A popular song from 1922.
Words and music by Roy Bargy, Roger Lewis, and Ernie Erdman.
The sheet music:
Accompaniment by James Pitt-Payne:
Lyrics
- Big Chief lonely and blue, sighing
Much grief all the night thru, crying
Big Chief sick of civilization
Go back quick to Reservation
Got no use for education
Got the Tee-pee blues
Soon he’ll hit the mountain trail
Singing in the moonlight pale
Chorus
“Tee-pee blues, creepy blues
Blue for blue skies, streams and mountains
Blue for young papoose
Blue for squaw and blue for wigwam
Buffalo and moose
Tee-pee blues
Pow-wow calls and Big Chief can’t refuse
Wants to chase a coyote, round a boulder
Wants to beat a tom-tom, shake a shoulder
Big Chief’s got the creepy Tee-pee blues”
- Red man for his canoe lonely
Big town, automobile, only
Tired of high life afternoon napping
Tired of jazz dance finger snapping
Wants his fishing, wants his trapping
Bow and arrow, too
Anybody say “New York”
Scalp him with a tom-a-hawk
Sung here by Fred Feild: