According to Koblun, Young selected the title "Broken Arrow" because it's an Indian term for "friendship after war" (Don't Be Denied, 1992, p. 198). In that same quote, Koblun says that the song isn't "about" him so much as about Young's guilt for sending him away from Buffalo Springfield.

What is Broken Arrow about? The protagonist is talking about how he is the only one who can give his partner a broken arrow and a bottle of rain. He keeps describing how his partner is turning his world around and that he wants to hold her in his arms. He expresses the desire to be with her and go through any obstacle to reach her.