BuffyFest Three

It's Buffy Sainte-Marie's birthday today, so happy birthday, Buffy, and thank you for singing to me again as I traipsed round London. Today I listened to some of the first Buffy songs I ever heard and to some of her latest songs. My iPod has impeccable taste, y'know!

Generation

I've mentioned before that I first came across Buffy in a half-hour programme about her music on BBC2 in 1975 or 1976 and one of the songs they played was 'Generation' from the 'Buffy' album in 1974. It was partly that song that entrapped me, but I didn't know what it was called. Years later, when Buffy's Vanguard records appeared on CD the 'Buffy' album remained unknown and still isnt available on CD.

When talking about Buffy to Chris I'd mentioned this song that stuck in my mind over the years with a chorus that went something like, 'Goodbye stars of Hitler and goodbye bankers trust, Aquarius is shining and your son is one of us...' (not quite the right lyrics, but that's what I thought I'd heard). He tracked down the vinyl album and burned it to CD for me for Christmas a few years ago - now that's a present a half! It features a soaring guitar solo but I've no idea who played it.

Native North American Child

Another song I heard on that BBC2 programme was 'Native North American Child', a song I simply must sing along to, even if it's under my breath on a crowded tube train. What do I like about it? I don't really know. But I *must* join in the chorus of,

Sing About your ebony African Queen
Sing about your lily white Lily Marlene
Beauty by the bushel but the girl of the hour
Is a native north American prairie flower

And Buffy is a prairie flower.

I also pride myself on singing along word perfect to the middle verse which lists the native nations but for some reason I always get the last verse wrong...

He's An Indian Cowboy In The Rodeo

This is the best song I've ever heard about a teenage crush - or unrequited love at any age. It tells of the excitement of a young girl who's going to see her hero again that afternoon, and he's an Indian cowboy taking part at the rodeo.

I *love* this song, it's perfect. It bounces along with the girl getting excited, getting ready to see her hero and then there he is with his big wide smile and big white hat ... It's lovely. I like the version on 'Up Where We Belong' that closes with some pow wow singing. I've seen her do this song live - coo!

We all have our own Indian Cowboy.

Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee

A serious song, Buffy in full-on radical mode. The book of that name tells of the injustices of the native American nations in the nineteenth century but Buffy uses that to tell us that those injustices continue today except that the enemy isn't the cavalry, it's now the energy companies who want tribal lands for uranium. It's a harrowing tale with rock beats and pow wow voices.

Bury my heart at wounded knee
Deep in the earth
Cover me with pretty lies
Bury my heart at wounded knee

Happy birthday Buffy! And thank you for the music! As far as I know, this is the latest photo of Buffy (from a 'Vanity Fair' photoshoot):