1)
En stackars fattig indian
A poor, wretched indian
Ett skogans wilde barn
One (of) the woodland's wild children
Alt fran sin ungdom bundenhardt
All from his youth severely bound
I ofgrunds fustern jarn
In low/inferior cheating/deceiving ways
Engang utof en missionar
He came by one day, outside, a missionary
Fick hora lifvets ord
And heard the word of life
Och i hans hjarta sjonk det ned
And in his heart it sank down deep
Som regn i torstig jord
Like rain in thirsty ground
In verse might go like this:
A poor and wretched Indian
A woodland's wild kin
From childhood a prisoner
Of poverty and sin
A missionary crossed his path
The word of life proclaimed
The Indian's heart was softened
As by a summer rain
To continue:
2)
He heard from the Lord Jesus, these wonderful words
How God's own son from heaven came down to this earth
How he had done all good, this humble Savior
How he the cross had suffered, and then rose again
3)
There stood our wretched indian, speechless in admiration
To him this story was "the good news"indeed
What then might he present this Savior even now?
All that he owned was only a gun and a hound
4)
To him the gun was indispensable
But he immediately brought it to the missionary
And to the white man said "Will Christ receive this gift?"
"It's dear to me, but I lay it willingly at His feet"
5)
But the missionary answered,"Oh no, my friend, oh no
The dear Lord Jesus Christ does not want your gift"
So the indian stammering, said, "Will he take my dog?"
And he was given answer, "He neither needs that gift"
6)
And now with troubled face he sat down on the ground
And to himself he mumbled, "I have nothing else to give"
And as he thought about it, he struck upon new hope
And with this new idea, he sprang up from the ground
7)
And troubled in heart, cast himself at the missionary' feet
In anxiety the poor wretched indian feared Christ's rejection
With questioning and longing he waited for an answer
The answer came, the Savior only wants you as His gift
8)
Thanks and praise be unto God who for his flock has died
And eagerly seeks daily the ones both lost and lone
Received He from that red man, the Savior his soul gift
Now sings of this our indian, "in my heart, all is well"
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