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Hiawatha's Vision
Johnny Cash
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On the shores of Gitche Gumee by the shining big seawater
Hiawatha old and grayin', listened to the older prophet, listened to Iagu
And the young men and the women from the land of Ojibwe
From the land of the Dakotas, from the woodlands and the prairies
Stood and listened to the prophet, heard Iagu tell Hiawatha
"I have seen" he said, "A water bigger than the big seawater
Broader than the Gitche Gumee, bitter, so that none can drink it
Salty, so that none would use it"
Hiawatha then spoke to them, stopped all their jeering and their jesting
And he spoke to all the people
"It's true what Iagu tells you, for I have seen it in a vision
I have also seen the water to the East, to the land of morning
And upon this great water came a strange canoe with pinions
Bigger than a grove of pine trees, taller than the tallest tree tops
And upon this great canoe were sails to carry it swiftly
And it carried many people, strange and foreign were these people
And white were all their faces, and with hair their chins were covered"
Then said Hiawatha, "I beheld a darker vision
Many hundreds came behind them, pushed their way across our prairies
In our woodlands rang their axes, in our valleys smoked their cities
Our people were all scattered, all forgetful of our councils
Left their homelands, going Westward wild and woeful
And the man with bearded faces, the men with skin so fair
With their barking sticks of thunder drove the remnants of our people
Farther Westward, Westward, Westward, then wild, wild and wilder
Grew the West, that once was ours"