And de cow who jump over de moon
Dem tell me bout de dish ran away with de spoon
But dem never tell me bout Nanny de Maroon
Nanny
See-far woman
Of mountain dream
Fire-woman struggle
Hopeful stream
To freedom river
Dem tell me bout Lord Nelson and Waterloo
But dem never tell me bout Shaka de great Zulu
Dem tell me bout Columbus and 1492
But what happen to de Caribs and de Arawaks too
Dem tell me bout Florence Nightingale and she lamp
And how Robin Hood used to camp
Dem tell me bout ole King Cole was a merry ole soul
Agard questions why other significant historical events — ‘de Caribs’ and ‘de Arawaks’ — are neglected. The Caribs were a dominant group in the Caribbean (giving their name to the Caribbean) and the Arawaks were a people who had migrated to the Caribbean. Both these groups had come from northern South America, even Asia. Agard’s point is that Columbus' arrival in 1492 resulted in huge loss of life, and its place in history completely ignores two hugely successful peoples who had assimilated or at least settled on islands previously ‘unknown’ for a significant amount of time – whitewashing history.
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