Dishonor goes on from the pilgrimage on down
For the Native American nation
We seized all their sod, as if we were a God
In return, gave them low degradation

Tho' they'd been here before, their existence, we'd ignore
Sending scouts, winning trust with fur trading
Our false attitude left their bones to be strewed
As the cavalry troops came invading..

Peace ploys were knots tied - by the American side
To those east of the Great Mississippi
Thomas Jefferson's plan was to grab all their land
Treating them like some weird Sixties hippie

He decreed false terms, as an angler to worms
And defied them to pick up the hatchet
True colors were shed, when aimed threats, like hot lead,
Stabbed their backs, while pretending to scratch it

Soon the light of new moons brought the worst blow of all,
The Removal Act, eighteen-thirty
It's tone rang untrue, all the Chiefs knew it, too
False of content, deceitful and wordy

Lost was their fate, they would have to re-locate
Carve a route to some far destination
Where they'd face storms and rain, and endure much pain,
Heat exposure, disease and starvation

Muskogee, Choctaw, Seminole, Chickasaw
Many tribes of the Cherokee nation
Homelands they must give for white settlers to live
So called cultural transformation

From deep states in the south, to the Mississippi's mouth,
Land of hawk, and of eagle, and sparrow
It would last for years, and be tagged The Trail of Tears,
The sad trek of the red man, imperiled

Most white man thought low, of the heathens, called so,
With no feeling of guilt to devour
An uncivilized day, There were no shades of gray,
And no rights, and no wrongs, only power

From the swamps and knolls, 46,000 souls
Mothers, fathers, and sons, and daughters
Set out for the plains, short of food, facing strains
Winters harsh, sleet and snow, flooded waters

Five steamboats hauled, till ice left them stalled
Sent from Arkansas, government wagons
To transport the flock off to far Little Rock
Hardship on the trail, slays like dragons

No choice, but to go, those who stayed would know
Harassment, homes, fences destroyed
Seminoles on the list, waged a war to resist
In the end, their brave effort fell void

Cherokee's now, become Oklahoman's, pledge some,
But most times, other minds remain narrowed
True Indian rights reach no deserving heights
Since the trek of the red man imperiled

Dishonor goes on, from the pilgrimage on down
For most Native Americans, we know
Some white cash helps 'em sleep - small revenge, they now reap
With advent of the Indian Casino..