Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
Considered to be one of Neil Young’s most memorable songs as a solo artist, it is a seven minute piece largely dominated by a free-flowing guitar solo typical of Young’s early work with his backing band Crazy Horse.
This long-winded yet extraordinary guitar solo, according to Young himself is “some...
[Intro: Guitar solo]
[Verse 1]
He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
And that palace in the sun
[Verse 2]
On the shore lay Montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls, he often wandered
With the secrets of the world
[Verse 3]
And his subjects gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
For the angry gods to see
[Verse 4]
And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 5]
Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
People worked together
And they lifted many stones
[Verse 6]
And they carried them to the flatlands
But they died along the way
And they built up with their bare hands
What we still can't do today
[Verse 7]
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
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer
Cortez the Killer was written by Neil Young.
Cortez the Killer was produced by David Briggs & Neil Young.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse released Cortez the Killer on Mon Nov 10 1975.
Neil Young via MOJO:
What Cortez represented to me is the explorer with two sides, one benevolent, the other utterly ruthless I mean, look at Columbus! Everyone now knows he was less than great and he wasn’t even there first (laughs). It always makes me question all these other so-called ‘icons’