Written by: John Mellencamp



Drivin' down on a dry summer's day

Old Route 66 and I was just a kid

Met a pretty little Indian girl

Along the way

Got her into my car

And tried to give her a kiss

I'll give you beads and wampum

Whatever it takes girl, to make you trade

She jumped into the back seat

And she kind of flipped her lid

She said you're tryin' to get something for nothing

Like the pilgrims in the olden days



We rode for a while till the sun went away

And I realized it was sort of an honor

Bein' around this girl

I felt embarrassed

Of what I tried to do earlier that day

She was the saddest girl I ever knew

She told me stories about the Indian nations

And how the white man stole their lives away

And although she kinda liked me

She could never trust me

And when the sun comes up

We'd go our different ways



Chorus

Now everybody has got the choice

Between hotdogs and hamburgers

Every one of us has got to choose

Between right and wrong

And givin' up or holdin' on



So I dropped her off at some railroad crossing in Texas

An old Indian man was waiting there

He smiled and thanked me

But he saw right through me

I could tell he didn't like me

For my kind he did not care

Because to him I was the white man

The one who sold him something that he already owned

And it was like he'd been riding in the car right there with us

And I felt ashamed of my actions

And the way the west was really won

So I drove down the highway

Till I came to Los Angeles

The town of the angels

The best this country can do

I got down on my knees

And I asked for forgiveness

I said, Lord, forgive us for