Lyrics

Jim Billie, Chief of the Seminole © 2018 J. Bickerstaff & Peter B. Gallagher

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His mama was from the Bird Clan, his daddy was a white man; two young people, no remorse or shame
But a child came unto her and times being what they were; the half-breed had no country to his name

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He grew up fighting haters, and wrestling alligators; turns out he had a flair for the show
He spent his younger days learning ancient Native ways; the elders taught him things he had to know

CHORUS
He started out with nothing but his shadow on the floor; at a tourist trap in Florida back in 1944
And he led his tribe to victory in a different kind of war; Jim Billie, Chief of the Seminole

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When Jim Billie came of age, fate helped him turn the page; they shipped him off to Vietnam with a gun
When his tour came to an end, he went right back again; and stayed until his duty there was done

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He fought those Native people in the jungles and the deltas; Like a war that came to Florida long ago
And among the dirty faces of the lost and frightened children; saw the spirit of his ancient Seminole

CHORUS

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He came back to Big Cypress and bent the arc of time; white man’s law became his bow and shield
And defeated his oppressor as others had before; the court room, a modern battlefield

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Names like Osceola, Sam Jones, and Potackee, defenders of the people’s heart and soul
One other name and face, has earned a sacred place - Among the proud and unconquered Seminole

CHORUS

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