Crazy Horse is best known for its long association with Young, despite having released five albums of its own over a 19-year span. It has been co-credited with Young as Neil Young and Crazy Horse on 15 albums, "Americana" and "Psychedelic Pill" from 2012 being the latest.
The band recorded a concept album entitled "Greendale" (2003) that told the story using metaphors of murder and crime to represent the destruction of a small town community. The final song "Be The Rain" is one of Neil's classic epics, pleading for the world to be like the rain -- recycle and conserve to save our planet.
Discography: the studio albums "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere" (1969), "Zuma" (1975), "Rust Never Sleeps" (1979), "Re-ac-tor" (1981), "Life" (1987), "Ragged Glory" (1990), "Sleeps With Angels" (1994), "Broken Arrow" (1996), Greendale (2003), "Americana" (2012), Psychedelic Pill (2012) and live albums "Live Rust" (1979), "Weld" (1991), "Year of the Horse" (1997), "Live at the Fillmore East" (2006)
Pocahontas
Neil Young & Crazy Horse Lyrics
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The icy sky at night
Paddles cut the water
In a long and hurried flight
From the white man to the fields of green
And the homeland we've never seen
They killed us in our teepees
They might have left some babies
Cryin' on the ground
But the fire sticks and the wagons come
And the night falls on the setting sun
They massacred the buffalo
Kitty corner from the bank
Taxis run across my feet
And my eyes have turned to blanks
In my little box at the top of the stairs
With my Indian rug and a pipe to share
I wish a was a trapper
I would give a thousand pelts
To sleep with Pocahontas
And find out how she felt
In the mornin' on the fields of green
In the homeland we've never seen
Pocahontas
Neil Young's "Pocahontas" is a song that reflects the struggle and displacement of Indigenous people by white colonial settlers in America. The song tells a story of the singer's longing to return to their homeland, which they have never seen, as a result of the displacement and massacres inflicted upon Indigenous people. The opening lyrics mention the Aurora Borealis and the icy sky at night, reflecting the beauty and harshness of the natural world that Indigenous people were connected with. As they paddle to escape from the white man to the fields of green, one cannot help but become aware of the brutality and violence with which Indigenous people were treated.
The second verse is particularly powerful and continues to illustrate the cruelty of the white man's treatment towards Indigenous people. They massacred the buffalo, which was a primary source of food and livelihood for many Indigenous people, and cut down Indigenous women and children. The singer is understandably bitter about the loss and displacement of his people and the different way of life they once knew.
The song finishes off with the singer's desire to become a trapper and give a thousand pelts to sleep with Pocahontas, invoking the romanticized and fetishized notions white people had at that time regarding Indigenous women. They express a desire to connect and understand the ways of life of Indigenous people on the fields of green in their homeland that they have never seen.
Line by Line Meaning
Aurora Borealis
The northern lights shining in the dark sky
The icy sky at night
The cold atmosphere at nighttime
Paddles cut the water
Rowing a boat quickly to escape
In a long and hurried flight
Escaping from danger in a hurry
From the white man to the fields of green
Running away from the white man's destruction towards a better place
And the homeland we've never seen
Searching for a new home and life away from what they knew
They killed us in our teepees
Native Americans were brutally massacred in their own homes
And cut our women down
Women were not spared from the violence and were killed too
They might have left some babies
Some infants may have been left alive by the attackers
Cryin' on the ground
Babies were abandoned and left to cry
But the fire sticks and the wagons come
The attackers used guns and wagons to destroy everything
And the night falls on the setting sun
The aftermath of the attack leaves darkness where there was once light
They massacred the buffalo
Native Americans relied on buffalo for survival, and the white man hunted them to near extinction
Kitty corner from the bank
The buffalo were killed near a riverbank
Taxis run across my feet
The present-day hustle and bustle of city life juxtaposes the peacefulness of nature
And my eyes have turned to blanks
The artist is lost and has lost touch with their surroundings and themselves
In my little box at the top of the stairs
Feeling confined and restricted in one's own living space
With my Indian rug and a pipe to share
Holding on to small symbols of one's Native American heritage
I wish a was a trapper
The singer longs for a different way of life
I would give a thousand pelts
The artist would sacrifice and work hard for something they wanted
To sleep with Pocahontas
The artist wants to be close to a Native American woman who represents their culture
And find out how she felt
The artist wants to understand and connect with someone from a different background
In the mornin' on the fields of green
A hopeful image of a fresh start in a natural and peaceful setting
In the homeland we've never seen
A place of belonging and nostalgia for an ancestral home that was lost
Pocahontas
A symbol of the Native American culture and its demise
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Neil Young
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Beth
on We Never Danced
i desperately want to know who painted aunt lisa's paintings in the movie