[Verse 1] You drew a border on a paper plate Called it the edge of everything you knew But trains keep crossing into other names And every window shows a different blue [Pre-Chorus] In Tangier, the ferries cough and turn In Seoul, a baker lifts the shutters slow The world keeps making room for one more scar Wherever tired and hopeful people go [Chorus] There is a world beyond the United States Beyond the county line, beyond the gate I hear it breathing through the airport glass A thousand lives that never had to ask There is a world beyond the United States And I am late, but I am on my way [Verse 2] A woman in Dakar sweeps the morning dust A boy in Kraków kicks a frozen can Two sisters in Valparaíso share a coat And laugh like they have always had a plan [Pre-Chorus] The map is not a promise or a throne It is a door with weather underneath You can be lonely in a crowded room You can be welcomed by a stranger's teeth [Chorus] There is a world beyond the United States Beyond the county line, beyond the gate I hear it breathing through the airport glass A thousand lives that never had to ask There is a world beyond the United States And I am late, but I am on my way [Bridge] Don't tell me home is only one address Don't tell me distance makes a heart less true I carried every language I could learn And still the first clear word was spoken by you [Final Chorus] There is a world beyond the United States With muddy shoes and unfamiliar rain I hear it singing from the harbor wall No single flag can hold it all There is a world beyond the United States I am afraid, but I am on my way [Outro] Past the last sign, past the borrowed name The road goes on, and I go on the same
