I can't believe we're finally finished this collab..it's been over a year, on and off, in between medical crisis', each of us in turn having ups and downs, times of stagnation and renewed interest....man, alot of crap happens in a year, at least in THIS bunch of guys anyway!
I originally penned this with visions of a simple Neil Young type southern rocker for my friends at the Akwasasnee Res, of the Mohawk Nation which straddles the US/Canadian border (they jokingly refer to myself as the "white Mohawk guy"
). Not going into a history lesson, suffice to say, if Columbus or the Spanish Inquisition would have run into THIS bunch when they landed in the new world,instead of the friendly ones handing them flowers (in return got smallpox and near extinction as Europes gift
)it would have easily been a couple more centuries at least until somebody would have come back to tell about it!
(ask the Vikings who landed here hundreds of years before Columbus and ran in their cousins, the Micmac) Generally regarded as the bravest, most warlike and bloodthirsty tribe. To this day, they have never bowed down to the white man and do things on their own terms (presently having a 1 year long standoff and have seized the Canadian border crossing at the Akwasasne crossing...won't allow the Canadian Border people to carry weapons on their territory).
This is basically a shoot 'em up Rambo/Billy Jack themed folk song, with my usual amount of social commentary thrown in there!
Really proud how this thing morphed into such an elaborately orchestrated composition (that's Jay's doing..the rest of us just rocked out!)...who would ever guess from it's humble beginnings! Best part was, as with most stuff we've done under the CBZ flag, virtually no direction or advice, people just track and post stuff the way they see fit, slide it in the mix..and voila! (then the mixing nightmare begins!). Great job guys!..really proud how this turned out, and I'm sure at every stand-off or shoot out with the authorites with the Mohawk or any other Native band across North America for the matter, if you see it on the news...listen VERY carefully, and in the background, THIS will be pumping out of somebodies pickup truck in the background...the new theme song for the Mohawk Warriors!
Steve McAndrew-Vocals/Guitars
Jay Schankman-Keyboards (choirs,violins,piano,B3,...)
Todd Vierra-Drums/Percussion
Marc Traynor-Bass/Acoustic guitar/Production (Thanks to CD for all the input as well!)
Akwasasne Son (Traynor-2009)
Deep inside the enemy line, Vietnam in 1969
A Platoon hacked through the vines
An ambush, nowhere to run
Most killed, some captured..all but one
The Awkwasasne Son
Charlie didn't know it, but this one had Mowhawk blood
For days they tried to catch the red-skinned one
Their prey became the hunter,Viet-Kong died on that trail
And so their tale of the Red Skinned one prevails
The Awkwasasne Son, this Mohawks tale
Made it back to U.S. lands, no room for Vets from Vietnam
With pain and bloodied hands
Didn't take him long to know, the ones with beads and flowers now ran
the show
While the poor fought the rich mans' war
So he bought a beat-up Panhead, and he headed down the road
To see the land he knew before they sold
To the ones who built those Chinese guns for the Viet-Kong to hold
The lone wolf rides alone towards his home
Like lonesome thunder, rolling down the road
Spent some time along the road, working outside a town near Mexico
A ranchers widow he had known
Then one day Banditos rode in, then tied-up the widow and her kin
Then the horrors would begin
Their leader didn't know it, but the hand had Mohawk blood
They thought they'd beat and kill the red-skinned one
But a 6 inch blade found the leaders heart as the others ran through
the door
Then six Banditos lay dead on the floor, then he said goodbye and
headed-out down the road
Headed North to the place he knows where his kind is free to roam
The Akwasasne, this Mohawk Warriors' home
The lone wolf doesn't run with a pack,fights the battle all alone
Like lonesome thunder rolling down the road
To the Akwasasne, this Mohawk warriors' home
