explorers

​IN 1492

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;
He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;
He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him know
How to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;
Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;
And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;
They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,
You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians!  Indians!"  Columbus cried;
His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;
It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;
They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some gold
To bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,
Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American?  No, not quite.
But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.
​

​​The singers sing in pseudo-Latin, but they sound great. Someone said it is ancient Romanian. ​The following lyrics are repeated: In nòreni per ìpe, in noreni coràh; tirà mine per ìto, ne dominà. The last time the refrain is sung, it becomes: In ròmine tirmèno, ne ròmine to fa, imàgine pro mèno, per imentirà. For me, words sometimes matter less than the feelings produced by, and the intent of, a song. Anyway, it is fun to sing the powerful lyrics with them and sound very Roman. I am no sailor, but I think tossing the stick over the side is to determine speed. One counts the seconds to pass-by. It would not be a jiffy, not on these craft, because a jiffy is 1/100 of a second.