Henry's Songbook

Chorus
He had to get down, get down on the ground
He had to get down and leave his pride behind

He was young and he was proud
He was strong and unafraid
He walked alone where others feared to tread
And all the treasures of the land
He could hold them in his hand
And where others always followed he would lead
But when the others came to lead
They were driven on by greed
And they forced him to believe his way was wrong
And in his simple way he tried
But his spirit slowly died
And he knew his weary journey had begun

And he had to come to terms
With the things he had to learn
And his innocence destroyed itself with age
When he stopped to turn around
The path was nowhere to be found
And he was guided like a puppet on a stage

And the proud and noble savage
Took his turn at being scared
Before, he never knew the taste of fear
He had to grovel in the sand
And hold an open hand
And he knew within the end was drawing near

And he cried aloud with pain
For to walk in the light again
And he begs for someone close to lend an ear
He's turned the other cheek
But now he's much too weak
And no one stops to listen though they hear
Now an age has passed away
And we are left to pay
For the wrongs we inflicted on this man
And if the burden weighs uns down
We'll have to kneel upon the ground
And pray for forgiveness from this man

Final chorus:
We'd better get down, get down on the ground
We'd better get down and leave all pride behind

[1983:] A great part of Indian culture, heritage and pride has been destroyed, but during the last few years the American Indian has become an embarrassment to the government of the United States by eloquently pleading his cause through the mass media. The Proud and Noble Savage is representative of many cultures that have been repressed and exploited, and few nations are completely innocent. (Notes Allan Taylor, 'Circle Round Again')