Lyric discussion by sanchomurphy1 

Cover art for Cherokee Bend lyrics by Gordon Lightfoot

It's obviously a story about a Native American and his son going into Cherokee Bend where some white men make some nasty comments towards the man's son. He doesn't take it so the white men hang him. The rest of the story follows what happens to him afterwards and his disdain for how whites have treated them. I'm also pretty sure that he isn't Native Canadian.