[Intro] [Bansuri dawn call, birdsong, light tabla] Mm-mm... mm-mm... [Verse 1] Before the roads, before the war A child woke on the mountain floor The wind had been his father's breath He'd never heard the word for death The east turned red, then turned to gold A fruit, he thought, too ripe to hold And everything he'd ever known Said reach — and so the child had flown [Chorus] [Children's choir joins, claps] BAA-luh SOOR-yum PUH-lum MUT-vaa He thought the sun a fruit Higher than the eagles fly Reaching for the morning sky BAA-luh SOOR-yum PUH-lum MUT-vaa Every hunger starts with wonder Every wonder starts with why [Verse 2] [Music darkens, claps stop] But the sky has keepers of its own A thunder king upon his throne One bolt, and the bright world broke in two The child fell down where the morning grew His jaw was cracked against the stone The wind stopped breathing, all alone And all the world began to choke Until the gods came down and spoke [Pre-Chorus] They gave him gifts for every loss And named him for the place it cost [Verse 3] [Tabla returns, restless] He grew, and strength grew wild and loud He shook the sages' quiet crowd He spilled their fire, he broke their peace His games would never, never cease So the sages spoke a gentle spell: "Forget your strength, and keep it well Until a voice that knows your name Reminds you who you are again" [The Prophecy] [Spoken, elder, slow, drone only] Hanu means the jaw. He was named for the place he broke. Remember that, when they name you for what went wrong on your first day. The wound is not your shame. It is your address. And the forgetting was not a punishment. Strength without judgment breaks what it loves. So it sleeps, until someone wise enough wakes it. [Final Chorus] [Choir returns softly, then rises] BAA-luh SOOR-yum PUH-lum MUT-vaa He thought the sun a fruit Fell from where the eagles fly Kept his name, forgot the sky BAA-luh SOOR-yum PUH-lum MUT-vaa Every wonder leaves a mark Every mark becomes a name [Kokopelli Whisper] [Whispered, birdsong fades into distant waves] What struck you is what named you.
