The Lenape War Song (Repost)

The Lenape War Song is more of an Religious Song rather than a war song.

    In the Lenape War Song the first few verses do indeed have a resemblance to war during the opening. ‘O poor me, who am going out to fight the enemy, and know not whether I shall return again, to the embraces of my children And my wife.’ These lines show that the individual is preparing for war. Once the poem moves past line five is when the mood shifts to a more religious tone throughout the rest of the poem. It seems to be more of a prayer rather than an up-tempo war song that is meant to inspire an individual. That is my conception of a war song. A war song in my eyes must rally the troops, the individuals to fight on and boost morale. The Lenape War Song on the other hand shows more of a prayer rather than an uplifting tune. On the verses 11-14 it states 'O! thou Great Spirit up above! Take pity on my children And on my wife! Prevent their mourning on my account!'

On verses 11-14 the song shifts its focus from War to a plea to the 'Great Spirit' as stated. This in my opinion gives support to my thesis statement of it openly becoming a prayer. The song continues to support my claim as it moves along, it asks for the Great Spirit to help the individual slay his enemies and to grant the individual strength in returning home. It does still retain aspects of the theme of War but it presents the theme in more of an open prayer rather than a War Song bolstering a large amount of people for an upcoming conflict.

In the final two verses of the Lenape War Song it states 'Take pity on me and preserve my life, and I will make to thee a sacrifice.' This provides irrefutable proof of the religious tones set forth in this song. I again state that this is a War Prayer rather than a War Song. The song asks a Great Spirit for strength, and to preserve the individual's life and if the Great Spirit does so the individual will make a sacrifice to the Great Spirit for accomplishing what had been prayed for.