From the recording Magdalene
Lyrics
Wounded Knee
(December 29th, 1890)
M. Litton
There’s ice across the rivers on these cold Dakota nights
The eyes of each soldier burns from the wind as they ride
Through the air they hear a ghostly chant
As they follow the trail of hoof prints through the sand
In the morning a Cheyenne scout comes riding down a butte
He says that just ahead they’ll find Big Foot and his Sioux
The Chief rides ill upon a pony drag
His people are starvin’, they carry the white flag...
“We’ll put the captured band in camp at Wounded Knee
“Put the big guns upon that rise just west of the creek
“I want the ranks to form on all sides
“Give the Sioux plenty of food and firewood for the night
“You soldiers skin your saddles, each rank put out its guard
“And keep a steady hand at dawn when we take their arms...”
Then the Colonel goes to parley with the Sioux
“Tell your warriors, Chief, we want peace just like you...”
The White Buffalo Moon rises in the sky
And runs upon the sweaty flank of the black deep night
In their Ghost Shirts the Sioux warriors dance
About the flaming hell where they have all been damned
The Northern Spirit speaks, his lights are red for war
The sun bleeds through the ice as the day is born
A stallion neighs, a woman screams
For both can scent the danger that men can only dream...
Soon the buffalo will roam upon the plains
The elk and the deer will play
The bluestem will flood across the sod
When our warriors return from beyond...
The famous commander of the 7th Cavalry
Was the Wolf of Washita who died with gnashing teeth
There are some from the old command among the men
And they would pay the devil dearly to have revenge
Colonel James Forsyth marches to the camp
And says, “The weapon of each warrior must pass into our hands”
Their sabers rattle as they search through each tent
The Sioux are growing restless as a fire in a changing wind...
Soon the buffalo will roam upon the plains
The elk and the deer will play
The bluestem will flood across the sod
When our warriors return from beyond...
The medicine man Yellow Bird he urges them to fight
“Remember, Wovoka said the soldier dogs will die!”
Then Black Fox pulls a rifle from his robe
One soldier dies then the whole damn camp explodes
The Hotchkiss guns laugh as the knives are unsheathed
The women and the children fall down a dry ravine
Over three hundred Sioux die that day
They lived as one now they sleep in one mass grave...
The warrior with the wolf and bear has died
A blizzard roars down from the sky
Above the wounded the sabers fall
And the eagle has flown to God
The eagle has flown to God...