JOHNNY R. CASH

1.
Now I will tell ya buster
That I aint a fan of Custer’s
And the general he dont ride well anymore
To some he was a hero
But to me his score was zero
And the genereal he dont ride well anymore

2.
Now custer done his fightin
Without too much excitin
And the general he dont ride well anymore
General Custer come in pumpin
When the men were out a huntin
And the genereal he dont ride well anymore

With victories he was swimmin
He killed children dogs ‘n’ women
But the general he dont ride well anymore
Crazy Horse sent out to call
To Sitting Bull and gall
And the general he dont ride well anymore

Now Custer split his men
Well he wont do that again
Cause the general he dont ride well anymore
Twelve thousand warriors waited
They were unanticipated
And the general he dont ride weel anymore

Its not called an Indian victory
But a bloody massacre
And the general he dont ride well any more
There might have been more (infusion or enthusin?)
If us Indians had been losin
But the general he dont ride well anymore

General George A. Custer
Aw his yeller hair had luster
But the genereal he dont ride well anymore
Fore now the general’s silent
He got barberes viloent?
And the genereal he dont ride well anymore

Aw the general he dont ride well anymore

(with laughter through the words)

Additional Note: He sang it live with Buffy St. Marie, and I believe that he switches to the tonic
chord quicker than he does on the original recording.
Like this:
Now I will tell ya buster
That I aint a fan o[(G)]f Custer’s

Recorded by: Johnny Cash

Key of G

To the governmental school
Well they’re goin’ to educate me
To the white men’s Golden Rule
And I’m learning very quickly
For I’ve learned to be ashamed
And I come when they call Billy
Though I’ve got an Indian name

CHORUS:
And there are drums beyond the mountain
Indian drums that you can’t hear
There are drums beyond the mountain
And they’re getting mighty near

And when they think that they’d changed me
Cut my hair to meet their needs
Will they think I’m white or Indian
Quarter blood or just half breed
Let me tell you Mister Teacher
When you say you’ll make me right
In five hundred years of fighting
Not one Indian turned white

CHORUS

Well you thought that I knew nothing
When you brought me here to school
Just another empty Indian
Just America’s first fool
But now I can tell you stories
That are burnt and dried and old
But in the shadow of their telling
Walks the thunder proud and bold

CHORUS

Long Pine and Sequoia
Handsome Lake and Sitting Bull
There’s Magnus Colorado
With his sleeves so red and full
Crazy Horse the legend
Those who bit off Custer’s soul
They are dead yet they are living
With the great Geronimo

CHORUS

Well you may teach me this land’s history
But we taught it to you first
We broke your hearts and bent your journeys
Broken treaties left us cursed
Even now you have to cheat us
Even though you this us tame
In our losing we found proudness
In your winning you found shame

CHORUS