Young and brave and wise in counsel,
Loved the maid and wished to take her
As his wife to rule his people.
But she answered him with sadness,
For she loved the youth, 'Beloved,
This is not the time for lovers,
But for warriors to make ready,
For a danger comes upon us.
God has sent a warning message
By the Fairies, and they whispered
To me as I ground the acorns
In the mortar 'neath the buckeyes.

Rally all your braves around you,
Sieze your strong bows, fill your quivers
With the long flintpointed arrows;
Guard the ridges to the eastward
Ere the foe shall fall upon us.'

To the eastward where Diablo
Rears its peak above the fog banks
Drifting landward from the ocean,
Lived a warlike tribe of people.
Fierce they were, and grim and cruel,
Worshiping the Fire Demon
Who is crouching in the mountain.

From their heights they saw the waters
Of the Bay of San Francisco
Lying crystal-clear and purple.