Natalie Merchant
Indian Names
[Verse]
Ye say they all have passed away
That noble race and brave
That their light canoes have vanished
From off the crested wave
That 'mid the forests where they roamed
There rings no hunters shout
But their name is on your waters
And you may not wash it out
[Verse]
'Tis where Ontario's billow
Like ocean's surge is curled
Where strong Niagara's thunders
Wake the echo of the world
Where red Missouri brings
Its tributes from the west
And Rappahannock sweetly sings
On green Virginia's breast
[Verse]
You say their cone-like cabins
That clustered o'er the vale
Have fled away like withered leaves
Before the autumn's gale
But their memory lives on in your hills
Their baptism on your shore
Everlasting rivers speak
Their dialect of yore
[Verse]
Old Massachusetts wears it
Within her lordly crown
And broad Ohio bears it
'Mid all her young renown
Connecticut hath wreathed it
Where her quiet foliage waves
And bold Kentucky breathed it hoarse
Through all her ancient caves
[Verse]
Wachuset hides its lingering voice
Within its rocky heart
And Alleghany graves its tone
Throughout its lofty chart
Monadnock on his forehead hoar
Doth seal the sacred trust
Your mountains build their monument
Though you destroyed their dust