The song was written by vocalist Joey Tempest in 1985 , and was in fact the last song written for the album . The video for " Cherokee " was filmed in September 1987 , in Almería , Spain . It was filmed a half mile from where Sergio Leone shot the famous Clint Eastwood spaghetti western '' A Fistful of Dollars . '' When filming the scene where the horses run through the valley , someone accidentally set some brush near the set on fire . The entire video crew , including band members , had to fight the fire by quickly digging a trench around the fire to stop it spreading . Historically , the video is very inaccurate . It showed the Cherokee as plains Indians , living in teepees on the desert . The Cherokee originally lived in the wooded , southern Appalachian Mountains . They were forcibly moved to the wooded , rolling hills of eastern Oklahoma . The Cherokee never used teepees
forcibly moved
Trail of Tears
Cherokee (Europe song)