In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.
He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.
A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.
Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.
Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.
Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.
October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!
"Indians! Indians!" Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.
But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.
The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.
Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.
He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.
The first American? No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
Oh Columbus day. Please. We should not be celebrating this guy.
First of all, he didn't "find" America. American Indians had been here already for ages, and besides, Lief Erikson and the Vikings can claim right to being the first Europeans in the New World.
Also, Columbus was a downright meanie. The Arakawa native people were nice to the Europeans, and what did Columbus do? He killed them, raped them, forced them to lead his crew to find gold, and packed them up onto his ships to be sold into slavey back in Spain. And that's the nice way to put the truth. In short, Christopher Columbus began the widespread utter destruction of the Indies. Just the guy we want as the finder of or land right?
Sure, he gets us a day off of school, and it's an excuse for sales, but really?
This guy?
Not so much.
3 comments:
Wow. That's rather...harsh. =p
On another note, that rhyme made me smile, because I've had the first part repeated to me over and over through the years, but I don't think I'd ever heard the rest.
And hey--I'm loving my day off school. (:
Out of curiosity...you had no school? Wish I lived where you do.
Yeah we have no school here, and I guess Jenn doesn't either! It's funny, I kinda thought that most places in the country had Columbus Day as a day off. Very interesting that you don't.
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