Bruce Cockburn - Kit Carson Lyrics






And the President said to Kit Carson:
"Take my best four horsemen please
And ride out to the four directions
Make my great lands barren for me"

Kit Carson said to the President
"You've made your offer sweet
I'll accept this task you've set for me
My fall's not yet complete"

Kit Carson knew he had a job to do
Like other jobs he had before
He'd made the grade
He learned to trade in famine, pestilence, and war

Kit Carson was a hero to some
With his poison and his flame
But somewhere there's a restless ghost
That used to bear his name





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Bruce Cockburn Kit Carson Comments
  1. D.... S....

    Really. Honest lyrics and thoughtful.

  2. J.... ....

    the motherfucker has nice guitars to play this good on. i've watched him do blues and rocknroll from front-row he has alot of fun in gigs,i think

  3. K.... C....

    What a song. Sorry Kit.

  4. B.... P....

    If you ever go to  Toas, New Mexico, be sure to go to the home of Kit Carson. 
    They have his diary. It is opened to a page (under glass) that states his true feeling about the Indian people. It was the "bastard Spanish" he had a problem with. I wonder if Bruce check out ALL the facts before he wrote this song? 
    Don't get me wrong Bruce Cockburn is in my top five! I still don't agree with all of his views on the world. Maybe he should write a song about all the money Canada owes U.S. , or how they have such a small military because they know we will be right there to defend them. That would be really cool, God Bless!

    B.... P....

    +Boyd Paulson   Cockburn's point is that Carson did his "job" as a soldier, which was to drive The People off their lands.  Most Navajos with whom I became acquainted while teaching on the reservation would agree with Bruce -- regardless of what he wrote in his diaries.

  5. k.... s....

    THANK YOU BRUCE FOR TELLING IT THE WAY IT REALLY WAS,,,

    k.... s....

    Thought I had sent a reply but it doesn't seem to have shown up. Excuse me if I repeat myself.
    There does seem to be some debate on the question of whether Kit Carson was as bad as Bruce portraits in the song. He was married to an Indian and possibly didn't lead them to the villages. What is actually true is way beyond me and I really don't care. It is infact a great song and to me that's all that matters.

    k.... s....

    @guitarstrunged thank you for sharing,,,

  6. A.... ....

    We have a self proclaimed "historian" in the Help Forum who is absolutely incensed that this video is on YouTube, because it's "lies, all lies." The dialog has gotten pretty comical, as if this video alone has singlehandedly destroyed Kit Carson's global reputation and ruined American history forever. And apparently you've removed or blocked comments he's tried to post to that effect, which I personally find hilarious.

    Cockburn's guitar work in this song is phenomenal!

  7. e.... ....

    Great song, and every word is precisely accurate.

  8. I.... F....

    Stunning song by the best guitarist in the world. Thanks for posting.