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Medicine Bow

from Is As Does Is by Brian Cutean QTN

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lyrics

M e d i c i n e B o w

"Was the heavy hand of justice that tamed the Wild West"
That's what the highway said read
through the pounding rain and wind
There were fences and there snowbreaks
across the once wild prairie land
where the people and treaties were scattered like dust
whenever they took a stand.

Now these were people who knew the seasons
and the song of every stream
How to use the plants for medicine
when to listen to their dreams.
To them that old Great Spirit
wasn't something out afar.
It was part of animals, man and rocks,
every river and every star.

Medicine Bow, covered in snow
still a thousand miles to go

So the Red Ones told the White Ones:
Anytime you must decide,
take into consideration at least seven generations
but the White Ones laughed at the Red Ones saying:
You've got the wrong information;
this land is God's abundance, all here for the taking.
So the White Ones built their cities,
drilling the holes to drain the oil
killing animals just for sport and
leaving them on the plains to spoil
While the Red Ones built small fires
and huddled close around,
the White One's fires roared so loud,
the whole world feared the sound.

Medicine Bow, covered in snow
still a thousand miles to go

So when the struggle came down between them,
it was easy to see who'd win
White Ones had their Thundersticks,
the Red Ones had their skins
and when the Union Pacific Railroad came
laying tracks across the land
Anybody who'd dare get in the way
felt the Great White Father's hand.

Now there's highways connecting cities
to every corner of this nation
Most still roll right on past
those forgotten reservations
until the government comes to strip away
the mineral foundation
to feed the greed and ravenous rage
of an industrial civilization.

Leif Ericson was here before Columbus
and Cortez followed after
but the Ones here first who greeted them all
were the People who walked the connection.
with no thought of conquering a wild land
or hauling away Her treasures,
these people made peace with the Land and the Water,
the Fire and the Four Directions.

Medicine Bow, covered in snow
still a long, hard way to go
Medicine Bow, covered in snow...

Beneath a cold white blanket
on a blood-soaked land
Medicine Bow
crumble in our hands...

credits

from Is As Does Is, released June 15, 2020

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Brian Cutean QTN Oregon

Brian Cutean/QTN, Oregon songpoet and wordsmith musician, writes songs with offbeat and touching lyrical observations on the socialography of the human condition. He has performed with spirit and whimsy all over these United States for many years.

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