Colors of the Wind -- Vanessa Williams

"Colors of the Wind," by Vanessa Williams

Released: 1995

Song sentiment: Focusing your attention on nature will beget bizarre discoveries.

Original lyrics in blue
Analyzed lyrics in black

VERSE 1

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.

You are under the impression that property rights associated with any given geographic area are legally transferred to you in the event that your ship docks there, and that the soil and other natural features of the vicinity are nonliving entities of which you can gain ownership via declaration. However, I understand that all the solid globs of minerals, perennial woody plants and wild beasts are not dead, have an undetectable ghost-like self-extension and are referred to by a moniker. You believe that in order to be designated as a homo sapien, a primate must physically and cognitively resemble you. And, yet, if you were to observe foot-shaped tracks left by someone you've never had the pleasure of meeting, then step into those outlines one at a time, you would acquire knowledge that you did not previously realize you lacked.

CHORUS 1

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon or asked the grinning bobcat why he grins? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

At any point in the past, have your ears detected vibrations emanating from a wailing wild canine whose cranium is cocked toward this planet's sole natural satellite during a time of periodically abnormal and perhaps harvest-related color? Or have you posed questions to a dangerous feline regarding the source of his or her amusement? Are you capable of utilizing your vocal talents to accompany massive rock structures in a musical number? And might you have the skills necessary to harness the shifting, flowing air around you and repurpose it as the medium for a piece of art of many tones and hues? Hmm?

VERSE 2

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.

Join me as I sprint through difficult-to-detect pathways in a grouping of trees. Then let's consume small, potentially poisonous wild fruits. I encourage you to wriggle in dirt, plants and perhaps animal feces without considering their economic value in the marketplace. My parents had two other children -- heavy precipitation accompanied by cacophonous bangs and flashes of light, and a large, flowing pathway of clear liquid where we do laundry; both of these offspring are men. I am fondly acquainted with a bird that some confuse with an egret, and also with a weasel-like pest. My siblings, companions and I are physically linked, forming an infinitely large, perfectly round shape.

CHORUS 2

Have you ever heard the wolf cry to the blue corn moon or let the eagle tell you where he's been? Can you sing with all the voices of the mountain? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind? Can you paint with all the colors of the wind?

Revisit my previous queries about your activities within nature, but substitute the one about the bobcat for this one: Have you listened to a screaming flying animal and attempted to understand the list of locations he has previously visited?

BRIDGE

How high does the sycamore grow? If you cut it down, then you'll never know.

To what maximum altitude does a grand fig tree extend? You will never successfully answer this question if you slice through its trunk and push it over before it has had the opportunity to reach maturity.

CHORUS 3

And you'll never hear the wolf cry to the blue corn moon. Oh, whether we are white or copper skin, we need to sing with all the voices of the mountain, we need to paint with all the colors of the wind.

Moreover, there will never be a time that your ears will detect the aforementioned sobbing canine. Regardless of our skin pigmentation, it is imperative that we belt out notes alongside the giant triangular crags. And we are required to transform moving air into a liquid with various pigments that we can use to compose an illustration.

OUTRO

You can own the earth and still all you'll own is earth until you can paint with all the colors of the wind.

Despite what I said earlier about not being able to own soil, you in fact can, but realize that the only asset in your possession will be the soil itself, at least until you figure out how to turn the moving air into a goo out of which you can create a work of art.