we've all got needs
places to get to, seeds to sow
people to know, promises to keep
so much to do I feel like weeping
never get a chance to sleep or just
sit on a step and dream.
Harvest, this is harvest
when we all get blessed
time to invest in some serious thought
get it sorted before its too late.
I may not understand the universe
but I gotta find peace of mind.
So that's why I'm spinning on my wire,
like some twisted desert flower
hanging there, spinning in the air
I can feel my wings growing
feel the pounding of the sun
don't know where I'm going
don't know what I've done.
I'm wild I'm an eagle child
my day has just begun....

Sun Beat - Opening

Nick Sorensen (sax) and I recorded these tracks at the Wiltshire Music Centre in 1999, accompanied by flute and didgeridoo. We later released them among other live and studio recordings of the time on an album "Alive".

Alive

Cherokee; Witchi-Tai-To

Collaborative works from the Nunney Jazz Cafe including jazz operas with a Native American theme

NJC Collaborations

Popular tracks