She was also best known as the first wife of English musician Paul McCartney and for her photographs of celebrities and contemporary musicians like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Rolling Stones. She photographed British musician Eric Clapton for Rolling Stone magazine and became the first woman to have a photograph on the cover (May 11, 1968). After she married McCartney, her photo of the two of them appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone on January 31, 1974, making her the only person to appear on the magazine's cover who was also the photographer. Her photographs were later exhibited in more than 50 galleries internationally, and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
After the 1970 breakup of The Beatles, Paul and Linda recorded the album Ram and formed the band Wings in 1971. They garnered several Grammy Awards, becoming one of the most successful British bands of the 1970s. The McCartneys also shared an Oscar nomination for the song "Live and Let Die" for the James Bond film of the same name. She continued to be part of her husband's touring band following Wings' breakup in 1981 up until The New World Tour in 1993.
McCartney became an animal rights activist and wrote and published several vegetarian cookbooks. She also founded the vegetarian Linda McCartney Foods company with her husband. In 1995, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and died from the disease three years later at the age of 56 in her home of Tucson, Arizona.
Linda's album Wide Prairie, which included "Seaside Woman", a song recorded by Wings in 1972. Written in response to allegations from Paul's publisher that Linda's co-writing credits were inauthentic and that she was not a real songwriter, it was released posthumously in 1998 by the McCartney family.
Appaloosa
Linda McCartney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the banks of the Paloose River
The breed became known as the Appaloosa
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
Gallop through the canyon through the past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
Cavalry gets closer every day
Once you ran through peaceful fields of grass
Life for you was easy, full of love
Sleep beneath the yellow moon above
Then the foreign soldiers came from far across the sea
Stealing all the tribal land that once had been so free
Starving people that you love are crawling through the snow
Will they get across the border, heaven only knows
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
Gallop through the canyon through the past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
Cavalry gets closer every day
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
Gallop through the canyon through the past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
But the foreign soldiers came to stay
Then the foreign soldiers came from far across the sea
Stealing all the tribal land that once had been so free
Starving people that you love are crawling through the snow
Will they get across the border, heaven only knows
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
Gallop through the canyon through the past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
But the foreign soldiers came to stay
The song "Appaloosa" by Linda McCartney is a tribute to the native people of North America who lost their way of life due to the invasion of foreign soldiers. The lyrics of this song tell the story of Chief Joseph and his tribe who bred beautiful horses on the banks of the Paloose River. The breed became known as the Appaloosa. The song narrates the story of how the Appaloosa stallion used to gallop through the canyon through the past, leading the tribe to safety and showing the way. However, the cavalry gets closer every passing day. The horses that once ran through peaceful fields and drank from rivers clear and fast are now forced to flee from their own land.
The song brings to light how the foreign soldiers came from far across the sea, stealing all the tribal land that had once been so free. The once easy life of the Appaloosa stallion and its tribe became full of uncertainty and fear. The people that they loved were starving and crawling through the snow, trying to cross the border. The song ends with the Appaloosa stallion still running so fast, galloping through the canyon, leading the tribe to safety and showing the way, but the foreign soldiers came to stay.
Line by Line Meaning
Chief Joseph and his tribe bred beautiful horses
Chief Joseph and his tribe bred horses that were beautiful
On the banks of the Paloose River
These horses were bred on the riverbanks of the Paloose River
The breed became known as the Appaloosa
These horses were then known as the Appaloosa breed
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
Appaloosa stallions run at high speeds
Gallop through the canyon through the past
They run through canyons, representing the past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
These horses are used to lead their tribe to safety
Cavalry gets closer every day
The enemy cavalry is getting closer every day
Once you ran through peaceful fields of grass
These horses once enjoyed peaceful fields of grass
Once you drank from rivers clear and fast
These horses once drank from clear and fast rivers
Life for you was easy, full of love
These horses had a carefree and simple life surrounded by love
Sleep beneath the yellow moon above
They sleep under the yellow moon
Then the foreign soldiers came from far across the sea
Foreign soldiers arrived from another country
Stealing all the tribal land that once had been so free
They then took away all the land that was previously owned by this tribe
Starving people that you love are crawling through the snow
People that these horses love are now starving and struggling through the snow
Will they get across the border, heaven only knows
It is uncertain if they will be able to cross the border safely
Appaloosa stallion run so fast
These horses need to run fast to escape danger
Gallop through the canyon through the past
They need to run through canyons to escape from their past
Lead your tribe to safety show the way
They act as guides to keep their tribe safe
But the foreign soldiers came to stay
Unfortunately, these foreign soldiers stayed and made themselves at home on this land
Contributed by Audrey T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.