So many disclaimers!
- I subscribe to the braid theory: Each song has many different strands woven together: Muse, music industry, fans, sometimes historical events or mythology. So no song is straightforward about one person or subject.
- As such I feel like this topic isn't the primary focus of the song, but a strand B or C explanation.
- It’s unclear if this was intentional on Taylor’s part, but it’s consistent throughout the song, so I think it must be.
- I’m Salish of the Flathead Nation and my tribe uses “Indian” formally so that’s not a slur. I will be using it throughout, so don't come at me. Generally it's suggested using the tribal name, being as specific as possible when referring to them. Or just ask what is preferred to the individual/tribe you're talking to. Tone is everything and earnest, honest mistakes are usually expected and forgiven.
Lyrics:
I forget how the West was won
[Westward Expansion]
I forget if this was ever fun/I just learned these people only raise you to cage you
[Settlers (generally white, but many people were moving from all over the world (see LDS recruitment efforts, for example) moved west in order to make their homesteads, forts, and towns. This was a big problem because people had already been there for a long, long, long time. Then, the white people wanted any land resources such as gold, silver, coal, etc, etc… As a result Indians ended up on Reservations.]
Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best/Clutching their pearls, sighing "What a mess"
[missionaries were amongst the first settlers in the West, and wanted to evangelize the Indians in an effort to “civilize” them. But also, couldn’t stomach or sanction the massacres or genocides perpetuated by soldiers and settlers making their way West.]
I just learned these people try and save you/... cause they hate you
[White settlers wanted to “reform” Indians, but wouldn’t it have just been better to let them/us keep their way of life? What was wrong with it?]
Too high a horse
[High-horse: White settlers felt “above” the Indians. Also, many tribes were excellent horseman and utilized this special skill to challenge the guns settlers brought with them. The whites copied that during the Indian Wars, but mostly used firepower to exert dominance over the tribes.]
https://new.nsf.gov/science-matters/horses-part-indigenous-cultures-longer-western
For a simple girl to rise above it/They slammed the door on my whole world/The one thing I wanted/Now I'm running with my dress unbuttoned/Screaming "But Daddy I love him!"/I'm having his baby/No, I'm not, but you should see your faces
[This could be just the A or B story. But also could be commentary about settlers using Indian women to like track, or be a liaison, or soften their entry onto tribal land. There was also intermixing which neither group was keen on at the time. Also the rape.]
I'm telling him to floor it through the fences
[Before white settlers came, the West was open range, many tribes moved seasonally, or hunted where the buffalo roamed. White people came and wanted everyone to farm (even when the land wasn’t good for that) and fenced and “owned” things which ruined the Indian way of life. Also they killed the majority of buffalo just for funsies, wasting everything the Indians would traditionally use, and ending an important source of food.]
http://www.nationalmammal.org/pdf/traditional-uses-of-the-buffalo.pdf
...Tendrils tucked into a woven braid
[Lots of Indians have beautiful, braided hair. When white people came, they abducted Indian children and put them in boarding schools to teach them white ways (and make them forget their tribal traditions, languages, etc…) See an example below of efforts to revitalize the culture]:
https://youtu.be/Wa9oVeDJ98A?si=FqqadLOM0tZ9o4Ji
One of the first things that happened at the schools was these missionaries cut their braids off–which was traumatizing. See Heard Museum in AZ for good examples/stories]:
https://boardingschool.heard.org
...He was chaos, he was revelry
[Westward expansion was actually war and genocide.]
...Soon enough the elders had convened
[The Tribal Elders met with the white leaders to discuss land ownership.]
Down at the city hall
[Treaties were hammered out despite major language and cultural barriers.]
"Stay away from her"
[Her = land. The Indians didn’t want to lose their food sources, their traditions, or natural resources crucial to survival.]
The saboteurs protested too much
[The white people broke most treaties, under the guise of bureaucracy, “civilizing” this is what’s best and we’re helping you, or plain deceit… It was dirty.]
Lord knows the words we never heard
[I’m sorry? Or any truths? Schools don’t educate in detail that this period in history was ugly massacres and instead focus on euphemisms and the victors.]
I'll tell you something right now/I'd rather burn my whole life down
[Indians fought back. They went to war, outgunned. Or they quietly rebelled by continuing to do what they had been doing. There are so many heroes and so many examples–it’s really worth it to do some research on this. Here's a list to familiarize with some of the names: ]
https://www.legendsofamerica.com/native-american-people/
Than listen to one more second of all this griping and moaning/I'll tell you something about my good name/It's mine alone to disgrace
[Whites were disgruntled they couldn't easily and safely move West. Colonialists made it seem like Indians were heathens.]
I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empath's clothing
[Indians want(ed) a place to live and hunt, wanted clean water and a means to survive independently as before. All the white man’s tricks and wars doesn’t change that. Broken treaties severed trust. Basically leave us alone!]
God save the most judgmental creeps/Who say they want what's best for me
[Reservations were created (on the worst, most unproductive land) and Indians became beholden to welfare to survive at all. There was a lot of corruption, and Indian lands to this day are impoverished (probably not all, but lots–mine included). I can't do it justice here, but please read up on the history.]
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see
[Treaties and promises always broken, even to the oil pipelines of today-times.]
Thinking it can change the beat
[Indian drum circles:]
Of my heart when he touches me/And counteract the chemistry/And undo the destiny
[Manifest Destiny]
You ain't gotta pray for me/Me and my wild boy
[Indians were considered wild and savage by the white settlers.]
And all this wild joy/If all you want is gray for me
[After the West was colonized, everything was worse for the Natives. Indians were corralled with no means to feed or support themselves, their traditions jeopardized, generations of children brainwashed by the White-washing boarding schools.]
Then it's just white noise/And it's just my choice
[Sitting Bull is a big example, but so many more fought for their way of life.]
There's a lot of people in town that I/Bestow upon my fakest smiles/Scandal does funny things to pride/But brings lovers closer/We came back when the heat died down/Went to my parents and they came around/All the wine moms are still holding out/But it's over./Now I'm dancing in my dress in the sun
[The Ghost Dance was particularly significant during this period: Indians believed Ghost Dance ceremonies and songs would bring back dead Indians, return plentiful buffalo herds, and induce a natural disaster that would sweep away whites, thus restoring the Indian way of life that had existed prior to European contact]:
http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.rel.023
In addition, powwows where regalia is worn often feature The Snake Dance (look it up) amongst many other types of dance and tribal rituals. Hoop dance, fancy dance, and of course the tiny kids are my favorites. My Tribe's powwows are particularly fun because they're intertribal!]
Even my daddy just loves him/I'm his lady, and oh my God/You should see your faces/Time, doesn't it give some perspective
[Westward Expansion is not cool at all, and nothing to be proud of. It was murder and genocide.]
No, you can't come to the wedding/I know he's crazy but he's the one I want/I'll tell you something right now you ain't gotta pray for me/Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy
[Land/Earth/Environment?]
He was chaos, he was revelry
[There is far less care for the Earth living the way the settlers demanded through violence.]
If all you want is gray for me
(In case you saw the messy post of earlier, I did catch up on my work, and didn't get in trouble!)
