You think I'm an ignorant savage
and you've been so many places, I guess it must be so.
But still, I cannot see
if the savage one is me
how can there be so much that you don't know
you don't know?
you think you own whatever you land on
the earth is just a dead thing you can claim
but I know every rock and tree and creature
has a life
has a spirit
has a name
You think the only people who are people
are the people who look and think like you,
but if you walk the footsteps of a stranger
you'll learn things you never knew, you never knew.
Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
or asked the grinning bobcat why he grinned?
Can you sing with all the voices of the mountains,
can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest,
come taste the sun sweet berries of the earth
come roll in all the riches that surround you
and for once never wonder what it's worth
the rainstorm and the river are my brothers
the heron and the otter are my friends
and we are all connected to each other
in a circle in a hoop that never ends
how high will the sycamore grow
if you cut it down then you'll never know
and you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon
for whether we are white or copper-skinned
we need to sing with all the voices of the mountains we need to paint with all the color of the wind
you can own the earth and still
all you'll own is earth until
you can sing with all the voices of the mountain
till you can paint with all the colors of the wind