Before We Build Tomorrow

[Spoken Intro – quiet, reflective] "Dad used to say... every new machine was meant to make life easier. I don't think he ever imagined... one day the machines - might stop needing us." [Verse 1] There was a time this little town, Had grease beneath its nails. The blacksmith's fire, the timber mill, The sound of hammers on the rails. The bakery knew your children's names, The bank knew every face. Now every second shop's boarded up... Progress took their place. [Pre-Chorus] We built tomorrow piece by piece, Proud of every step. Never dreaming one fine day... It might forget us yet. [Chorus] I fear we've outsmarted ourselves. Somewhere we lost our way. We built machines to lighten life... Now they're taking life away. Not the breath within our lungs, But the purpose in our hands. A quiet kind of loneliness... Spreading through this land. [Verse 2] Young Tommy learnt to weld with Dad, Thought that's what he'd always do. Now a robot lays a straighter bead, For half the pay and twice as true. The girl behind the checkout's gone, The teller's window too. Now it's, "Press one... press two..." No one's there for you. [Bridge] The paddocks still need rain to fall, The cattle still need feed. But people need a reason too... To know they're still needed. Maybe that's the thing we missed, In all our grand designs. A heart can't live on progress... If purpose gets left behind. [Final Chorus ] I fear we've outsmarted ourselves. Clever beyond belief. We've taught the world to think like us... But never taught it grief. So before we build tomorrow, Maybe this is where we start. The smartest thing we'll ever make... Is still the human heart. I fear we've outsmarted ourselves...