Peter Gabriel - San Jacinto Meaning

San Jacinto Lyrics

Thick cloud - steam rising - hissing stone on sweat lodge fire
Around me - buffalo robe - sage in bundle - run on skin
Outside - cold air - stand, wait for rising sun
Red paint - eagle feathers - coyote calling - it has begun
Something moving...

1. anonymous

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   May 15th 2019 !⃝

   If you read Peter Gabriel's account of a conversation he had with an elderly Apache; you will know that the song is about a rite of passage, from boy to man, which involves being taken up the mountain by a medicine man; being subjected to the bite of a venomous snake, and the ordeal of trying to get down the mountain alone. The song is clearly about this transition if you read the lyrics carefully.
2. anonymous

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   Aug 12th 2014 !⃝

   Not even close.
3. astorian

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   Mar 20th 2012 !⃝

   This song is about an elderly Amricn Indian who believes he is about to die. He calls his tribe's medicine man, and together, they begin a traditional Indian ritual in preparation for death. The medicine man leads the old Indian on a march through town toward the tribe's ancient holy grounds.
   
   All along the way, the old Indian sees indications that his tribe's old customs and traditions are being trivialized by modern popluar culture. He sees a restaurant called "Sitting Bull Steakhouse" and he sees Boy Scouts following bogus "Indian traditions." He sees that old, sacred Indian land has been turned into ordinary suburban housing.
   
   But even though his tribe's sacred customs and traditions are being trivialized or forgotten in the modern world, the old Indian proudly vows to "hold the line" and hold fast to the traditions he's believed in his whole life. He's lived as a proud Indian, and intends to follow his tribe's old way right up until the moment of his death.