Who Smoked the Bees Away?

WHO SMOKED THE BEES AWAY? [Verse 1 — warm, nostalgic] I miss the laughter of the children, The kind that doesn't need a reason, Running barefoot through the evening, Making kingdoms out of stones. We were children once together, Every face had some old story, Every quarrel died by morning, Every street still felt like home. Now I hear those distant voices Like a song behind a door, And I wonder when we traded What we had for something more. [Pre-Chorus] When did happiness grow quiet? When did simple become hard? When did flowers lose their perfume Though they're blooming in the yard? [Chorus] Who smoked the bees away? Who filled the hive with gray? Where is the honey that we carried In our hearts from day to day? We made mountains out of ashes, We made storms from little rain, Turned a cigarette end burning To a fire across the lane. Oh, give me just one thread of hope, I'll tie it to the sky— And maybe all the bees come home, If we give them room to fly. [Verse 2] I see flowers on the table, Perfect petals, perfect colors, But no fragrance fills the evening— Something living disappeared. And the people carry worries Like old houses on their shoulders, Little troubles growing older Every time they're fed by fear. Life was never made to linger, Nothing stays the way it starts, But change should turn us toward tomorrow, Not turn winter through our hearts. [Pre-Chorus] Who convinced us every shadow Was a darkness without end? Who made strangers of the neighbors, And a burden of a friend? [Chorus] Who smoked the bees away? Who filled the hive with gray? Where is the honey that we carried In our hearts from day to day? We made mountains out of ashes, We made storms from little rain, Turned a cigarette end burning To a fire across the lane. Oh, give me just one thread of hope, I'll tie it to the sky— And maybe all the bees come home, If we give them room to fly. [Bridge — music drops, intimate vocal] I know the wheel must keep on turning, I know no summer ever stays, But who said change must mean forgetting How to laugh along the way? For the children watching closely, For the old who still remember, Let us leave one light still burning At the window through December. And if I find that little thread, I won't pull it for myself— I'll pass it hand to hand until It reaches everyone else. [Final Chorus — larger, uplifting] Bring all the bees back home, Let every heart be known, Let the hive begin to hum again With something of its own. Let the children hear our laughter, Let the old ones laugh along, We don't need another lifetime Just to learn where we went wrong. Give me one small thread of hope, We'll tie it to us all— Like ants that never tire of building, We'll rebuild what had to fall. [Outro — almost whispered] I miss the laughter of the children... Maybe that's where we should start. Not by turning back the years— Just by turning back the heart.