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"Running Bear" is a song written by J. P. Richardson (aka The Big Bopper) and sung most famously by Johnny Preston in 1959.〔 The 1959 recording featured background vocals by Richardson and George Jones and the session's producer Bill Hall, who provided the "Indian chanting" of "uga-uga" during the three verses, as well as the "Indian war cries" at the start and end of the record. It was No. 1 for three weeks in January 1960 on the ''''Billboard'' Hot 100'' in the United States. The song also reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart in 1960.〔 Coincidentally, "Running Bear" was immediately preceded in the Hot 100 No. 1 position by Marty Robbins' "El Paso", another song in which the protagonist dies. ''Billboard'' ranked "Running Bear" as the No. 4 song of 1960.〔Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1960〕 Richardson was a friend of Preston and offered "Running Bear" to him after hearing him perform in a club. Preston recorded the song at the Gold Star Studios in Houston, Texas in 1958. The saxophone was played by Link Davis. Preston was signed to Mercury Records, and "Running Bear" was released in August 1959, seven months after Richardson's death in the plane crash that also killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.〔 "Running Bear" was used in the 1994 movie ''A Simple Twist of Fate'', which stars Steve Martin as Michael McCann, a fine furniture maker in rural Virginia, who adopts a little girl named Mathilda. There is a scene in the movie where he plays "Running Bear" on the phonograph / record player, and he and Mathilda are dancing to the song. It occurs about midway through the movie. ==Plot== The song tells the story of Running Bear, a "young Indian brave", and Little White Dove, an "Indian maid". The two are in love but are separated by two factors: * Their tribes' hatred of each other: they hail from tribes that are at war with each other. ("''Their tribes fought with each other / So their love could never be''.") * A raging river: this is a physical separation that also serves as a metaphor for their cultural separation. The two, desiring to be together despite their obstacles and the risks of navigating the river, dive into the raging river to unite. After sharing a passionate kiss, they are pulled down by the swift current and drown. The lyrics describe their fate: "''Now they'll always be together / In their happy hunting ground''." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Running Bear」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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