A            D            A                           D
Sequoia's winters were sixteen Silent tongue spirit clean
           A
He walked at his father's side Across the smoking battle ground
           D                 A
Where red and white men lay all around
So many here had died The wind had scattered around
                    D        A                       D
Snow white leaves upon the ground Not leaves like leaves from trees
 A                                   D                  A
Sequoia said, "What can this be?" "What's the strange thing here I see?"
             D                 A                                     D
"From where come leaves like these? "Sequoia turned to his father's eyes
         A
And he said, "Father you're wise From where come such snow white leaves

With such strange marks upon these squares
A               D                      A                                 D
Not even the wise owl could put them there So strange these snow white leaves"
               A 
His father shielding his concern Resenting the knowledge Sequoia yearned
              D                           A
Crumbled the snow white leaves He said, "When I explain then it's done
These are talking leaves, my son The white men's talking leaves"
           D            A                 D
The white man takes a berry of black and red
A                 D                      A
And an eagle's feather from the eagle's bed
A                                       D                   A
And he makes bird track marks And the marks on the leaves they say
D
Carry messages to his brother far away
A                                     D
And his brother knows what's in his heart
                                   A
They see these marks and they understand
                   D                   A                           D
The truth in the heart of the far off man The enemies can't hear them
       A
Said Sequoia's father, "Son
They weave bad medicine on these talking leaves Leave such things to them"
A                               D                  A
Then Sequoia walking lightly Followed his father quietly

But so amazed was he
    D                       A                    D
If the white man talks on leaves Why not the Cherokee?
   A                              D                          A
Vanished from his father's face Sequoia went from place to place
         D                           A                   D
But he could not forget Year after year he worked on and on
 A                         D                   A
Till finally he cut into stone The Cherokee alphabet

  A
Sequoia's hair by now was white
His eyes began to lose their light But he taught all who would believe
      D                      A                D
That the Indian's thoughts could be written down
 A                        D            A
Just as the white men's there on the ground
                 D             A
And he left us these talking leaves