Cortez The Killer / Cortez l'assassino
He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun
On the shore lay Montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wandered
With the secrets of the worlds
And his subjects gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colours
For the angry gods to see
And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on
Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones
They carried them to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still can't do today
And I know she's living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way
He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer
* * * *
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
In that palace in the sun
On the shore lay Montezuma
With his coca leaves and pearls
In his halls he often wandered
With the secrets of the worlds
And his subjects gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colours
For the angry gods to see
And the women all were beautiful
And the men stood straight and strong
They offered life in sacrifice
So that others could go on
Hate was just a legend
And war was never known
The people worked together
And they lifted many stones
They carried them to the flatlands
And they died along the way
But they built up with their bare hands
What we still can't do today
And I know she's living there
And she loves me to this day
I still can't remember when
Or how I lost my way
He came dancing across the water
Cortez, Cortez
What a killer
* * * *
Venne danzando sull’acqua
Con i suoi galeoni e i fucili
Cercando il nuovo mondo
E quel palazzo nel sole
Sulla spiaggia stava Montezuma
Con le sue perle e le foglie di coca
Spesso vagava nelle stanze
Tra i segreti dei mondi
E i sudditi si radunavano attorno a lui
Come le foglie attorno a un albero
Nei loro vestiti multicolori
Affinché gli dei furiosi vedessero
E le donne erano tutte bellissime
E gli uomini dritti e forti
Offrirono la vita in sacrificio
Perché altri potessero andare avanti
L’odio era solo una leggenda
E la guerra era sconosciuta
La gente lavorava insieme
E sollevava molte pietre
Le portavano nelle pianure
E morivano lungo la via
Ma costruirono con le nude mani
Ciò che ancora oggi non riusciamo a fare
E io so che lei vive là
E mi ama ancora oggi
Ancora non riesco a ricordare quando
O come ho perso la mia strada
Venne danzando sull’acqua
Cortez, Cortez
Che assassino
--------------------------------
VERSI AGGIUNTIVI 1974
Versione originale 1974
[fonte: Archives Vol.2, manoscritto originale 1974]
But I floated on the water
And I ate that ocean wave
Two weeks after the slaughter
I was livin’ in a cave
He came to late to get me
But there’s no one here to set me free
From this rocky grave
To that snow-capped ocean wave
* * * *
Ma ho galleggiato sull’acqua
E ho mangiato l’onda dell’oceano
Due settimane dopo il massacro
Vivevo in una caverna
Arrivò troppo tardi per prendermi
Ma qui non c’è nessuno che possa liberarmi
Da questa tomba di roccia
A quell’onda innevata nell’oceano
--------------------------------
VERSI AGGIUNTIVI 2003
[fonte: bootleg Hamburg 29/04/2003]
The ship is breaking up on the rocks
With the sandy beach so close
The ship is breaking up on the rocks
With the sandy beach so close
Dancing across the water
Dancing across the water
Breaking up on the rocks
Sandy beach so close
Aah
* * * *
La nave si sta schiantando sulle rocce
Con la spiaggia sabbiosa così vicina
La nave si sta schiantando sulle rocce
Con la spiaggia sabbiosa così vicina
Danzando sull'acqua
Danzando sull'acqua
Schiantandosi sulle rocce
La spiaggia sabbiosa così vicina
Aah