Half-Breed

My father married a pure Cherokee My mother's people were ashamed of me The Indians said I was white by law The White Man always called me "Indian Squaw" In her second chart-topping hit (after "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves"), Cher sings from the perspective of a mixed-race woman who grew up as an outcast because she was a "half-breed." Because she was only part Caucasian and part Native American, she wasn't accepted by either race and found herself looking for validation in dead-end relationships with men.

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian in El Centro, California, to an Armenian American father and an Arkansas-born mother with English, German, Irish, French, and Dutch ancestry. Around the time "Half-Breed" was released, Cher claimed she was also 1/16th Cherokee on her mother's side.

Snuff Garrett produced the song despite his intention to quit working with Sonny and Cher. He had been battling Sonny, the singer's then-husband, over what type of material she should be singing. Lyricist Mary Dean wasn't aware of the conflict when she brought "Half-Breed" to Garrett, a song she wrote with Al Capps specifically for Cher. Garrett recalled in a 1973 Rolling Stone interview: "I said from the lyrics it's a smash for Cher and for nobody else... And I didn't even have Cher at the time. To me, nobody else could do that song but Cher - that was Cher's story. So I held the song and then it worked out that we got Cher back, but the song sat in my desk for about three, four months."