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Half-Breed Lyrics
My father married a pure Cherokee
My mother's people were ashamed of me
The Indians said that I was white by law
The white man always called me "Indian Squaw"
Chorus:
Half-breed, that's all I ever heard
Half-breed, how I learned to hate the word
Half-breed, she's no good they warned
Both sides were against me since the day I was born
We never settled, went from town to town
When you're not welcome you don't hang around
The other children always laughed at me
"Give her a feather, she's a Cherokee"
(chorus)
We weren't accepted and I felt ashamed
Nineteen I left them, tell me who's to blame
My life since then has been from man to man
But I can't run away from what I am
(chorus)(repeat)
Hardship of having parents from different races. Not a problem I ever encountered... both of my parents are white, but I have interracial friends... I don't think it's such a big deal these days, but I suppose Cher probably had to deal with crap as a kid.
FYI: Cher is not half Cherokee. Her father is the darker one (Armenian) and her mother Georgia is quite white (although like many white people claim, supposedly has traces of Cherokee or other Native American blood). The song was written for Cher though because she could pass as a half-breed Indian squaw, especially with her exotic looks and long straight black hair.
Thank you for clarifying about her Cherokee blood. I'd like to piont out that it only became fashionable in the "70"s to be Native,otherwise it was as bad as being colored socially. Out of the 500 nations in the Continental U.S. the only tribe everyone is from is "Cherokee"? Doubtful...
Thank you for clarifying about her Cherokee blood. I'd like to piont out that it only became fashionable in the "70"s to be Native,otherwise it was as bad as being colored socially. Out of the 500 nations in the Continental U.S. the only tribe everyone is from is "Cherokee"? Doubtful...
This song came out when I was under ten, it made me aware of racism. Cannot be bad. To the commenter below, many singers will tell you songs are not directly about them. Also it is written that Cher does have Cherokee blood. Whatever, who song in the sixties was quite daring.