THE RED ROAD ENSEMBLE

EARTH DAY

I know almost as much about the native Americans as I do the Civil War- that is to say- quite a lot. Here are two songs from Robbie Robertson and the Red Road Ensemble "Songs for the Native American" ...I like this Album very much.

I like the Native Americans extreme reverence for the Earth and admire the idyllic way the Tribes lived on the land.

The first tune concerns the Ghostdance , where the tribes believed that they could summon their ancestors to help them to fight against the White Men. The Ghostdance would give them enough Warriors to restore the land and bring back the Buffalo that the whites had wastefully slaughtered. Sitting Bull was killed while under arrest and his band was subsequently massacred at Wounded Knee, South Dakota for trying to dance up their ancestors.

GHOSTDANCE

Crow has brought the message

To the children of the sun

For the return of the buffalo

And for a better day to come

You can kill my body

You can damn my soul

For not believing in your god

And some world down below

(chorus)

You don't stand a chance against my prayers

You don't stand a chance against my love

They outlawed the Ghost Dance

But we shall live again, we shall live again

My sister above

She has red paint

She died at Wounded Knee

Like a latter day saint

You got the big drum in the distance

Blackbird in the sky

That's the sound that you hear

When the buffalo cry

You don't stand a chance against my prayers
You don't stand a chance against my love
They outlawed the Ghost Dance
But we shall live again, we shall live again

Crazy Horse was a mystic

He knew the secret of the trance

And Sitting Bull the great apostle

Of the Ghost Dance

Come on Comanche

Come on Blackfoot

Come on Shoshone

Come on Cheyenne

We shall live again

Come on Arapaho

Come on Cherokee

Come on Paiute

Come on Sioux

We shall live again

IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE

The general rode for sixteen days

The horses were thirsty and tired

On the trail of a renegade chief

One he'd come to admire

The soldiers hid behind the hills

That surrounded the village

And he rode down to warn the chief

They'd come to conquer and pillage

Lay down your arms

Lay down your spear

The chief's eyes were sad

But showed no sign of fear

IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE

RAISE YOUR VOICES AND BE THANKFUL

IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE

He spoke of the days before the white man came

With his guns and whisky

He told of a time a long time ago

Before what you call history

The general couldn't believe his words

Nor the look on his face

But he knew these people would rather die

Then have to live in this disgrace

What law have I broken

What wrong have I done

That makes you want to bury me

on this trail of blood

IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE
RAISE YOUR VOICES AND BE THANKFUL
IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE

We cared for the land and the land cared for us

And that's the way it's always been

Never asked for more never asked too much

And now you tell me this is the end

IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE
RAISE YOUR VOICES AND BE THANKFUL
IT IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE

I laid down my weapon

Laid down my bow

Now you want to drive me out

With no place left to go

and he turned to his people and said dry your eyes

We've been blessed and we are thankful

Raise your voices to the sky

It is a good day to die

"It is a good day to die" are the words Sitting Bull used to implore his warriors to fight at a place called Little Bighorn by the Whites, or the Greasy Grass by the Sioux. He had seen the battle unfold in a vision months before. Follow this link for a very good and accurate description of the Events that led up to Custers Last Stand.
The only soldier that was left without his body being desecrated was a Trumpeter who had spent his last moments trying to defend himself with his trumpet.
The Sioux respected him for the courage he showed.
An Sioux woman recollected they had pushed sewing needles through Custers ears so that his hearing would improve. The year before he had been warned , and ashes dumped on his boot, not to fight the Sioux or he would surely die.

This song seems to have some elements of the Nez Perce and the 1100 mile escape/retreat they made just hoping to get to Canada and live in peace. They came up 40 miles short and were sent to a Reservation in northeastern Oklahoma.
It is said that somewhere in the tribal graveyard, there are the bones of Merriwethers Lewis' grandson.