Once upon a time
And not so long ago
When things were much more simple
And time would travel slow
There came a righteous stranger
With a bible in his hand
To educate the sinners
And liberate their land

The sins of the fathers
Are visited from old
In a never ending circle
Of people bought and sold
So the wretched of the earth
Will huddle from the cold
As the ship of fools goes sailing
On an ocean black as gold

So come and sit beside me
And let my tale unfold
Of a land of milk and honey
Where the truth must not be told
As men of rhyme and reason
Let the devil take their soul

For greed and fame and fortune
And a river black as gold

The sins of the fathers
Are visited from old
In a never ending circle
Of people bought and sold
So the wretched of the earth
Will huddle from the cold
As the ship of fools goes sailing
On an ocean black as gold

And all the non-believers
Were hiding from the light
As a thousand burning crosses
Were scattered in the night
The thieves and the vagabonds
Were sinking in the sand
As the righteous lord and master
Stretches out a helping hand

The sins of the fathers
Are visited from old
In a never ending circle
Of people bought and sold
So the wretched of the earth
Will huddle from the cold
As the ship of fools goes sailing
On an ocean black as gold

And those who had to suffer
The sick, the young, the old
Were sacrificed to fortune
And left out in the cold
So in this new arrangement
The leaders sold their soul
For bangles, beads and baubles
And a river black as gold

The sins of the fathers
Are visited from old
In a never ending circle
Of people bought and sold
So the wretched of the earth
Will huddle from the cold
As the ship of fools goes sailing
On an ocean black as gold