When the river runs to the mountain
And the birds swim in the sea
Only then, can you justify
Taking a man's liberty

When we lived on the prairie
Hunting buffalo
Happy in the sunshine
Contented in the snow
We cherished our rivers
We nourished our lands
Our children grew in freedom
Into men and women strong, women strong

And then came the white man
Searching for gold
We opened our arms to you
Welcomed young and old, young and old

And then you built your railways
And then you came in scores
And then you came in thousands
And then a million more, a million more

All this time you told us
That we should live as one
And then you brought your armies
To throw us out with guns, out with guns

You are the savage
We are the wise
We told the truth, man
You told the lies, told the lies

You slaughtered our children
You'd murder your own
Your greed for yellow metal
Drove us from our homes, from our homes

When the river runs to the mountain
And the birds swim in the sea
Only then, can you justify
Taking a man's liberty

You've taken away all our lives
You've claimed our liberty
So bury my heart at Wounded Knee