Straightforward Newman

The first example of irony in this song can be observed merely from its title, "Great Nations of Europe." Although it is not evident in the first verse of the song, it soon becomes clear that Newman believes European nations to be anything but great.

                "Now they're gone, they're gone, they're really gone.

            You never seen anyone so gone."
            soooooooooooooo
            he had them torn apart by dogs on religious grounds they say
            the great nations of Europe were quite holy in their way."

This, as a clear example of the type of irony where what is said is the opposite of what is meant. After everything the Europeans did in America, their influence is all but gone; it can be observed in almost every aspect of our society.

            "He met some friendly Indians whom the Church told him were gay,

This is yet another example of irony, where Newman emphasizes the feeling of superiority Europeans had and the extreme measures they reached in order to prove this. The ironic part comes from his use of the word "holy," when their actions were anything but that.  

Parts of the song that are not ironic are the first paragraph, when he describes the time period and how Europeans had already colonized most of the eastern hemisphere. It is also true that they first arrived to the Canary Islands and that "Columbus sailed for India [but] found Salvador instead."