A Perfect Indian by Sinéad O'Connor

Album: Universal Mother (1994)

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This song is about the actor Daniel Day-Lewis, who at the time was working on the movie The Last Of The Mohicans, which is why O'Connor called it "A Perfect Indian."

"People think we had an affair but we never did," she explained in her book Rememberings. "We were getting very friendly until I blew the friendship by losing my temper with him one night in a crazy way that I do sometimes. One of the effects of my childhood, unfortunately, so the song is as much about my upbringing as it is about Daniel."

"It's not that I was in love with him," she added. "But I was very fond of him as a friend."
This piano ballad is part of Sinéad O'Connor's fourth album, Universal Mother, released after she consciously moved away from the world of pop music. O'Connor had a massive hit in 1990 with "Nothing Compares 2 U," a cover of a Prince song. The ensuing fame punctured her mental health and taught her that she'd be happier making music more on her terms to a smaller audience.
O'Connor had some hair by this point, but we don't see it on the album cover, which uses a picture she painted herself.

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