| Colors Of The Wind | |
|---|---|
| File:Pocahontas And John Smith.png | |
| Composer | Alan Menken
|
| Lyrics | Stephen Schwartz
|
| Performers | Pocahontas (Judy Kuhn)
Vanessa Williams (End credits/Pop version) |
| Feature Films | Pocahontas
|
| Television Programs | Unknown
|
| Video Games | Unknown
|
| Albums | Pocahontas (Original Soundtrack)
|
| Preceded by | Unknown
|
| Followed by | Unknown
|
"Colors Of The Wind", by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was the 1995 Oscar-winner for Best Original Song from the Disney animated feature film Pocahontas. It also won the Golden Globe in the same category as well as the Grammy Award For Best Song Written For A Movie. It was also nominated for AFI's 100 years...100 songs, as one of 15 songs from Disney and one of 17 songs from an animated movie to be nominated. The songs that eventually made the cut were: "When You Wish Upon A Star" (#7), "Some Day My Prince Will Come" (#19), "Beauty And The Beast" (#62) and "Hakuna Matata" (#99).
The song poetically represents the Native American viewpoint that the earth is a living entity where humankind is connected to everything in nature. This song is about Pocahontas' exhortation to John Smith about the wonders of the earth and nature, including the spirit within all living things, encouraging him not to think of them as things he can conquer or own, but rather as beings to respect and live with in harmony. She also urges him to accept humans who are different in appearance and culture and to learn from them.
Lyrics[]
You think I'm an ignorant savage
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.