"Cortez The Killer"- Neil Young

[enigmatic]

When I played in my many bands throughout the years, I made every one of them play this song in the set, no matter what style of music we were playing at the time. Nobody complained, least of all the audience; it's one of those songs that everybody knows and loves, whether they admit it or not.

What is it about the song? To me, it's those 3 chords; I've never played any song that was more fun to play than this one. Although Neil Young's original version is the standard, bands like Slint, Hallo Venray, Built To Spill, and Government Cheese have done incredible versions themselves....

He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun.

On the shore lay montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wondered
With the secrets of the worlds.

And his subjects gathered ’round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see.

And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on.

Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones.

They carried them to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still can’t do today.

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.

He came dancing across the water
Cortez, cortez
What a killer....