The title of the song is connected to the voyage of Christopher Columbus when he sailed the Atlantic Ocean looking for a safer and quicker way to reach Asia for trading. The “1492” part of the title is because Christopher Columbus started his voyage in 1492 across the Atlantic. The “Conquest of Paradise” is from how hard the voyage was on the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. They had bad food options and most people had to sleep on the deck (floor) of the ship due to lack of space. They are looking to get off the ship and reach “paradise” by finding their way to Asia but they reach the Bahamas instead. The end second verse of the song sticks with the theme of the title where he talks about how they wouldn’t of lasted much longer if they hadn’t reach land. And how when they got to America and the Native Americans helped them during those hard times, they then made them slaves, ending the song of by saying,
“And when the land and acres were split for the bread
Well, that’s when it stopped being the land of the free”