The Trinity Session is perhaps their best known record, recorded live in a single day on a single microphone in a church in Toronto. This album also included a unique cover version of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane". Reed reportedly liked the Junkies' version of the song better than his own, and began performing their version in concert.
None of the band's subsequent albums have been hits outside of Canada, although the band has maintained a dedicated following and have continued to have chart hits in their native country. Following their 1998 album Miles from Our Home, Cowboy Junkies were dropped from their major label contract. They have continued to release albums on their own independent label, Latent Records.
Pale Sun
Cowboy Junkies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt
Found him alone washing in the Bighorn
A steady aim and he bagged his game
Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
He will not return
White Cadillac, white man at the wheel,
White faces on the mountain,
Wounds that will never heal
Black clouds overhead, old man says
Looks like rain
Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign
Says South Dakota, U.S.A.
Grass plains stretch to the horizon,
Not a soul can be found on them
They will not return
Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard,
Purple paint peels but fails to reveal
The bitterness that grows inside
Cloud of dust in the distance,
Strange knock beneath my hood
Is it better to have words left unsaid
Than to have words misunderstood?
Pale sun falls without contest
Here is obedient darkness
It will return
I know it will return
It will return
The lyrics of Cowboy Junkies's song "Pale Sun" describe a desolate and empty landscape where the presence of death and violence is palpable. The song reflects upon the reflections of a person who observes the loneliness of the landscape and the effects that the land and its violent history have on the human psyche. The opening lines of the song refer to a Cheyenne scalp hanging from the belt of an unknown figure who is found alone washing himself in the Bighorn. The singer takes a steady aim and kills the person, never to return to the barren landscape again. The second stanza describes a white Cadillac driven by a white man and some white faces on the mountain. The reference to wounds that will never heal suggests that the damage has been done, and there is no going back. The clouds overhead indicate that the threat of further violence is looming, even if it's not explicit.
The following stanza references a grass plain that stretches to the horizon, with no-one found within it. This lyric reinforces the bleakness and loneliness that seems to permeate the landscape. Similarly, the rusted pickup truck and mad dog in the yard speak to the idea of isolation, where characters are captive to their surroundings in a landscape that offers little hope for escape. The final stanza returns to the central metaphor of a "Pale Sun" that falls without contest, and the singer reflects on how the darkness will inevitably return. In this sense, the song speaks to the futility of escape and the inevitability of history's cyclical nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Fifty miles from Dakota territory
He was a long way from any civilization.
Cheyenne scalp hangs from his belt
He had killed a member of the Cheyenne tribe and took their scalp as a trophy.
Found him alone washing in the Bighorn
He stumbled upon the man while he was bathing by himself in the Bighorn river.
A steady aim and he bagged his game
He had good aim and was able to kill his target.
Pale sun falls without contest
The sun sets without any resistance or struggle.
Here is obedient darkness
The darkness is obediently taking over as nightfall comes.
He will not return
The man he killed will not come back to life.
White Cadillac, white man at the wheel,
A white man was driving a white Cadillac.
White faces on the mountain,
The mountain had white faces on it (possibly snow-covered).
Wounds that will never heal
The scars of past conflicts and atrocities will never fully disappear.
Black clouds overhead, old man says,
There were dark storm clouds in the sky and an old man commented on them.
Looks like rain
It appears that there will be rain and possibly more hardship.
Thieves' Road winds to the Black Hills sign
There is a road that is used by criminals which leads to the Black Hills sign.
Says South Dakota, U.S.A.
The sign says that it is in South Dakota, United States of America.
Grass plains stretch to the horizon,
Wide open grassy fields can be seen as far as the eye can see.
Not a soul can be found on them
There is no one around to be seen or heard on the vast plains.
They will not return
The people who once lived and worked on the plains will never come back.
Old rusted pickup and a mad dog in the yard,
There is an old and rusty pickup truck in the yard along with an aggressive dog.
Purple paint peels but fails to reveal
The purple paint on the truck is peeling away but it doesn't uncover anything new or exciting.
The bitterness that grows inside
There is anger, resentment, or perhaps a sense of loss that is building up inside of someone.
Cloud of dust in the distance,
There is a large amount of dust that is visible from afar, possibly indicating an approaching vehicle or group of people.
Strange knock beneath my hood
There is an unusual sound coming from the engine of the artist's car.
Is it better to have words left unsaid
It may be better to not say certain things rather than cause pain or create problems.
Than to have words misunderstand?
It may be preferable to say nothing rather than risk being misunderstood or causing misunderstanding.
It will return
The sun will rise again and bring a new day.
I know it will return
The singer has faith and confidence that the sun will rise again.
It will return
The line is repeated to emphasize the steadfast nature of the sun's cycle.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MICHAEL TIMMINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ellesee Georgiadis
on Mining For Gold
How beautiful! Thank you for your voice. Thank you for your heart.