[Verse 1]
Lunch with friends at Sabor Café
Stories drifting through the day,
Someone said the tribes once named
babies by what Dad first claimed.

First thing that the father sees
names the child with noble ease.
I grew up near Blackfoot land.
Heard those names across the sand.

Dancing Shadow, Falcon Wing
Sacred Path where spirits sing.
Running Bear and Calling Wolf
Sky Rain falling from above.

Names that ride the prairie wind.
Rolling hills and plains again.
Names of thunder, names of rain
Echo through the mountain plain.

Some are truth and some are fun.
Tales beneath the setting sun.
Still we laugh and still we sing
At the names that life may bring.

[Verse 2]
Friends used school names every day
But their tribal names held sway.
So I'd ask them after school.
I'm a curious kid, an eager fool.

“Tell me what your name might be
From your tribe’s old history.”

One day I asked Howard Bluebill
Standing quietly by the school
Howard looked at the ground.
Didn’t make a single sound.
Finally he raised his head
Softly then Howard just said,

“Bull Shit.”

[Chorus]
Names that ride the prairie wind
Rolling hills and plains again
Some bring pride and some bring laughs.
Some come straight from pasture paths.
Some are noble, some are odd.
Still they’re stories handed on.
Still we laugh and still we sing.
At the names that life may bring.

[Verse 3]
Years went by at Scout Camp grounds
Teton peaks and pine trees abound.
Treasure Mountain, summer days.
Campfires bright and smoky haze.

First year brave in river cold
Snowmelt water fierce and bold.
Second year a warrior strong.
Third year chief before too long.

In the teepee chiefs all stood.
Serious and tall they looked.

“Take your shirt off,” someone said.
“Lie right here,” the leader said.
Stamped an arrow on my chest.
Said I'd earned the name at last.

Well now…
After three long years at Scout Camp …
Freezing rivers …
Campfire smoke …
Mosquitoes big enough to carry off a canoe …
I figured I was about to get a name like
Eagle,
Thunder,
or
Mountain Wind,
or maybe even
Running Wolf.

The chief cleared his throat…
Looked me straight in the eye…
And said…

[Final Chorus]
Names that ride the prairie wind
Rolling hills and plains again.
Some are brave and some are swift.
Some are just a little … different.
I stood proud beneath that sky
Though I nearly wondered why
After all those years of work,
I'm Chief Donkey Butt the Third.

Oh, give a cheer, maybe three cheers.

I'm Chief Donkey Butt the Third.