Words and music © 1991 by Nancy Schimmel
In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
He didn’t know what he thought he knew*
And someone was already here.
Columbus knew the world was round
So he looked for the East while westward bound,
But he didn’t find what he thought he found
And someone was already here.
Chorus:
The Innuit and Cherokee,It isn't like it was empty space,
The Aztec and Menominee,
The Onadaga and the Cree;
Columbus sailed across the sea,
But someone was already here.
Chorus
So tell me, who discover what?
He thought he was in a different spot.
Columbus was lost, the Tainos** were not;
They were already here.
Chorus
Lyric updates since the recording was made:
*The line refers to Columbus being so sure the world was much smaller than it is, ignoring the fact that the ancient Greeks had measured it pretty accurately.
** A more accurate name for the tribe involved.