“Kaw-Liga” is a country music song written by Hank Williams and Fred Rose. The song tells the story of a wooden Indian, Kaw-Liga, who falls in love with an “Indian maid over in the antique store” but does not tell her so, being, as the lyrics say:
Too stubborn to ever show a sign,
Because his heart was made of knotty pine.
The Indian maid waits for Kaw-Liga to signal his affection for her….but he either refuses or is physically/emotionally unable to talk….while being the ever stoical Native American of the popular stereotype. Because of his stubbornness, Kaw-Liga’s love continues to be unrequited, with Hank Williams, the narrator/singer of the song lamenting,
Poor ol Kaw-liga, he never got a kiss,
Poor ol Kaw-liga, he don’t know what he missed,
Is it any wonder that his face is red?
Kaw-liga, that poor ol’ wooden head.
The song ends with the Indian maid being bought and taken away from the antique store by a buyer, leaving Kaw-Liga alone, and he
