ALMIGHTY VOICE

© Words & Music by Brian Howard Seibert

“Almighty Voice (1874-97), a Cree Native, was arrested in 1895

for slaughtering a cow on a reserve near Duck Lake, N.W.T.

He escaped, shot and killed a North West Mounted Police officer

who was pursuing him, and became a hero to the Cree before

he was finally killed by the police.”                                              .

                                             Rudy Wiebe, author of ‘Where is the Voice Coming From ?’

Tuning and Chords: Standard for Lyres, Lutes, Guitars and Harps

Key: Em, Strumming Pattern: Moderate Rock, Plucking Pattern: Medium

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Almighty Voice was an open plains Cree,

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Jean Baptiste they called him.

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Almighty Voice just wanted to be,

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Free…so they caught him!

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One lonely cow on the reservation,

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One head of cattle he slaughtered.

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Almighty Voice just wanted to eat…

G         F

Free…but they caught him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they sought him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they caught him!

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Sergeant Colbrook of the RCMP,

G         F

drew a warrant and sought him.

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The North West Mounties always get their man,

G         F

Wayo…they got him!

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In a chinked log lock up in Saskatchewan,

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Paced Almighty Voice, Spotted Calf’s son.

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“You’ll get three weeks on the woodpile,” some officers cried.

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But others, “…Wayo…you’re gonna die!”

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they sought him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they caught him!

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Some said he’d work, some said he’d be hanged,

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Almighty Voice knew naught would happen.

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While being fed, he got himself a gun,

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But Sargeant Colbrook tried to trap him.

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Almighty Voice said, “Don’t take another step!”

G         F

Three times he warned him, then got him.

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That North West Mountie died in Indigenous arms,

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Wayo  …  had shot him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

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Free…but they sought him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they caught him!

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Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Yeah, Yeah!

E                     Am

Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Naw, Naw!

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Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Yeah, Yeah,

E                     Am

Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Wayo!

Am

Almighty Voice was an open plains Cree,

G         F

A renegade they called him.

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Two years wages upon his head,

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Wayo…they caught him!

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The Minnechinass Hills of Saskatchewan,

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On a poplar bluff in the hot prairie sun,

Am

The grass it whispers, the trees they cry,

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“Wayo…you’re gonna die!”

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

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Free…but they caught him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they fought him!

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Almighty Voice, wasn’t alone on that bluff,

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With two others he sheltered.

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His brothers Dublin and Going-Up-To-Sky,

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Dug a pit and they sweltered.

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Two charges by the RCMP,

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Killed Corporals Kerr and Hockin.

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Ernest Grundy died right at the pit,

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When native bullets did the talking!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

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Free…but they caught him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they fought him!

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Almighty Voice kept a hundred men,

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Three days in siege and sunder.

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A nine pounder was brought into the fray,

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The Minnechinass Hills did thunder.

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The canon roared with a sonic boom,

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And the poplars crashed, and the bodies flew.

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A death chant wailed in the prairie gloom,

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The dying voice of Gitchee Manitou!

Am

Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they caught him!

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Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty Voice, Almighty…

E                     Am

Free…but they fought him!

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Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Yeah, Yeah!

E                     Am

Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Naw, Naw!

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Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Yeah, Yeah,

E                     Am

Gitchee Manitou Wayo…Wayo!

Am [Voice Over Music]

A Metis scout found a piece of skull and asked,

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“Shall we check the bluff for a body?”

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“No, son,” the commander said.  “If a man could survive that debacle,

E                     Am

perhaps he truly is the Voice of the Almighty…and I don’t want to talk

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with him just yet!”