Cherokee

This song is a hymn to the suffering of the Cherokee nation. In May 1838, ignoring earlier decisions of the Supreme Court, the American Government forcibly relocated the bulk of the tribe at gunpoint to what was later to become Oklahoma. At one point President Andrew Jackson remarked infamously, "Justice Marshall has made his decision. Let him enforce it." Unsanitary conditions, the elements and marauding whites devastated the tribe's numbers, and some 4,000 died en route, many of the bodies being left unburied by the roadside on what became known as the "Trail Of Tears."

Europe lead singer Joey Tempest wrote this song after browsing through a book on the subject that belonged to the wife of their producer, Kevin Elson. "I saw it laying around, and I thought, 'That would be interesting,'" Tempest said in our 2015 interview. "I started reading the story about the Cherokee Indians, and I thought it would be an interesting thing to write about."

This was a classic "one more song" composition. As often happens, the band found themselves needing one more song to complete the album, so Tempest played what he had of this one to the band, and they decided to give it a go. It ended up being the fourth single from the album.