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 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.
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.
Watch Pocahontas Colors of the Wind song video or Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998)
The song poetically presents the Native American viewpoint that the earth is a living entity where humankind is connected to everything in nature. Colors of the Wind won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 68th Academy Awards in 1995, becoming composer Alan Menken's fourth win in the category. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Movie.
