Look out, Mama, there's a white boat coming down the river
With a big red beacon and a flag and a man on the rail
I think you'd better call John
'Cause it don't look like they're here to deliver the mail
And it's less than a mile away, I hope they didn't come to stay
It's got numbers on the side and a gun and it's making big waves

Daddy's gone, my brother's out hunting in the mountains
Big John's been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou
So the powers that be left me here to do all the thinking
And I just turned twenty two, I was wondering what to do
And the closer they get the more those feelings grew

Daddy's rifle in my arms felt reassuring
He told me, "Red means run, son, numbers add up to nothing"
But when that first shot hit the dock, I saw it coming
Raised the rifle to my eye, never stopped to wonder why
Then I saw black and my face flashed in the sky

Shelter me from the powder and the finger
Cover me in the thought that pulled the trigger
Just think of me as one you never figured
To fade away so young, with so much left undone
Remember me, to my love, I know I'll miss her

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Powderfinger Lyrics as written by Neil Young

Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Hipgnosis Songs Group

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I am intrigued by Larry's theory (and I love this song): by leefroy on 08-17-2005 @ 04:08:48 AM

I have always thought that this song was about the Metis Rebellion which took place in westen Canada in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Neil Young is Canadian, of course, and has always had strong ties to the native peoples. The wars between the soldiers of the United States and the Native American tribes are well known by most Americans. However, the situation in Canada was even more complicated. When the French colonized eastern Canada in the 1600s, they sent many soldiers and trappers, and very few women. For this reason, many of the early settlers took native wives. A separate culture emerged known as the Metis. These people knew the ways of both the French and the native people. When the English conquered the French in the French and Indian War, they placed oppressive controls over the French, even deporting thousands of Acadian French to Louisiana to make room for English settlerrs. Young French settlers escaped the cities and found themselves in the wilderness known as Madawaska, where they were accepted and assimillated by their Metis half-brothers. Many of the Metis lived a nomadic life, traveling hundreds of miles to the area north and west of Lake Superior, where they could live in peace away from the influence of the English. However, conflict eventually followed, as the railroads opened the west and immigrants flooded into the rich grasslands occupied by the Metis. The Canadian government sent troops to seize control of the region. Canadian soldiers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Metis "troops" were killed in the battles. Eventually the "rebellion" was ended, and at least on Metis leader, Louis Riel was executed for his part in the rebellion. It was a sad time in Canadian history. In what is known as the Battle of Batoche, the Canadian soldiers converted a steamboat into a gunboat and sailed up the South Saskatchawan River, where a gun battle ensued between the settlere and the troops. I believe this song is a fictional account of the death of one of the Metis settlers during the Battle of Batoche

I am intrigued by Larry's theory (and I love this song): by leefroy on 08-17-2005 @ 04:08:48 AM I have always thought that this song was about the Metis Rebellion which took place in westen Canada in the last quarter of the 19th Century. Neil Young is Canadian, of course, and has always had strong ties to the native peoples. The wars between the soldiers of the United States and the Native American tribes are well known by most Americans. However, the situation in Canada was even more complicated. When the French colonized eastern Canada in the 1600s, they sent many soldiers and trappers, and very few women. For this reason, many of the early settlers took native wives. A separate culture emerged known as the Metis. These people knew the ways of both the French and the native people. When the English conquered the French in the French and Indian War, they placed oppressive controls over the French, even deporting thousands of Acadian French to Louisiana to make room for English settlerrs. Young French settlers escaped the cities and found themselves in the wilderness known as Madawaska, where they were accepted and assimillated by their Metis half-brothers. Many of the Metis lived a nomadic life, traveling hundreds of miles to the area north and west of Lake Superior, where they could live in peace away from the influence of the English. However, conflict eventually followed, as the railroads opened the west and immigrants flooded into the rich grasslands occupied by the Metis. The Canadian government sent troops to seize control of the region. Canadian soldiers and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Metis "troops" were killed in the battles. Eventually the "rebellion" was ended, and at least on Metis leader, Louis Riel was executed for his part in the rebellion. It was a sad time in Canadian history. In what is known as the Battle of Batoche, the Canadian soldiers converted a steamboat into a gunboat and sailed up the South Saskatchawan River, where a gun battle ensued between the settlere and the troops. I believe this song is a fictional account of the death of one of the Metis settlers during the Battle of Batoche

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SLYcraftson March 30, 2006 Link
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