Tiny colonies of settlers sprung up across the state , carving chunks out the prairie into farms and towns as American Indians were displaced. And although there is some question whether Higley himself wrote this verse, which is part of the state song:
The Red man was pressed from this part of the west,
He's likely no more to return,
To the banks of the Red River where seldom if ever
Their flickering campfires burn.
That verse, Murphey said, "shows nostalgic sadness at the disappearing of Native Americans at a time when the Indian Wars were still going on, revealing that settlers were not always at odds with their Native American neighbors, and that many pioneers felt fondness for some Indians."
As Tanner points out the verse is different from the original.
And it seems to differ from Higley's thought.
Although the verse may not support Murphey's view clearly,
I agree his conclusions by some reasons.
Brewster Higley also might be one of such pioneers.
I would like to interpret the song as the thought of an idealist.
The strange phrase of the song Home on the Range is "Where the Deer and the Antelope play".
You know any antelope did not exist in the Americas(see wikipedia).
Therefor Higley had never seen the scene "the Deer and the Antelope play". *1
Antelope is alike deer.
He described that two similar animals played together.
What does this mean ?
Higley lived in the time when the white pioneers and the American Indians were in severe conflict.
I would like to think he hoped the amicable relationship of each other.
The deer would be the symbol of the American Indians,
and the antelope would be the symbol of the white pioneers coming here later.
"The Deer and the Antelope play" seems to mean the peaceful relations on good terms between them.
He seemed to express his hope for peace in the phrase "Where the Deer and the Antelope play".
"Where seldom is heard a discouraging word" follows that.
But there is not any connection with the former phrase.
What is the meaning of "discouraging word" ? *2
The mass slaughters were repeated for the vengeful thought by each other in the Indian War.
When he described "give me a home", it meant the peaceful home that was not yet realized.
And therefor he wished the peaceful home.
In the home such he dreamed, any vengeful thought or hate speaking would disappear.
"Discouraging word" might mean the word of vengeful thought, which discouraged the peace. *3
Higley described in the 3rd verse "On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever, Any poisonous herbage doth grow". The poisonous herbage seemed to suggest the war. The poem was described in 1873 several years after the Battles of Beaver Creek in August 1867 and October 1868(see wikipedia). The Beaver river is not so near from Smith country he lived. It cannot be the true poisonous herbage that Higley described to grow on the banks of the Beaver. He seemed to describe his hope not to occur the battle again in the phrase.
He described "If their glory exceed that of ours".
What is "glory of ours"?
One of the answers would be the success of settling.
The other answer would be the making peace between the white man and the red man.
No one can know the Higley's thought.
I would like to point out the possibility of the latter.
Whoes "home on the Range"?
I think:
the home was not only for him, but for both the white pioneers and the American Indians.
The home in his thought had to be peaceful paradise where they lived on good terms.
The slaughters do not match well with the bright nature there.
So he described the nature of the home as something bright.
Many American might feel this song as that of a pioneer's spirit.
I a Japanese appreciate this song as that for the hope of peace,
and I love this song.
Even if the pronghorn lived in Kansas State, was there an inevitability to describe the deer and the antelope in pairs ?
*2 Russell K. Hickman wrote:
The words of the chorus “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word” – (in some versions “Where never is heard a discouraging word”) may have been inspired by Higley’s freedom from domestic discord, which possibly he achieved by his removal from Indiana to Kansas.
Russell K. Hickman,"The Historical Background of “Home on the Range” http://www.dunelady.com/laporte/histories/Home_on_the_Range.html
*3 Russell K. Hickman wrote:
A Mr. Reese --who is one f the oldest pioneers in the section stated --that the occasion of their meeting was an indignation meeting against the Indians,
Russell K. Hickman,"The Historical Background of “Home on the Range” http://www.dunelady.com/laporte/histories/Home_on_the_Range.html
Oh, give me a home where the Buffalo roam
Where the Deer and the Antelope play;
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not cloudy all day
.(Chorus)
A home! A home!
Where the Deer and the Antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word,
And the sky is not clouded all day.
Oh! give me a land where the bright diamond sand
Throws its light from the glittering streams,
Where glideth along the graceful white swan,
Like the maid in her heavenly dreams.
(Chorus)
Oh! give me a gale of the Solomon vale,
Where the life streams with buoyancy flow;
On the banks of the Beaver, where seldom if ever,
Any poisonous herbage doth grow.
(Chorus)
How often at night, when the heavens were bright,
With the light of the twinkling stars
Have I stood here amazed, and asked as I gazed,
If their glory exceed that of ours.
(Chorus)
I love the wild flowers in this bright land of ours,
I love the wild curlew's shrill scream;
The bluffs and white rocks, and antelope flocks
That graze on the mountains so green.
(Chorus)
The air is so pure and the breezes so fine,
The zephyrs so balmy and light,
That I would not exchange my home here to range
Forever in azures so bright.
(Chorus)
※ハウスhouseは家なのですが、ホームhomeはhouseよりずっと多義的です。 英語の辞書には以下のようにあります。
1. A place where one lives; a residence.
2. The physical structure within which one lives, such as a house or apartment.
3. A dwelling place together with the family or social unit that occupies it; a household.
4. a. An environment offering security and happiness.
b. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin.
5. The place, such as a country or town, where one was born or has lived for a long period.
おそらくhomeに一番近い日本語は居場所でしょう。
居場所と感じる場所がhomeで、homeには心理的要素が含まれています。
my old Kentucky home(懐かしきケンタッキーの我が家) のhomeはほぼ家ですが、
このhomeにも微妙に心理的要素が含まれているように思えます。
上記の「5.人が生まれたあるいは長く生活している国や町のような場所｣は、
日本語ではふるさとです。
ただhomeは実際の居場所であるだけでなく、居場所と感じる場所まで含まれます。
そのために、homeとふるさと(故郷)の間にはニュアンスの相違が生じます。
故郷はもともと中国語から入ってきた言葉です。
出身地ほどの意味だったと思われます。
現代中国語の故郷は日本語の故郷と同じで、
生まれた地、育った地を意味します。
魯迅の小説「故郷」は、日本語の故郷と同じ意味です。
日本語でも中国語でも、
故郷は過去性を色濃く帯びています。
特に日本では故郷は「古里・故里・ふるさと」であり、
現在の生活の地と対比される過去の生活の地を意味します。
一方、英語のhomeはというと、
やはりいくぶんかは過去性を帯びています。
しかし、日本語の故郷(ふるさと)と較べるとその過去性はずっと薄いように思われます。
エーデルワイスの歌詞にmy home land foreverとあります。
このhome landは過去に生活していた故郷(ふるさと)の国ではなく、
現に生活している自分の国の意味です。
同様に、home townは過去に生活した町であってもよく、
現在生活している町でもよい言葉です。
このように現在性・主観性を持つ「home」と過去性の強い「故郷(ふるさと)」には、
ニュアンスの違いがあります。
homeを日本語の「ふるさと」置き換えると、
現在性がなくなり追憶の対象となりがちです。
それにもかかわらず、敢えてふるさととしたのはある考えによります。
この点については、機会があれば書いてみたいと思います。
Yuzpe AA, Thurlow HJ, Ramzy I, Leyshon JI. Post coital contraception—a pilot study. J Reprod Med. 1974; 13:53-8.
Ling WY, Robichaud A, Zayid I, Wrixon W, MacLeod SC. Mode of action of dl-norgestrel and ethinylestradiol combination in postcoital contraception. Fertil Steril. 1979;32:297-302.
Ling WY, Wrixon W, Zayid I, Acorn T, Popat R, Wilson E. Mode of action of dl-norgestrel and ethinylestradiol combination in postcoital contraception. II. Effect of postovulatory administration on ovarian function and endometrium. Fertil Steril. 1983;39:292-7.
Kubba AA, White JO, Guillebaud J, Elder MG. The biochemistry of human endometrium after two regimens of postcoital contraception: a dl-norgestrel/ethinylestradiol combination or danazol. Fertil Steril. 1986:45:512-6.
ところが、1990年代には疑問視する論文が提出されていました。
Taskin O, Brown RW, Young DC, Poindexter AN, Wiehle RD. High doses of oral contraceptives do not alter endometrial α1 and ανβ3integrins in the late implantation window. Fertil Steril. 1994;61:850-5.
Swahn ML, Westlund P, Johannisson E, Bygdeman M. Effect of post-coital contraceptive methods on the endometrium and the menstrual cycle. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1996;75:738-44.
Raymond EG, Lovely LP, Chen-Mok M, Seppälä M, Kurman RJ, Lessey BA. Effect of the Yuzpe regimen of emergency contraception on markers of endometrial receptivity. Hum Reprod. 2000;15:2351-5.
