"Indian Outlaw" is a song written by

Jumpin' Gene Simmons Morris Eugene Simmons (July 10, 1937 – August 29, 2006), better known as Jumpin' Gene Simmons, was an American singer and songwriter best known for his 1964 novelty single "Haunted House". Biography Gene Simmons was born in Itawamba County, Mis ...

and

John D. Loudermilk John Dee Loudermilk Jr. (March 31, 1934 – September 21, 2016) was an American singer and songwriter. Although he had his own recording career during the 1950s and 1960s, he was primarily known as a songwriter. His best-known songs include "I ...

, and performed by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Tim McGraw Samuel Timothy McGraw (born May 1, 1967) is an American country singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He has released 16 studio albums (11 for Curb Records, four for Big Machine Records and one for Arista Nashville). 10 of those album ...

. It was released in January 1994 as the first single from his album ''

Not a Moment Too Soon ''Not a Moment Too Soon'' is the second studio album by American country music singer Tim McGraw. It was released on March 22, 1994. McGraw's breakthrough album, it reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 chart and No. 1 on Billboard Country chart ...

''. It was McGraw's breakthrough single, his first Top 40 country hit, and his fourth single overall. It peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, and number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Content

The song is an up-tempo set in

minor key In Western music, the adjectives major and minor may describe a chord, scale, or key. As such, composition, movement, section, or phrase may be referred to by its key, including whether that key is major or minor. Intervals Some intervals may ...

, backed by

tom-tom drum A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as la ...

s and

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

. The narrator describes himself as a rebellious American Indian character, "Half

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

and

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

". He describes, among other things, his pursuit of a Chippewa lover. The song contains a sample of

's song "

Indian Reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

", which is sung as shouting at the end ("Cherokee people, Cherokee tribe! / So proud to live, so proud to die"). A dance remix of the single was also made. This remix appears on McGraw's 2010 album '' Number One Hits''. The song was considered controversial at the time, due to its stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans;CMT.com : Shows : Controversy : "Indian Outlaw" : About the Episode
/ref> as a result, some radio stations refused to play it.

Critical reception

Larry Flick of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' called it an "incredible single" that is "positively stuffed with lyrical and musical Native American cliches, from

tomtoms A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no Rattle (percussion beater), snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, tho ...

wigwam A wigwam, wickiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wickiup'' ...

s to peace pipes." He went on to say that if the song became a hit, it would "set relations back 200 years." In a review of ''Not a Moment Too Soon'' for the same publication, "Indian Outlaw" was again noted as clichéd; the authors deemed it "either one of the catchiest or one of the stupidest songs ever written."

Music video

There were two versions of the video released. One was for the original version of the song and played on CMT, and the other was for an extended dance mix. Both were directed by

Sherman Halsey Sherman Brooks Halsey (February 22, 1957 – October 29, 2013) was an American music video and television director, producer, and artist manager. Sherman Halsey produced and directed hundreds of television shows and music videos for artists ...

, who also directed most of McGraw's subsequent videos and it shows

performing the song at a dancehall, playing a game of

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions of ...

, and riding his motorcycle with a female friend.

Track listings

US Vinyl, 7" *A Indian Outlaw (Radio Mix) 2:59 *B Don't Take The Girl 4:09 Germany CD # Indian Outlaw (European Version) 2:59 # Indian Outlaw (American Version) 2:59 # Indian Outlaw (Dance Version) 4:19

Chart performance

Peak positions

End of year charts

Certifications

Parodies

American country music parody artist

Cledus T. Judd James Barry Poole (born December 18, 1964) is an American country music artist who records under the name Cledus T. Judd. Known primarily for his parodies of popular country songs, he has been called the "Weird Al" Yankovic of country music, and ...

released a parody of "Indian Outlaw" titled "Indian In-Laws" on his 1995 album ''

Cledus T. Judd (No Relation) ''Cledus T. Judd (No Relation)'' is the self-titled debut album of country music parodist Cledus T. Judd. The album's title is a reference to the popularity of country duo The Judds, stating that he has "no relation" to them. The album features ...

''.

References

{{authority control 1994 singles 1994 songs Tim McGraw songs Songs written by John D. Loudermilk Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Song recordings produced by James Stroud Music videos directed by Sherman Halsey Curb Records singles Songs about Native Americans