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Cortez the Killer, by Neil Young

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He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun.

On the shore lay montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wondered
With the secrets of the worlds.

And his subjects gathered round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see.

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

They carried them to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still cant do today.

And I know shes living there
And she loves me to this day
I still cant remember when
Or how I lost my way.

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, cortez
What a killer.
_________________________________________

Couldn't resist, as naive as it sounds now.

Comments

  1. avrdsAugust 13, 2009 at 5:07 PM

    Those were the days, though, when popular singers really had something to say. I recently got a copy of Time the Conqueror by Jackson Browne. There are some great songs about the Bush Administration on that CD -- but you don't hear songs like that very often.

    It's also the anniversary in a day or so of Woodstock. I stayed up late the other night listening to music from that weekend on the radio. I'd read that Richie Havens had to open because the other acts couldn't get to the stage and sing for over an hour. He opened with Handsome Johnny marching off to war and then Freedom. Those were the days!

    ReplyDelete
  2. James FergusonAugust 13, 2009 at 5:23 PM

    Neil Young is still going strong. I recently picked up the box set of his early years. I think his American introduction was on the Johnny Cash Show, but the songs he did with CSN were priceless. I think he had a little too high opinion of the Aztecs, but I think he was referring more to the rape of Native America in general. Love his song, Marlon Brando, Pocahontas and Me,

    ReplyDelete
  3. avrdsAugust 13, 2009 at 5:57 PM

    Well, this isn't meander but in the wild life I have lived, I had a girl friend who lived briefly with Neil Young in a cabin in Topanga Canyon. When I was 17 or so I once drove his Mustang... I think she was not his girl friend after he found out that I was out driving his car.

    ReplyDelete
  4. James FergusonAugust 13, 2009 at 8:32 PM

    What a wild girl you were!

    ReplyDelete
  5. avrdsAugust 13, 2009 at 10:12 PM

    Were? The amazing thing is I lived to tell about it....

    ReplyDelete
  6. RickAugust 14, 2009 at 12:07 AM

    Did you ever write a poem about driving Neil Young's Mustang? Sounds like a natural.

    I count Neil Young as one of those artists that I failed to appreciate sufficiently in my youth, but I appreciate him now.

    ReplyDelete
  7. avrdsAugust 14, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    What an idea!

    Maybe a song....

    Joyriding in Neil's Mustang.

    ReplyDelete
  8. JAbelAugust 15, 2009 at 8:12 AM

    Zuma and Cortez the Killer was always one of my fave Neil Young albums and songs.The guitar in it is so raw.One of the albums we always played my first summer in 77 living on Cape Cod along with Exodus.The Beach Boys of all people have a sort of Cortez song from the Holland album of 69 or 70 called Trader.I beleive it was the first album they went into their non surfing songs and put together several really good albums.

    ReplyDelete

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