Lyrics
(Native American folk song, Wichita)
Ya ya we, ya ya we, ya ya we
Ya ha we
See also
- Culture: Native American
- Harmony: countermelodies / Orff arrangements
- Melody: high & low / E,G,A,B
- Meter: 3 (triple)
- Scale: pentatonic
- Timbre: Boomwhackers
- Tones: drmsl
- Source: Sing ‘Round the World, Vol. 2, Shirley McRae, 1990 (“Wichita Stick Game”)
- Song with chords, Lesson ideas, Orff arrangement for Boomwhacker/Glockenspiel/Recorder – notes: E,G,A,B) Countermelody (PDF)
- MIDI file
- Listen to the song
6 thoughts on “Ya Ya We”
Beth, I love your posts and have found so many wonderful ideas on your site! I was wondering if you know which Native American culture this song comes from? My students are specifically learning about Native Americans of the Eastern Woodlands, so I know they would be interested to know which culture this song comes from. I searched it online and couldn’t figure it out…
Celia,
Great question! I just looked it up, and it’s Wichita! In fact, I should retype it and put that on there! Thank you! <3
Thank you for the song. Do you know a general translation or meaning?
Thanks for your question! I don’t know if there is a meaning to these words. A lot of these types of songs have syllables with no meaning.
Thank you for sharing this song which is in the unusual scale of mi pentatonic (rarely found, but occasionally in native-Amnerican songs). Do you have an original source for this song you could share? Thanks.
Jonathan, my source is Sing ‘Round the World, Vol. 2 By Shirley McRae. She calls it the “Wichita Stick Game.”