Bison

Am In the days long past when the earth was still young The Cherokee roamed this land without horses or guns F And they followed the bison through snowdrifts and muck Am There was a scent of matted fur in the air G Kicked in eyes dust and mud F And they slept out under the stars Am Waiting for the bison to come home Am From the south of the Cumberland Gap to the Great Lakes and beyond You had walked on their backs from here to Lake Huron F And a Cherokee would follow under the wolfskin mask Am When they pulled over the plains that would take G three days for the herd to pass F They followed them under the stars Am Waiting for the bison to come home Am It doesn’t take much of a man to k**l with a gun To fire from great distance for trophy or fun F But the white men slaughtered and almost drove ‘m to extinct Am There were 500 bison left G When the fools put their guns away F And the Cherokee wept under the stars Am Praying for the bison to come home Am The old ones tale of a day when they’ll come a distant roar And a stampede of bison ten million head or more F Will trample this city into memories and dust Am When the ground begins to shake you know G That the bison have come back again F There’ll be a great dance under the stars Am Waiting for the bison to come home Am I live on Mount Winrow where the bison used to roam And I think of how they were driven from my Indiana home F And I see the snow falling on the hickory and pine Am And I walk out in my yard at night G And I think about what might have been F As I’m standing there under the stars Am Waiting for the bison to come home