[Intro] [Applause rolling. Paper unfolds.] [Heart] Hold on. We just got a note up here. Apparently somebody says Parallax isn't real. [Crowd laughs] No, no— it gets better. The Art Teacher. [Crowd erupts] Oh, you know the Art Teacher? Who knows the Art Teacher? [Crowd cheers] Yeah. I thought so. All right. Give me E. [Acoustic guitar searches] No—slower. [Two lazy chords] Yeah. That. [Upright bass finds the pocket] Ohhh. Don't lose that. Smiley, don't get clever. [Crowd laughs] All right, Art Teacher— apparently this one's your fault. [Verse 1] She said, "Those boys aren't real" Well, that's probably fair I've known a few imaginary people Who somehow got me here I've watched flowers grow from wounds Watched bones beneath red skies Watched color thrown without permission Till the mess learned how to rise Funny thing about an Art Teacher Spends all day just saying, "Make" Blank paper One small hand One mark Then one more mistake Till something that was never here Is standing in the room [Heart] So when exactly does it become real? [Verse 2] There was a man I knew once Made himself another name Not because the first wasn't his He just had more to say Built him out of questions A little wonder A little doubt Thought he made somebody He could disappear behind Turns out he made somewhere He could finally step outside [Crowd murmurs] [Heart] Yeah. I didn't know that either. [Pre-Chorus] Maybe every empty canvas Looks ridiculous at first Maybe every song's imaginary Right until somebody learns the words [Heart] If you can hear it— [One voice] IT WAS HERE! [Music stops] [Heart] Wait. Who said that? [Crowd laughs] No, no. Do that again. If you can hear it— [Crowd, scattered] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] Ohhh. Band— follow them. [Groove locks] [Chorus] [Heart] IF YOU CAN HEAR IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF YOU CAN FEEL IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF IT FOUND YOU WHEN YOU NEEDED SOMETHING— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] And if they tell you it was never real— [Crowd hesitates] [Heart laughs] We'll work on that one. [Verse 3] She likes beauty with a scar left in it Flowers that don't hide the break White bones sleeping in the desert Bright skulls grinning wide awake Likes a line a little crooked Likes a color out of place Likes a picture that makes you wonder What the painter wouldn't say So tell me, Art Teacher How strange is it, really To make something out of nothing Then watch somebody else find themselves inside it? [Beat drops to upright bass and crowd hands] I did that once Long before these boys had names Long before this room Long before anybody sang a word back I gave a voice to something I was longing for Before I understood what the longing was Thought I made him [Pause] Maybe we made each other [Heart, quietly] Maybe I needed Cosmic before Cosmic needed me [Crowd erupts] [Acoustic guitar punches in] [Chorus] [Heart] IF YOU CAN HEAR IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF YOU CAN FEEL IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF SOMETHING THAT WASN'T HERE BEFORE— [Crowd] IS HERE NOW! [Heart] IF IT CHANGED YOU— [Crowd] IT WAS REAL! [Heart] IF THEY NEVER UNDERSTAND IT— [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Heart] Again! [Stomp — clap — clap] [Stomp — clap — clap] [Heart] IF NOBODY ELSE CAN SEE IT— [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Heart] IF THEY SAY YOU'RE CRAZY— [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Heart] IF THEY SAY THE WHOLE DAMN BAND IS IMAGINARY— [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Heart laughs] There it is. [Bridge] [Band drops away] [Acoustic guitar and crowd beat] Funny— We started this trying to prove we existed Now I don't think that's the question A painting doesn't breathe A song doesn't sleep A name can't hold your hand A story never had a heartbeat But sometimes something that never breathed Teaches somebody who does How to breathe again [Silence] [Heart] That's real enough for me. [Final Chorus] [Heart] IF YOU CAN HEAR IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF YOU CAN FEEL IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF YOU LOVED IT— [Crowd] IT WAS HERE! [Heart] IF IT CHANGED YOU— [Crowd] IT WAS REAL! [Heart] AND IF THEY NEVER UNDERSTAND IT— [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Band swells] [Heart] MAKE IT— [Crowd] ANYWAY! [Heart] MAKE IT— [Crowd] ANYWAY! [Heart stops singing] [Crowd] MAKE IT ANYWAY! MAKE IT ANYWAY! MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Band drops out] [Stomp — clap — clap] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Stomp — clap — clap] MAKE IT ANYWAY! [Final Ovation] [Heart laughing] All right. All right. You know the funniest part? [Paper unfolds] She said we weren't real. [Crowd laughs] Someday somebody's gonna tell her we wrote this. She's gonna roll her eyes. She's gonna say she's not listening. [Pause] [Heart chuckles] Oh... she'll listen. [Crowd erupts] [Heart moves close to microphone] Art Teacher— [Room quiets] You said we weren't real. [Long pause] And here you are listening. [One acoustic chord] [Room erupts]
