Colours of The Wind – English Lyrics
Lyrics & Translation
[English]
You think you own whatever land 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?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
...
Come run the hidden pine trails of the forest
Come taste the sunsweet berries of the Earth
Come roll in all the riches all around you
And for once, never wonder what they're 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
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?
Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?
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 colors of the wind
You can own the Earth and still
All you'll own is Earth until
You can paint with all the colors of the wind
...
Key Vocabulary
Vocabulary | Meanings |
---|---|
land /lænd/ A1 |
|
Earth /ɜːrθ/ A1 |
|
life /laɪf/ A1 |
|
name /neɪm/ A1 |
|
walk /wɔːk/ A1 |
|
stranger /ˈstreɪndʒər/ A2 |
|
cry /kraɪ/ A1 |
|
moon /muːn/ A1 |
|
sing /sɪŋ/ A1 |
|
paint /peɪnt/ A1 |
|
wind /wɪnd/ A1 |
|
hidden /ˈhɪdn/ B1 |
|
forest /ˈfɔːrɪst/ A2 |
|
taste /teɪst/ A2 |
|
riches /ˈrɪtʃɪz/ B2 |
|
brothers /ˈbrʌðərz/ A1 |
|
friends /frendz/ A1 |
|
grow /ɡroʊ/ A1 |
|
Key Grammar Structures
-
You think you **own** whatever land you land on
➔ Present Simple Tense: General truths or habitual actions
➔ The verb "own" is in the present simple tense to express a general belief or a habitual attitude. This implies a recurring or consistent behavior of thinking about owning the land.
-
The Earth is just a dead thing you **can claim**
➔ Modal Verb 'Can': Expressing ability or possibility
➔ "Can claim" expresses the perceived ability or possibility to claim ownership of the Earth. It suggests that someone believes the Earth is something they have the power to control.
-
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, You'll learn things you never **knew you never knew**
➔ Past Simple & Past Perfect (Implying something was unknown until a point in the past). Conditional sentences (type 1)
➔ "knew you never knew" - Uses both past simple and repetition for emphasis. It implies a complete lack of awareness. The first "knew" refers to knowledge one possessed, while the second "knew" refers to the realization of what was previously unknown. "If you walk...you'll learn" is a type 1 conditional, expressing a likely outcome if the condition is met.
-
Have you ever **heard** the wolf cry to the blue corn moon?
➔ Present Perfect Tense: Experience
➔ "Have you ever heard" uses the present perfect tense to inquire about a past experience. It asks if the listener has ever had the experience of hearing a wolf cry.
-
Can you **sing** with all the voices of the mountains?
➔ Modal Verb 'Can': Expressing ability
➔ "Can you sing" questions the listener's ability to sing along with the voices of the mountains. It's a metaphorical question about understanding and appreciating nature.
-
Come **run** the hidden pine trails of the forest
➔ Imperative Mood: Giving a command or invitation
➔ "Come run" uses the imperative mood to invite or command someone to run along the trails. It's an encouragement to experience the forest firsthand.
-
And for once, never wonder what they**'re** worth
➔ Contraction of 'they are'
➔ "'re" is a contraction of "they are". This indicates that the things around you (riches) have an intrinsic, unquantifiable value beyond monetary worth. The imperative "never wonder" emphasizes to appreciate without monetary questioning.
-
How high will the sycamore **grow**?
➔ Future Simple Tense (expressing a prediction)
➔ "will grow" uses the future simple tense to express a prediction about the future height of the sycamore tree. This question is rhetorical, emphasizing the potential that remains unknown.
Album: Beautiful World
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