Founded by Creager in 1992, they have long held true to their mission of enlightening the common man as to the power and versatility of the mighty cello. Historically influenced, and constantly costumed, Rasputina keeps a small legion of incredibly passionate admirers enthralled with their earnest musicianship. Considered to be quite a pioneer and visionary, Melora and her group have inspired countless young people to pick up the cello, and have re-inspired many uninspired string players. Rasputina considers this to be the finest payment for their work.
Professional involvements have included Nirvana, Ultra Vivid Scene, Marilyn Manson, Porno For Pyros, Belle and Sebastian,and Cheap Trick.
Former Members of Rasputina:
Julia Kent (89-99)
Kris Cowperthwaite (00-02)
Zoë Keating (02-06)
Sarah Bowman (06-08)
Jonathon TeBeest (00-08)
My Captivity by Savages
Rasputina Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How I Learned To Fight.
By Eliza Elizabeth Cooke, age thirteen,
written in my own hand on this, the 23rd day of August, 1829.
Chapter one: Fine Day For a Flaying or,
The Brutal Massacre of All I Held Dear.
The valley that runs down the trail over the West bank of the glorious state of Nachez Pierce,
My family was lain waste,
no care being taken by the natives,
that even baby Coolige was to be spared an ounce of pain.
How I came to be spared, by the grace of God, I shall never know.
I had been smashed in the head with a boulder over fourteen times by a young Indian brave.
When I awoke, through eyes still stinging from the smoldering decimation,
my large, blue eyes looked up into the burning sun of the late summer sky.
No sooner had I stirred, when four horsemen approached my wilted carcass.
In their stilted English, they told me in great detail
how they had massacred mine own Ma and Pa,
how my elder brother, Ham, had given no resistance to his own flogging,
and how easy it had been to make my sickly sister, Sarah Susanna,
wail and sob like a sea creature. (crying sounds)
I clenched my long, graceful fingers into tight fists at my sides,
and turning my head away, laughed quietly to myself. (laughter)
If these human animals thought they had caught a nubile and willing young white slave-girl,
they were sorely mistaken.
I felt about my waist for a weapon.
Oftentimes, I keep sewing tools hanging from ribbons pinned to my dress.
"Looking for this?" The handsomest warrior asked,
holding my sterling pinking shears up between two red fingers
as he looked down from his steed at my writhing confusion.
Brushing a stray strand of pale yellow hair from my brow,
I pretended to reach for a stray silken slipper that I had spied nearby,
but swiftly darted up
and dove between the flanks of the wild mustangs that stood majestically before me!
The silent commander had only to reach down to capture me by the hair.
Yanking hard, he pulled me upright,
and twisted my fair face up to meet his cold, cold gaze.
I shall never forget my realization upon that moment,
that my freedom had thus been robbed, and that,
although my pleasing mortal shell was intact,
I, Eliza Elizabeth Jane Cooke, was to become handmaiden
to a number of virile, half-naked nomads,
and that this ordeal would continue fourteen years.
The song "My Captivity By Savages" by Rasputina narrates the story of a 13-year-old girl named Eliza Elizabeth Cooke who survived a brutal attack on her family by Native Americans. The first chapter of her story is titled "Fine Day For a Flaying or, The Brutal Massacre of All I Held Dear." Eliza describes how her family was massacred, with no mercy shown to even her youngest sibling. She miraculously survived even though she was hit on the head fourteen times with a boulder by a young Indian brave. When she regained consciousness, she found herself surrounded by four horsemen who informed her of the sadistic killing of her parents and siblings.
The horsemen planned on making her a captive and forcing her to become a slave-girl. However, as they teased her with her sewing tools, she cunningly snatched up a stray silken slipper and darted through the flanks of the mustangs. Unfortunately, the silent commander of the group caught her by the hair and dragged her back to his steed, where he twisted her face to meet his cold gaze. Eliza realized that her ordeal had just begun, and she would become the handmaiden of these half-naked nomads for the next fourteen years.
Overall, the lyrics capture the terror and helplessness Eliza felt as a captive of savage horsemen who killed her family and destroyed her life. Through her story, the singer highlights the atrocities faced by young girls and women who became captives to raiders and nomads in the early days of America.
Line by Line Meaning
The valley that runs down the trail over the West bank of the glorious state of Nachez Pierce, was the sight of my own hideous undoing.
The place where I was captured by savages.
My family was lain waste, no care being taken by the natives, that even baby Coolige was to be spared an ounce of pain. How I came to be spared, by the grace of God, I shall never know.
My family was brutally killed by the savages, and by God's grace, I was spared.
When I awoke, through eyes still stinging from the smoldering decimation, my large, blue eyes looked up into the burning sun of the late summer sky.
After being hit on the head, I woke up to the hot sun and devastation around me.
No sooner had I stirred, when four horsemen approached my wilted carcass.
As soon as I woke up, horsemen came towards me.
In their stilted English, they told me in great detail how they had massacred mine own Ma and Pa, how my elder brother, Ham, had given no resistance to his own flogging, and how easy it had been to make my sickly sister, Sarah Susanna, wail and sob like a sea creature. (crying sounds)
The horsemen spoke broken English and told me about the massacre of my family.
I clenched my long, graceful fingers into tight fists at my sides, and turning my head away, laughed quietly to myself. (laughter)
I tried to hide my true emotions and laughed to myself.
If these human animals thought they had caught a nubile and willing young white slave-girl, they were sorely mistaken.
I wanted to make it clear that they were wrong if they thought I would be a willing slave-girl.
I felt about my waist for a weapon. Oftentimes, I keep sewing tools hanging from ribbons pinned to my dress.
I searched for a weapon and remembered that I had some sewing tools on me.
"Looking for this?" The handsomest warrior asked, holding my sterling pinking shears up between two red fingers as he looked down from his steed at my writhing confusion.
The handsome warrior found my pinking shears and taunted me with them.
Brushing a stray strand of pale yellow hair from my brow, I pretended to reach for a stray silken slipper that I had spied nearby, but swiftly darted up and dove between the flanks of the wild mustangs that stood majestically before me!
I tried to distract them and then ran away through the mustangs.
The silent commander had only to reach down to capture me by the hair. Yanking hard, he pulled me upright, and twisted my fair face up to meet his cold, cold gaze.
The commander caught me and forced me to face him.
I shall never forget my realization upon that moment, that my freedom had thus been robbed, and that, although my pleasing mortal shell was intact, I, Eliza Elizabeth Jane Cooke, was to become handmaiden to a number of virile, half-naked nomads, and that this ordeal would continue fourteen years.
I realized that I had lost my freedom and would be a handmaiden to the savage nomads for the next fourteen years.
Contributed by Caden E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.