About The Song
The distinction of being Tim McGraw’s first Top 10 hit could hardly have gone to a more oddball song.
Ever had one of those songs that you used to enjoy when you were younger, but then you kind of… I dunno… grew up and then realized it wasn’t that good? This is one of those songs for me. It’s catchy, to be sure. Tim puts a lot of character and personality into his performance, and the fiddle and tom-tom-driven arrangement is infectious.
But the lyrics… Oh, how stupid. In lyric, “Indian Outlaw” amounts to little more than a hodgepodge of Native American cliches. The village chieftain and the medicine man both get shout-outs. So do the tom-toms and tee-pees. Then it samples the “Cherokee people” chorus from co-writer John D. Loudermilk’s earlier composition “Indian Reservation.” It all makes very little sense. Not surprisingly, the single stirred controversy due to its stereotypical portrayal of North American Indians, such that some radio stations refused to play it, though that didn’t stop it from going Top 10.
The single still holds a small shred of appeal to me, primarily because of the way it sounds. So I could be somewhat generous and dub it a simple “catch me in the right mood” kind of novelty song.
…But seriously, how can I possibly get behind “buffalo briefs”?!
Video
Lyrics
I’m an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby, she’s a Chippewa
She’s a one of a kind
All my friends call me Bear Claw
The Village Chieftain is my paw-paw
He gets his orders from my maw-maw
She makes him walk the line
You can find me in my wigwam
I’ll be beatin’ on my tom-tom
Pull out the pipe and smoke you some
Hey and pass it around
‘Cause I’m an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby, she’s a Chippewa
She’s a one of a kind
I ain’t lookin’ for trouble
We can ride my pony double
Make your little heart bubble
Lord, like a glass of wine
I remember the medicine man
He caught Running Water in my hands
Drug me around by my headband
Said I wasn’t her kind
‘Cause I’m an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby, she’s a Chippewa
She’s a one of a kind
I can kill a deer or buffalo
With just my arrow and my hickory bow
From a hundred yards don’t you know
I do it all the time
They all gather ’round my teepee
Late at night tryin’ to catch a peek at me
In nothin’ but my buffalo briefs
I got them standin’ in line
‘Cause I’m an Indian outlaw
Half Cherokee and Choctaw
My baby, she’s a Chippewa
She’s a one of a kind
Cherokee people
Cherokee tribe
So proud to live
So proud to die