Legend

He did dominate the field. So that's the way the darn thing was
And he can do everything everyone or anybody else can do
But he can do it better. And we saw him just without the
Slightest form just put the football on his foot and kick it about
Sixty yards a punt with no trouble at all. We were standing
Back there looked like from seventy-five yards. He just boomed
The ball. It wasn't spiraling or anything just boomed down
There. That's all there was to it. And he could throw the ball
He could run. He could tackle. He could do anything
The Titanic just sunk, Wilson beat
Roosevelt for the Presidency that month
Jim beat Dwight Eisenhower on the field
The West Point Army kids came and got killed
Twenty-seven, six, showed 'em that native real
The future president even said he's that deal
Football was war without death
It was the colonizers sons that the Indians played against
Jim hyped his teammates with this
No wonder why the score they tallied up on them privileged white kids
Jim Thorpe the college ballroom dancing champion
Straight faced prankster but you still could get a laugh out him
Superior athletically in his era being
Native in a white mans world his only error
Even though the IOC thieved him of his gold
His legacy is golden his memory's being told
Plus his stardom only started at the time
Crazy offers sought to blow his bottom line just off his shine
Fifty racks to be a boxer in his bar brawls
Opponents got punch drunk flimsy doing the bar crawl
He chose baseball playing in the major leagues
For the New York Giants as the highest paid rookie
Ever, enabled him to marry wifey Iva
Never got wealthy but he got to be a thriver
I thought he was a hell of a ball player. He could hit a
Ball as far as anybody. He could run as good as anybody
He was one of the fastest men I ever saw running the
Bases. He was fast! The man was a great athlete! He
Could do anything! He could run as good as anybody
He could hit a ball as far as anybody. And he could field
He was a good fielder. He had a good arm
Iva was the prettiest girl at Carlisle
Their marriage saw the birth of four kids and argyle
Bought a home together out in Yale, Oklahoma
She called her baby snooks, together they were roamers
The Giants Manager had made some racial comments
Jim roughed him up he wasn't one for the nonsense
Took his talents to the home of the Hall of Fame
Canton Bulldogs winning chips popping champagne
First team All-Pro in the predecessor
To the NFL where his role was presidential
Legitimized and brought life to the new sport
Professionalized on the back of goat Jim Thorpe
The Spanish Flu took his first born Jim Jr
No doubt his baby boy fought it hard like a trooper
Gone too soon like our land to the Sooners
It hit their marriage hard and put a dent in their future
Had three more, and had to call it quits
The death of their first, and Jim's frequent trips
Mixed with Jim's drinks made it hard to coexist
Still don't get it twisted Jim cared about his kids
Such is life tough love in situations
Blessings in disguise that can lead to lituations
Like founding an NFL team full of Natives
The Oorang Indians defined Native greatness
In partnership with a star hound breeder
Through whom he met his future wife by the name of Freeda
They had four kids and parted for the same reasons
Again sports had the goat too often leaving
He played his last game at the age of forty one
Then he sold the rights to his life story for a sum
The stock market crashed then began the Great Depression
He got a gig acting as his newfound expression
I've seen George McAfee and I've seen Gale Sayers
And I played with George Gipp and I played with
Bronco Nagurski and I played with football players
Of that type but the greatest football player, I guess
Of all of them was Jim Thorpe. He could do
What's the matter with Ernie Nevers? You didn't
Hear me mention his name did you
Henry McDonald was among the first black players
Jim defended him against a white trash racist
So it's not surprising that he spoke out against
White people painting skin red so they could act Native
Jim advocated accurate portrayal
Spent his last years speaking up for Native rights
They casted Burton Lancaster for his life's portrayal
While he lived in a trailer at the end of his life
Jim Thorpe could throw his knees right into my head
Or shoulders or ribs but, instead off that, I was on the
Ground crawling around you know, on knees and arms
Why, he just, he just sat astride me and bore me to the
Ground. He said, 'well, if you're a horse I'll ride you