White Man

[QUOTE] [b]brENsKi wrote:[/b]

it's not a great song. and the treatment of the Native American has been written and sung about much better[/QUOTE]

Maybe the lyrics aren't the best, but musically, I love it....the guitar and the drums!!!! ;)

Got to love that drop D.

Its a amazing and very strong song. White Man have great lyrics about the history of Indians in America, great arrangements in guitarra, drums and vocal fury too. One of best heavy songs of Queen! Totally underrated!

[QUOTE] [b]mooghead wrote:[/b]

Examples... Run to the Hills/Indian Sunset.... ?[/QUOTE]

yes
Elton John - Indian Sunset
Ted Nugent - great White Buffalo
Paul Revere and the Raiders - Indian Reservation
Neil Young - Pocahontas
Eric Johnson - Trail of Tears
Jimi Hendrix - Castles made of Sand - one verse

Kansas - Cheyenne Anthem

The Cult went through a Native American phase with songs like Horse Nation. I'm sure most of the lyrics were based on a Sioux chant and were probably copied from Dee Brown's book Bury My heart at Wounded Knee. A lot of their Ceremony album has Native american themes. I think Woody Guthrie wrote a few songs about 'Indians'. Johnny Cash released a whole album on the topic (Bitter Tears). One of the most famous in the UK was Johnny Preston's Running Bear, which is corny and trashy, but unfortunately also very catchy. Adam Ant also jumped on the bandwagon with Kings Of The Wild Frontier.

None of this changes the fact that the lyrics in White Man aren't outstanding.

I recall reading somewhere that Brian also read Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, which is an excellent, emotive history of part of the Native American story told in their own words. It did a lot to bring Native Americans into the public consciousness in the early 1970s. I suspect Brian read the book then wrote White Man. Or he watched Little Big Man. Or both.

Yes, The Cult first era went through a Native American phase with the album Dreamtime.
Even now, Ian Astbury is always open to talk about that.

Didn't Brian work on some music for a documentary about the native Americans, back in the 90's I think ? But it never saw the light of day !

[QUOTE] [b]andyb1968 wrote:[/b]

Didn't Brian work on some music for a documentary about the native Americans, back in the 90's I think ? But it never saw the light of day ![/QUOTE]

Really?

I'd never heard of that. (but I was so damn young in the 90's how could I have?)

A lot of projects revolving around Indigenous People in the 'Americas' gets shoved out and shoveled upon. People generally either don't wish to finance what can ignorantly be viewed as "America bashing" when it comes to accounting the hostility, brazen contempt for laws and treaties (Treaties can only be made with Independent NATIONS according to the Constitution)

the reality is that a really thorough examination would reveal much of the US had never been legally seceded.

Legal arguments of Inauthenticity, broken laws and generally DURESS could easily discount many measures done.

That's something I'd heard from a man in the film industry. He's mentioned how many times his projects have been looked upon well, but his "pet" projects (things close to heart) are dismissed with contempt. He'd mentioned names like John Carpenter, J. Cameron, etc.

It's not popular to rock the boat.

One hand washes the other, and it's important for the hierarchy to retain their presence by poor management of education and poor disposition of discussions like that.

Currently there IS a "native based" channel over here in SoCAL.... but I don't have it. it's based on channel KVCR2 -20 locally.

It's not something that is generally discussed. Fair comparisons could be made to the treatment of the Nazi Empire after the collapse of the Third Reich and the U.S. refusal to acknowledge it's own debt to peonage, pillage, and lawless financial support of genocide.

We can go and preach about how bad the Nazi's were, but hold little place for discussing the actual way the continent was conquered. Myths and films can do more damage.

Particularly the notion prevalent to a generation before that indigenous people were somehow subhuman. ..Phrenology, Eugenics (practiced firstly in the USA on poor white rural adolescents) all that stuff was a driving post for Hitler's notion that 'might is right' and that the US did well on its own, and never succumbed to criticism for its practices.

It was common to a few past generations to suggest (to the commoner) that "Indians" had no language, no culture, no society and didn't even practice cleanliness. (debatable to Europe as well)

That's in Mein Kampf. Anyways, long discussion that's due but doesn't get its accorded representation in national history books.

Its a nationalistic scope which hinders consideration. Plenty of people graduate in the States with no knowledge of self, or society, or history or culture.

It's not everywhere, and education isn't completely the responsibility of the society, but it IS the responsibility of an intelligent society. There are far too many consequences of misguided learning.


Just look at this Kardashian culture.... the fact that even in the information age, there are only two (truly) potential political parties that can generate decisions in the House and Congress.

Anyways, that's my soapbox rant off of the notion.

Back to the start:

I never even knew Brian had any involvement with a project like that.

Plenty of artists choose to participate in small "art" projects. Bless him for giving it a shot.

Possible proof that in today's day and age a conscience does more than just hurt.

it's a crazy crappy era for the major arts. the Lowest common denominator. low standards over here...particularly regarding culture

It's a great track, it's my third favorite track of ADATR