Half A World Songtext
von Elcano

About the earth rich trade awaits
The passage there seals fates
Papal bulls state in this world
Whose sails, whose flags unfurl
Portugal and Spain, the brave
Iberia rules the waves
To east and west these ravens fly
As Huginn and Muninn split the sky

Half the earth becomes our berth
Half the earth becomes our berth

In Tordesillas, Alexander
Raised his voice and quill like thunder
As a powerful commander
Like Moses once, cleft waves asunder
Cut Castile from eastern vendors
Loosened Lusitania′s rein
Halved the world and halved its splendour
Divide and conquer in God's name

Divide and conquer in God′s name


A furrow, no more, this meridian line
No more does it define?
Hemispheres No pope had said it
Circulum non dedit

In Tordesillas, Alexander
Raised his voice and quill like thunder
As a powerful commander
Like Moses once, cleft waves asunder
Cut Castile from eastern vendors
Loosened Lusitania's rein
Halved the world and halved its splendour
Divide and conquer in God's name

The Papal Line of Demarcation
Floats unsteadily in the ocean
Challenged by the neighb′ring nations
It oscillates in a flutt′ring motion
Claim, reclaim and then surrender
Islands, coast-lines, heathen thrones
Bloodlines and claims of contenders
Are hewn in water, not in stone

Hewn in water, not in stone