Cortez the Killer

[2] Young has stated in concert that he wrote the song while studying history in high school in Winnipeg.

[3][4] The song is inspired by Hernán Cortés's conquest of the Aztec Empire under Moctezuma II in the 16th century.

Instead of describing Cortés's battles with the Aztecs, the last verse suddenly jumps to a first-person perspective with a reference to an unnamed woman: "And I know she's living there / And she loves me to this day.

[7] The song is typical of the Zuma album, with simple chords and gradually rising and falling tension.

The song fades out after nearly seven and a half minutes, as (according to Young's father in Neil and Me) a circuit in the mixing console had blown.

"[8] The additional verse resurfaced on his 2024 tour with Crazy Horse:[9] But I floated on the water, And I ate that ocean wave.