Date: July 24, 1971
Weeks: 1
The music is this song is really neat. This is a well-crafted song, and for once we have a song with a string section that actually puts it to good use. This song aspires to create a hybrid rock/orchestra sound, and the result is fairly successful.
The song has an excellent and appealing bass backbone that I can't help but tap my foot to. I also really enjoy the orchestra stings. They intensify and punctuate the rest of the music. They are jolts of energy and contrast perfectly with the rather cool and relaxed bass. The drums also provide very neat accents throughout. They keyboard "plink" sound seems a bit unnecessary, but most of the additional instruments provide nice accents throughout.
The song's best moments come during the chorus. The instruments build up to their fullest sound, and the singers open up and yell "Cherokee People!" with an intensity that is appealing. In those moments, the song feels like the protest song it is intended to be. But what makes the song great is the alternating lulls and highs in both the music and the vocals. This is a well-composed and well-performed song.
As I said, this is a protest song, lamenting the fate of Native Americans, most obviously the Cherokee. I'm not well-versed on the culture of the Cherokee, so I'm not sure I feel comfortable criticizing the accuracy of the lyrics. It seems like the lines "They took away our way of life, the tomahawk and the bowie knife" lament the loss of a war culture that I don't think they had before there was someone trying to take it away from them, though. Other lyrics are better, such as "They took away our native tongue and taught their English to our young." That's a powerful statement of the cultural warfare that devastated their culture maybe more than the actual warfare. It's an effective lyric. Overall, it's an effective acknowledgment of the cultural conflict many Native Americans experience, trying to reconcile assimilating into a culture that destroyed their native culture.
My verdict: Like it. It's a well-crafted song with appealing variation that makes it a lot of fun, but also seems socially aware at the same time.
So...The Raiders are all white guys, aren't they? I mean, I honestly don't know, but they all look like white guys. Do they have any American Indian heritage in them? I'm assuming they don't, and as such, I have a problem with this song.
ReplyDeleteIt's spoken in first person. "Put us on this reservation." "Taught their English to our young." What? A white guy speaking in the voice of a Native American to sing a song that hits Number One and benefits the white guy and his record label?
The song also seems to do what so many people who talk about Native Americans do: assume they're all the same. But that's another issue.
In the end, this song doesn't succeed in being socially aware to me. It comes across as appropriation of Native American woes for the entertainment and benefit of mainstream culture.
Aesthetically, I like the song and will probably find myself humming it today, but I always cringe a little when I do because of the contextual problems I see with it.
The song was originally recorded in the late 50s by Marvin Rainwater, who, according to Wikipedia, is part Cherokee. I listened to his version but didn't care for it. You can compare here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIpRJlWV0AM
ReplyDeleteI don't see any indication that the Raiders were themselves Cherokee. Your point is certainly valid, although I think it's just a question of more effective songwriting. The song is more emotionally effective when told from the first person.
But if you want to be really offended, check out the German band Orlando Riva Sound covering the song, especially their costumed performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qfu7nrEp1EU