[Verse 1]
There was a stone fort, some windmills
A small attempt at a canal
There was a wall that led to a steeple
Was a steeple for the Protestant peoples
They worshipped beaver pelts and sugar
They sang psalms for the selling of slaves
And the Algonquin speaking Indians went to graves
Or were used for the trade
[Chorus]
New York was founded by corporation
New York was founded by corporation
[Verse 2]
By freelance workers and merchants
Liquidated by the whole English war fleet
Then the Dutch canal we call Broad street
Was drained of its water and filled up with concrete
The wolves of Wall built the tallest canal
Lead the Yankees to the great lake’s grain
When higher sea level from Ontario falls down to eerie
Niagara cries in the rain
[Chorus]
New York was founded by corporation
New York was founded by corporation
Craven is the island that we all come from
New York was founded by corporation
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 3]
As rappers composed, flappers unrobed
Steel towers rose up in the sky
And the market crashes regulating itself
While certain psalms are always sung in the moonlight
They sing for plastic phones, police, and sugar
Our bands increase up the maximum wage
Sparkling on a screen by machine in Times square
A windmill still spins and cries in the rain
[Chorus]
New York was founded by corporation
New York was founded by corporation
Craven is the island that we all come from
New York was founded by corporation