I Rocked The Reservation, Man!
Cuzzin, this one time … when I was 14, I was rocking the reservation.
I’m Bon Scott in our AC/DC airband in a Blood rez backyard. It’s 2am and I am belting out/lip syncing ‘74 Jailbreak’.
I'm givin' er, too, cuzzin.
There was a friend of mine on murder, when the judges gavel fell, jury found him guilty, gave him sixteen years in hell ...
The whole crowd of languid longhairs and half high hooligans is swaying to my melodic motions and lucid lyrics. The misty night air makes me glisten, my long tight braids slicken. I scan the horizon, endless ndns are glistening, their long tight braids slickening. There’s a pungent aroma, much more than odor – more like “oh dear”. I break it down to a mixture of Pilsner and Passion, with a musty hint of Pee.
I ain't spending my life here, I ain't living alone, ain't breaking no rocks on the chain gang, I'm breakin' out and heading home.
Sing it with me, cuzzin:
I'm gonna make a jaaaaailbreak! And I'm looking towards the sky. I'm gonna make a jaaaaailbreak! Oh, how I wish that I could fly.
I make it to "all in the name of liberty, got to be free", then suddenly, out of nowhere, my stepdad Rocky (black dude, living with me and my mom and my brother and endless ndns on the rez), is standing right next to the makeshift stage/dog house, glaring at me ... in his pajamas!
Hard head Rock used to be a drummer in a 70s soul & funk band, so maybe hard rock is his trigger, but anyways, he lovingly and maniacally yells "O'MAHK'SIIK'IMII, get your ass home to your grandmas, NOW!!!"
The crowd goes wild and thinks its all part of the show.
They start chanting along ...
GO HOME TO GRANDMA, GO HOME TO GRANDMA
Needless to say, my hard rock career is abruptly halted as hard head Rock hauls me off the stage and returns me to my grandma’s protective and loving embrace – to the land of Saskatoon Berry Pies, Wild Mint Tea and fresh-from-the-oven Bannock - far from the languid longhairs’ and half high hooligans’ influence.
I still smile and think of that blissful night whenever I hear ‘74 Jailbreak’, and now maybe you will, too.
