The Great Nations of Europe

The Great Nations of Europe had gathered on the shore They'd conquered what was behind them And now they wanted more So they looked to the mighty ocean And took to the Western sea The great nations of Europe in the 16th century Hide your wives and daughters, hide the groceries too The great nations of Europe comin' through The Grand Canary Islands first land to which they came They slaughtered all the canaries there Which gave the land its name There were natives there called Guanches Guanches by the score But bullets, disease, the Portuguese ... They weren't there any more Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone You never seen anyone so gone There's pictures in a museum, some lines written in a book But you won't find a live one, no matter where you look Hide your wives and daughters, hide the groceries too The great nations of Europe comin' through Columbus sailed for India found El Salvador instead He shook hands with some Indians and soon they all were dead They got TB and typhoid and athlete's foot, diphtheria and the flu 'scuse me great nations comin' through Balboa found the Pacific and on the trail one day He met some friendly Indians whom he was told were gay So ... He had them torn apart by dogs on religious grounds they say The great nations of Europe were quite holy in their way Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone You never seen anyone so gone Some bones hidden in a canyon some paintings in a cave They're no use tryin' to save them, there's nothin' left to save Hide your wives and daughters, hide your sons as well With the great nations of Europe you never can tell Where you and I are standing at the end of a century Europes have sprung up everywhere as even I can see But there on the horizon is the possibility Some bug from out of Africa might come for you and me Destroying everything in it's path from sea to shining sea Like the great nations of Europe in the 16th century