The Secret on the Playground

[Verse 1] Ring-around the sandbox, chalk lines in the dust Everyone's arguing about who's right and who's just You bring your little answers, shiny as a toy But every time you talk I hear the same old noise You're standing in a circle that you never see Calling it the whole wide world of how things have to be But I stepped off the line where the jump rope spins Now I'm watching all the loops that you keep walking in [Pre-Chorus] I tried to draw a map in the dirt with a stick But every time I point it out the trick's still the trick [Chorus] Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don't Running laps around the frame you think you wrote Even if I told you, you’d just shrug and say I’m wrong ’Cause the mirror shows the singer when you think it’s just a song Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don’t You’re chasing every echo like it came from someone else Even if I told you, you’d just laugh and shake your head ’Cause the key is in the loop you think somebody else just said [Verse 2] You say the swings are broken, you say the slide’s unfair You say the sandbox monsters must be hiding somewhere there But every time the story bends the same familiar way It started with the words you tossed into the game we play You point at me and shout it: “You’re the one who made it so!” But I just spin the merry-go and watch the pattern grow The rhyme is in the rhythm, the trick is in the beat The road you’re marching down is just your footsteps on repeat [Pre-Chorus] I tried to show the ladder on the jungle gym of thought But you keep climbing circles like the ladder’s just a knot [Chorus] Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don’t Running laps around the frame you think you wrote Even if I told you, you’d just say it makes no sense ’Cause the mirror keeps reflecting every fence Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don’t You keep asking where the answer came from Even if I spell it in the gravel by your shoe You’ll still say the chalk belongs to someone new [Bridge] It's not a crown, it's not a throne It’s just the moment you see your own Every story, every shout Turns around and walks back out The game’s not winning, not a fight It’s noticing the merry-go-right Where every voice that fills the air Is just another loop you wear [Final Chorus] Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don’t But the funny thing is you already wrote it Even if I hand you the key with both my hands You’ll say the lock was built by other lands Na-na-na, I know the secret and you don’t Victory lap around the playground ground But when you finally see the chalk beneath your feet You’ll laugh and start another lap with me