Pocahontas Was Her Name!

From Jamestown by Matthew Sharpe:

Hi! My name is Pocahontas and I’m nineteen, but Pocahontas isn’t my real name. I will never say my real name. If I say my real name you will die. Anyone who hears my real name will die. Pocahontas is my nickname, it means “person who cannot be controlled by her dad.” My dad didn’t make up my nickname, my mom did, before she died, and he’s kind of mad that that’s my nickname because every time someone says it – which is any time anyone says my name because anyone who says my name name will die, which has been proven, but right now I can’t talk about that because in English, which is not my mom tongue, you can talk about only one thing at a time, at most – any time anyone says my nickname they’re also saying my dad can’t control his daughter, and that’s bad for my dad, my dad claims, because he’s chief of our town and a bunch of other towns in this general area – Superchief, I think y’all might say in English.

I’m only a third or so into the book, but it’s a whole mess of grim, grimy fun so far. (A review here and a link to buy here.) And it calls to mind a great Billy Childish song, which is a bonus. Here are two versions – you can decide whether you prefer the uneasy, loping rhythms and zonked Kira vocals of the first, or the limey pub singalong of the second. (Put me down for the first, but that’s neither here nor there.)

• Thee Headcoats, “Pocahontas Was Her Name” (buy here)
• Billy Childish & the Singing Loins, “Pocahontas Was Her Name” (buy here)