| Cut-your-throat-able | |
| Posted by: | reed23 05:37 pm EDT 10/28/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Not sure- song list inside; maybe that will help? - Michael_Portantiere 03:13 pm EDT 10/28/15 |
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| "The song refers to Native Americans as the aggressors killing white people, when history tells us that the truth of what happened is pretty much the opposite." The politically-correct don't have their history down any more than the purveyors of the old stereotype. A lot of people were killing a lot of people for all kinds of reasons throughout North American history from the fifteenth century on (and presumably well before.) There were fearsome inter-tribal wars between Native Americans; Native-Indian defensive killings of various European interlopers (and plenty of peaceful and trusting Native Americans trying to accommodate and/or help the Europeans.) My great-great-great-great-grandfather was tomahawked and scalped to death December 30, 1813, while holding back the British and their Native American allies, allowing soldiers and civilians to escape the Burning Of Buffalo in the "1812 War." Native Americans made different alliances with different American settlers for different goals. The overwhelming mea culpa of the later generations has blurred the forests and the trees from a complex period in history. | |
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| re: Cut-your-throat-able | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 10:56 am EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | Cut-your-throat-able - reed23 05:37 pm EDT 10/28/15 |
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| "The politically-correct don't have their history down any more than the purveyors of the old stereotype. A lot of people were killing a lot of people for all kinds of reasons throughout North American history from the fifteenth century on (and presumably well before.) Native Americans made different alliances with different American settlers for different goals." I'm sure that's true, and yes, I know THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS. What I'm saying is that the entire center section of the song "Colonel Buffalo Bill" is about a peaceful, innocent party of presumably white people in a stagecoach set upon by "very notable, cut-your-throatable" Indians, who then "take everyone by force." I realize it's just a song, and that it's the kind of reference to Native Americans that was heard frequently back then. But today, it's hard to take by those who understand that the Europeans basically stole this country from the natives and destroyed their culture. I'm sure there were some venal, mercenary, evil Native Americans, but that doesn't change the main plot line of the history. That's all I'm saying. | |
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| the Deadwood Stage | |
| Posted by: | showtunetrivia 12:39 pm EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Cut-your-throat-able - Michael_Portantiere 10:56 am EDT 10/29/15 |
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| The section of the song specifically references what was an integral part of the Wild West show--to quote from an early program, "the attack on the Deadwood Mail Coach by Indians, and rescue by Buffalo Bill Cody and attendant cowboys." I've been researching an alternate history story recently involving Annie Oakley and World War I, so I'm surrounded by more books on the Wild West show than you can imagine. To give you the short version, the stage ran from Deadwood to Cheyenne in the late 1860's to early 1880's, carrying mail and also ore from the mines. It was attacked many times (usually by bandits, not Native Americans), and was abandoned after one such event. Cody found it, fixed it up, and devised the idea for the theatrical attack. (He knew the coach well, having driven it just after the war.). It became the highlight of the show; you can even find youtube footage of an early silent recording. I don't want to get involved in a fracas about language, but the Deadwood Stage attack, with the WWS Indians playing the villains and Cody and the cowboys the heroex, was iconic to the show. The Deadwood Stage traveled with the WWS to England, Germany, and Spain. Along with Annie's marksmanship and the cowboy tricks, it was the most memorable part of the show. If you're doing a show about the WWS, it makes sense to mention it. Maybe Berlin could have used other (less bloodthirst) descriptions, but let me assure you, the original ads and programs were far more, um, colorful. Laura, wallowing in research | |
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| re: the Deadwood Stage | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 02:01 pm EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | the Deadwood Stage - showtunetrivia 12:39 pm EDT 10/29/15 |
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| Thanks for the info. I guess that's the same Deadwood Stage that Doris Day sings about in CALAMITY JANE? | |
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| re: the Deadwood Stage | |
| Posted by: | showtunetrivia 02:15 pm EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | re: the Deadwood Stage - Michael_Portantiere 02:01 pm EDT 10/29/15 |
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| That is indeed the very same stage. Laura | |
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| re: Cut-your-throat-able | |
| Posted by: | allineedisthegirl 09:50 am EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | Cut-your-throat-able - reed23 05:37 pm EDT 10/28/15 |
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| This show isn't an attempt to teach American History. It's about a wild-west show where they most certainly used lines like "cut your throat-able Indians." db | |
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| re: Cut-your-throat-able | |
| Posted by: | Michael_Portantiere 10:37 am EDT 10/29/15 |
| In reply to: | re: Cut-your-throat-able - allineedisthegirl 09:50 am EDT 10/29/15 |
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| "This show isn't an attempt to teach American History. It's about a wild-west show where they most certainly used lines like 'cut your throat-able Indians.'" Yes, I understand that. | |
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