"Cortez The Killer" lyrics

Neil Young & Crazy Horse Lyrics

"Cortez The Killer"

He came dancing across the water
With his galleons and guns
Looking for the new world
And 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 world

And his subjects
Gathered 'round him
Like the leaves around a tree
In their clothes of many colors
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
People worked together
And they lifted many stones

And they carried them
To the flatlands
But they died along the way
And 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


Thanks to Americana PhD, christopher, bob, JD for correcting these lyrics.
Writer(s): Neil Young
The guitar solo on "Cortez The Killer" is ranked by GuitarWorld.com number 39 among the greatest guitar solo of all-time.
Neil Young explained MOJO, "What Cortez represented to me is the explorer with two sides: one benevolent, the other utterly ruthless. I mean, look at Columbus! Everyone now knows he was less than great and he wasn't even there first. It always makes me question all these other so-called 'icons'."
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