No Place For Young Men

When Jim and Charlie were six years old
Hiram took em down to the boarding school
As a foster kid and a native father
I was forced to think that he was more than fool
Being placed with strangers is abrasive
Danger the erasure angle is a mormon tool
Too quaint to hang us too prayed to save us
So they just enslaved us then called it school
Couldn't believe that a Native dad would ever
Advocate for his kids being sent to a place like this
Not until I read about it being commonplace
Cause they thought an education would right the ship
Send 'em off the reservation get 'em all educated
Then they'll come back home and help us win
Gotta beat the pale face at his game
If you ever want a real chance to save your kin
Hiram was only looking out for the best
Of his sons and really that makes me bubble
The fact that he had to back track daddy had to
Cut slack in son's leash to milk the struggle
Hate to say it but it kind of worked
Don't negate or change it made Jim berserk
Being six years old and not understanding
Why you feel abandoned man it had to hurt
Charlie excelled but Jim expelled home
Twenty-three miles back down the trail
Ran from the Sac and Fox boarding school
Just to be sent back fam that's an L
At least he had his twin there to lean on
Charlie was the one who helped him be strong
Yet again he'd run away and be gone
Just to get sent back again it wouldn't be long
It was not a good place
For a young man
Try to run away and
Fall in the quick sand
I hope you have a strong
Heart that can withstand
Because it's not a good
Place for a young man
It was not a good place
For a young man
Try to run away and
Fall in the quick sand
I hope you have a strong
Heart that can withstand
Because it's not a good place
Back at school, running a fail
Jim didn't care to come out of his shell
Leaned on Charlie for the help to heal
He could count on twin cause he kept it real
Sad that his dad banned the man from home
Though he came to understand still what's the deal
Stuck at a standstill mush for meals
He was blessed with wheels so he had to peel
Suppose it only helped he had a love for thrill
Twenty-three miles back was a trot
At 9 years old he could've carried the rock
Like Jonas Metoxen known as Met the Ox
Ran through them miles like an eight man box
Lots of kids today couldn't fill them socks
Damn right he got respect from his pops
That's why he taught him how to farm the plot
Back at home dad let him stay a while
Even got to hang with his friends and play
Still he was different he was not like they
Shot his first deer at a real young age
Running, jumping, fishing, hunting
Roping cattle, getting money
Wrangling horses in the country
For survival nothing funny
All of this by nine years old
Hiram taught Jim to be hungry
By example and through stories
Of Chief Black Hawk's greatest glories
Feeling cruddy still he humbly
Sent his buddy on the way
Back to school to be with
Brother Charlie and to find his way
It was not a good place
For a young man
Try to run away and
Fall in the quick sand
I hope you have a strong
heart that can withstand
Because it's not a good
Place for a young man
It was not a good place
For a young man
Try to run away and
Fall in the quick sand
I hope you have a strong
Heart that can withstand
Because it's not a good place