(Verse) The world is not a theater for the ghost within the shell, No hidden stage of "essence" where the secret spirits dwell. We look not to the inner light to find the reason why, But to the vast environment beneath the open sky. (Chorus) Oh, it’s built of consequences, the shaping of the hand, From the micro-steps of pigeons to the structures of the land. Not a fundamental mystery or a soul that’s set apart, Just the history of the reinforcing rhythm of the heart. (Verse) The "private event" is behavior, though it happens out of sight, The thoughts that flicker in the mind like shadows in the night. They follow every law of learning, every gain and loss, The same as any heavy stone that human hands might toss. (Chorus) Oh, it’s built of consequences, the shaping of the hand, From the micro-steps of pigeons to the structures of the land. Not a fundamental mystery or a soul that’s set apart, Just the history of the reinforcing rhythm of the heart. (Verse) Consciousness is social, a story we’ve been taught, To name the inner feelings and the texture of a thought. Without the verbal community to ask us "How's the view?" The self would be a silent sea, reacting as we do. (Chorus) Oh, it’s built of consequences, the shaping of the hand, From the micro-steps of pigeons to the structures of the land. Not a fundamental mystery or a soul that’s set apart, Just the history of the reinforcing rhythm of the heart. (Verse) We chain the simple actions into patterns deep and wide, The complex dance of human life with nowhere left to hide. From the first spark of a flicker to the masterpiece we've grown, It’s a constructional assembly, brick by reinforced stone. (Chorus) Oh, it’s built of consequences, the shaping of the hand, From the micro-steps of pigeons to the structures of the land. Not a fundamental mystery or a soul that’s set apart, Just the history of the reinforcing rhythm of the heart. (Verse) So let the systems simplify and let the podcasts roam, While we look for the contingencies that call the planet home. If we wish to fix the future and to mend the broken way, We change the world around us and the things we do today. (Chorus) Oh, it’s built of consequences, the shaping of the hand, From the micro-steps of pigeons to the structures of the land. Not a fundamental mystery or a soul that’s set apart, Just the history of the reinforcing rhythm of the heart.
