"Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian)" is a song written by John D. Loudermilk. It was first recorded in 1959 by Marvin Rainwater and released as "The Pale Faced Indian". Rainwater's MGM release stayed unnoticed. The first hit version was a 1968 cover by Don Fardon, a former member of The Sorrows, that reached #20 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and #3 on the UK Singles Chart.
In 1971 the Raiders recorded the song; singer Mark Lindsay's ancestors were of Cherokee blood. This recording was released on the Columbia Records label and became #1 on the U.S. chart on July 24. The RIAA gold certification followed on 30 June 1971, for selling over a million copies. It was later certified platinum for selling an additional million copies. Some have said that guitarist Freddy Weller sang lead on the song, but Lindsay (the Raiders' usual lead vocalist) was actually responsible for the lead vocal track as well as producing the recording, which was originally planned as a solo Mark Lindsay effort.
The UK punk band, 999, released a cover version on 14 November 1981 on the Albion Ion label, and it reached #51 in the UK chart. The song was later further covered by the Orlando Riva Sound.
A 1994 country song by Tim McGraw, "Indian Outlaw", ends with part of the main "Cherokee people" chorus from "Indian Reservation". The live version also uses the full chorus near the end of the song.
Read more about Indian Reservation (The Lament Of The Cherokee Reservation Indian): Historical Context, Music and Lyric Form, Chart Run
Famous quotes containing the words indian, reservation, lament and/or cherokee:
“It will soon be forgotten, in these days of stoves, that we used to roast potatoes in the ashes, after the Indian fashion.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Music is so much a part of their daily lives that if an Indian visits another reservation one of the first questions asked on his return is: “What new songs did you learn?””
—Federal Writers’ Project Of The Wor, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Nae living man I’ll love again,
Since that my lovely knight is slain.
Wi ae lock of his yellow hair
I’ll chain my heart for evermair.”
—Unknown. The Lament of the Border Widow (l. 25–28)
“Long accustomed to the use of European manufactures, [the Cherokee Indians] are as incapable of returning to their habits of skins and furs as we are, and find their wants the less tolerable as they are occasioned by a war [the American Revolution] the event of which is scarcely interesting to them.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)