Columbus — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics

Columbus sailed over the ocean blue
To find the United States.
In three small ships he carried his crew,
And none of the three were mates.
He found a land in the western seas,
And Indians galore,
With jabbering parrots in the trees,
And sharks along the shore.
He filled his pockets with sparkling stones
And took to the mighty main,
With a couple of slaves, some nuts and cones
For the glorious king of Spain.
Now this is the tale Columbus told,
And most of the tale is true,
How he crossed the seas, a sailor bold,
In fourteen-ninety-two.

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Learning from "Columbus"

Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "Columbus" uses 16 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.

Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the words to Columbus?
The lyrics to Columbus are: Columbus sailed over the ocean blue / To find the United States. / In three small ships he carried his crew, / And none of the three were mates. / He found a land in the western seas, / And Indians galore, ... Read the full 16-line nursery rhyme at Rhyme Buster.
How many lines does Columbus have?
"Columbus" has 16 lines of verse.

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