canada.gif

gb.gif

de.gif

us.gif
Neil Young's new release ""World Record" w/ Crazy Horse is now available for pre-order. Order here
(Please shop locally & independently. But if you can't, we appreciate your supporting Thrasher's Wheat by clicking this link or YOUR COUNTRY's FLAG. Thank you!!!)
ADVERTISEMENT
<-Older Posts Blog Home Newer Posts->

Friday, April 13, 2018

"Hate was just a legend, And war was never known": Critical Analysis of Neil Young's Song 'Cortez the Killer'

Hernán Cortés
16th Century Spanish Conquistadore

Here is an intriguing lyrics analysis of Neil Young's song 'Cortez the Killer', from the 1975 album "Zuma".

From African Exponent by Peter LJ Hesen:

Looking at the lyrics - 7 verses in a 7:29 track - one might glance over them and say “well, okay...”. Detached from the music they may appear as a loose collection of impressions. To fully appreciate however their richness and (probably) multi-layered context, one has to listen to them in conjunction with the music.

When Young says [it was] "a lotta shit I just made up because it came to me", I don’t believe that for one second. If it just came to him and he scribbled the lyrics on a piece of paper, my question then would be “Where did it come from?” Was it Montezuma’s ghost speaking to him, enacting his wisdom instead of his revenge for which he is better known for?

In any case it is an artist’s prerogative to keep the deeper meaning - or the absence thereof - from one of his creations to himself and let the listener make up his own mind; which I am about to do...

The ’simple’ big chords, guitar solo, rhythm and pace of the song paint a picture of doom heading for a continent that up to that moment was pretty much untouched and unscaved by Western ‘civilisation’. I think by now you are getting where I am heading with this...

When I first listened to the track, armed with only bare-bone knowledge of Young’s work and the history of the conquistadores, images of the movie “1492” rose to my mind. Yes, “1492” isn’t about Cortés but Columbus. The point made here being the imagery not the historical context, although they belong to the same narrative. That of conquest.

Full lyrics analysis of Neil Young's song 'Cortez the Killer' at African Exponent by Peter LJ Hesen.


"Cortez The Killer" Concert Video - Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Casa de Campo, Madrid, 25/4/87

Also, see the Thrasher's Wheat Lyrics Analysis of 'Cortez the Killer'.

Labels: , , , ,


9 Comments:

At 4/13/2018 10:06:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 4/13/2018 10:07:00 AM, Blogger NYBD11-12 said...

The most powerful part of the song is when Neil connects Cortez's conquest and suffering to his own life.

And I know she's living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way.

Like Joni does in Big Yellow Taxi when she connects ecological destruction to her life.

Late last night I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man

 
At 4/13/2018 10:08:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

What about the deleted last verse? What are the lyrics?

 
At 4/13/2018 10:15:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

"Ship is breaking up on the rocks. Sand beach... so close" to the end of the song while on his 2003 Greedale Tour. Is this the lost verse when thetransformer blew??

 
At 4/13/2018 11:54:00 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

I LOVE this song. One of my absolute faves.

Having said that, the lyrics are historical bullshit. Montezuma and the Aztecs, far from being the peaceful and idyllic folks Neil describes, dominated and enslaved the neighboring peoples and generally used THEM for sacrifice. Which is why Montezuma’s neighbors fought on the side of Cortez (that and with his horses and technology they thought Cortz would win). As with so many things in history, both sides had their good and bad aspects.

Bad history but a great, kickass song that does what Neil does best - creating a mood, a feel, a dreamlike state and sustaining it over the whole course of the song. One of the handful of songs I would play to someone who asked, “so, what is this whole Neil Young thing anyway?”

 
At 4/13/2018 02:26:00 PM, Blogger Ears, Eyes & Smiles said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 4/13/2018 02:27:00 PM, Blogger Ears, Eyes & Smiles said...

I always thought Neil was pointing out that modernization leads to overlooking simpler times & taking basic joys for granted

 
At 4/13/2018 08:32:00 PM, Blogger Greg Mantho said...

Wow, Anonymous 10:07, after all these years listening to one of my faves, I never could tie that last verse in with the others, until now. Not that I know it’s what Neil meant- and maybe the verses that fell victim to the recording malfunction would put a different light on it, but as far as lyrics meaning whatever the listener takes from them, this is what it means to me. It’s not difficult to find something outrageous in the world to obsess about, just take your pick. What is difficult to do, is to see it for what it usually is- a projection of inner discontent. I’ll never forget something one of the Red Wing players said in the afterglow of winning the Stanley Cup- “If my house burned down right now, it wouldn’t mean a thing to me.” Another way of saying the same thing. What counts most is your inner peace, or lack thereof, and when the women of your dreams is nowhere to be found, or the man you just had right in front of you just walked out of your life through a screen door, it might be easier to distract yourself with the erroneous when a good peach can’t be found. How’s that for mixing a bunch of metaphors? Who knows what the song means exactly? But this is the first time it’s made sense to me in its entirety.

A Freind Of Yours

 
At 4/14/2018 10:57:00 AM, Blogger Syscrusher said...

Just a thought, but Neil Young spoke in one of his books about 'Cortez The Killer' and 'Hitchhiker' as if they were written around the same time, possibly even as a pair.
It's almost like he swapped the bridges of these songs.

If you look at Cortez, I don't know if it's really a bridge or just a final verse but it kinda comes out of nowhere, after sing about a historical figure for the first couple verses, he switches in the final verse to singing about himself and a lost love. "And I know she's living there and she love's me to this day/I still can't remember when, or how I lost my way". Very 'Hitchhiker', if you slot it in right after the verse about "We had a kid and we split apart..."

And then for 'HItchhiker', he's singing an autobiography song all about his personal history, and then in the final verse/bridge he begins to sing about a dream he has to live in the Inca's or the Aztec's of the past.
So if you switch the last verses of the two songs, it Cortez would go:

And they carried them to the flatlands
But they died along the way
And they built up with their bard hands
What we still can't do today

I wish I was an Aztec, or a runner in Peru
I would build such beautiful buildings to house the chose few
Like an Inca from Peru


Anyway that's my Neil Young thought of the day. I think they're both in the key of G too.
Mar 25, 2018 Report+ QuoteReply

 

Post a Comment

<< Home

<-Older Posts Blog Home Newer Posts->

Willie for a Nobel!
#Willie4Nobel

Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize
for Farm Aid and his work on
alternative fuels, and world peace initiatives.

farm-aid-logo.gif
Farm Aid

Go Farmers Markets!


"In the >field< of opportunity
It's plowin' time again."

SUPPORTER
logo
Silverline Communications

(Home of the FarmAidians)
Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada
(519) 737-7979



This blog supports free speech!


Demand justice for Aaron:
Support "Aaron's Law" and inquiry into his prosecution

(... he didn't kill himself either...) #AaronDidntKillHimself

Induct Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame



Please Help Support Independent Media &
Non-Corporate Advertising
This Blog's For You!


The Hypocrisy of the Mainstream Media

It's Been Called The
"Missing Link" in the Ditch Trilogy

time-fades-away-banner2a

Sign the Release "Time Fades Away" Petition
Join The 10,000+ Who Have Already Signed


broken-arrow-mag-new-logo.gif

Neil Young Appreciation Society


sugar-mtn-logo.jpg
Sugar Mountain

Neil Young Setlists
rust-radio-new
Rust Radio


bumpersticker-neil-concert.jpg


i-l-ove-neil-young-sm.jpg
Bands Covering Neil Young songs


bumper-sticker-live-music-better-sm.jpg
LIVE MUSIC IS BETTER


ny-times-logo.jpg
Official Neil Young News Site

bridgeschool_logo
The Bridge School


The Bridge School Concerts
25th Anniversary Edition

**100% of Proceeds to Benefit Bridge School***

linda-eastman-neil-young-sugar-mtn-sm.jpg
The Essential Neil Young

neil-young-sleeveless.jpg
Fans Favorite Neil Albums

neil-young-heart-of-gold-film-still
Top 50 MP3
Neil Young Song Downloads


Top 10 Best Selling Neil Albums Today
amazon-neil-store.GIF
Support Thrasher's Wheat
via Purchases from:
United States - Amazon.com us.gif
Canada - Amazon.ca canada.gif
United Kingdom - Amazon.uk gb.gif
Germany - Amazon.de de.gif



Neil Young Songbook Project

In the fields of wheat

"Children of Destiny" will NOT be harvested
However, the chaff will be burned by unquenchable fire

Neil Young + Promise of the Real

Europe 2016 Tour Dates



2015 Rebel Content Tour


Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Alchemy Concert Tour Reviews

Fall 2012 N. America Tour
Spring 2013 Australia/New Zealand Tour
Summer 2013 Europe Tour

Europe Summer 2014 Concert Tour
Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Thrasher's Wheat Radio Supporters Go To Europe

jttp-film-poster-sm.jpg
Neil Young Films

musicares-neil-young-2010.jpg
2010 MusiCares Honors Neil Young

Features Elvis Costello, Crosby Stills & Nash, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Ben Harper, Elton John, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, Dave Matthews, James Taylor, Keith Urban, and others.
Proceeds from sales go to MusiCares,
which helps musicians in need of
financial and medical assistance.

live-rust-promo-poster.jpg


"There's more to the picture
Than meets the eye"

#BigShift

trans-promo



Neil Young FAQ:
Everything Left to Know About the Iconic and Mercurial Rocker
"an indispensable reference"

paul-neil-bridge2004-sat-sfc-kkomenich-sm.jpg
Paul McCartney and Neil Young

woodstock-poster.jpg


"You can make a difference
If you really a try"

lennon_peace_liberty
John Lennon and Neil Young


"hailed by fans as a wonderful read"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young:
csny-1974-poster.jpg
The Supergroup of the 20th Century



Director Jonathan Demme's Exquisite film "Heart of Gold"

eddie & neil
Eddie Vedder and Neil Young

buffalo-springfield-poster.jpg
Revisiting The Significance of
The Buffalo Springfield


"The revolution will not be televised"
... it will be blogged, streamed,
tweeted, shared and liked
The Embarrassment of Mainstream Media

Turn Off Your TV & Have A Life


"Everything Is Bullshit" +
"Turn Off The News"
Turn Off the News (Build a Garden)


Neil Young 2016 Year in Review:
The Year of The Wheat

Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain and Neil Young

Neil Young's Feedback:
An Acquired Taste?

Young Neil: The Sugar Mountain Years
by Rustie Sharry "Keepin' Jive Alive in T.O." Wilson

"the definitive source of Neil Young's formative childhood years in Canada"

neil & joni
Joni Mitchell & Neil Young

europe 1987.jpg


dylan-young-crop
Bob and Neil

weld
So Who Really Was "The Godfather of Grunge"?


Four Dead in Ohio
kent state
So What Really Happened at Kent State?


The Four Dead in Ohio



May The FOUR Be With You #MayThe4thBeWithYou

concert-pass-europe-2003-solo.jpg


dissent is not treason
Dissent is the highest form of patriotism

Rockin' In The Free World



Sing Truth to Power!
When Neil Young Speaks Truth To Power,
The World Listens

emmylou-harris-neil-young-0305-crop
Emmylou Harris and Neil Young

wilco-062305-wide-background.jpg
Wilco and Neil Young

bluenotes-pass-young88crewlam-sm.jpg

bruce-springsteen-neil-young-bridge-oct-1986.jpg
Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young

europe87concertpass


elton-john-neil-young-crop-sm.jpg
Elton John and Neil Young

ronnie-vanzant-neil.jpg
Lynyrd Skynyrd and Neil Young

+

The Meaning of "Sweet Home Alabama" Lyrics


Neil Young Nation -
"The definitive Neil Young fan book"

powderfinger
"Powderfinger"
What does the song mean?

Random Neil Young Link of the Moment
neil-sad.jpg

Bonnie Raitt and Neil Young

Wisconsin-solidarity.jpg
I'm Proud to Be A Union Man

UNITED WE STAND/DIVIDED WE FALL


When Neil Young is Playing,
You Shut the Fuck Up


Class War:
They Started It and We'll Finish It...
peacefully

A battle raged on the open page...
No Fear, No Surrender. Courage
WE WON'T BACK DOWN. NEVER STAND DOWN.

"What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees?"
Full Disclousre Now


"I've Got The Revolution Blues"

Willie Nelson & Neil Young
Willie Nelson for Nobel Peace Prize



John Mellencamp:
Why Willie Deserves a Nobel

willie_picnic_poster_070503


BOYCOTT HATE

Love and Only Love

"Thinking about what a friend had said,
I was hoping it was a lie"


We're All On
A Journey Through the Past

Neil Young's Moon Songs
Tell Us The F'n TRUTH
(we can handle it... try us)

Freedom:
freedom-video
Does Anything Else Really Matter?

"Nobody's free until everybody's free."
~~ Fannie Lou Hamer

Here Comes "The Big Shift"
#BigShift

Maybe everything you think you know is wrong? NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
"It's all illusion anyway."

Propaganda = Mind Control
NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS
Guess what?
"Symbols Rule the World, not Words or Laws."
... and symbolism will be their downfall...

Brighter Planet's 350 Challenge
Be The Rain, Be The Change

csny2k-plate.jpg
the truth will set you free
This Machine Kills Fascists


"Children of Destiny" - THE Part of THE Solution

(Frame from Official Music Video)

war is not the answer
yet we are
Still Living With War

"greed is NOT good"
Hey Big Brother!
Stop Spying On Us!
Civic Duty Is Not Terrorism

The Achilles Heel
#NullifyNSA
Orwell (and Grandpa) Was Right
“Emancipate yourself from mental slavery.”
~~ Bob Marley

The Essence of "The Doubters"



Yes, There's Definitely A Hole in The Sky


Even Though The Music Died 50+ Years Ago
,
Open Up the "Tired Eyes" & Wake up!
"consciousness is near"
What's So Funny About
Peace, Love, & Understanding & Music?

churchsign

Show Me A Sign

"Who is John Galt?"
To ask the question is to know the answer

"Whosoever shall give up his liberty for a temporary security
deserves neither liberty nor safety."

~~ Benjamin Franklin

Words

(Between the lines of age)


And in the end, the love you take
Is equal to the love you make

~~ John & Paul

the zen of neil
the power of rust
the karma of the wheat

~Om-Shanti.

Namaste