[Intro] Before the word before the name before we learned to measure flame there was silence underneath a hidden root a waiting seed Somewhere high beyond our sight a leaf was reaching for the light [Verse 1] They drew the roads before our feet were strong enough to choose gave us answers dressed as truth before we learned to lose Walk this way become this shape theres nothing else to see But every root beneath the stone was whispering grow free I found a question in quiet held it to my chest I didnt need to conquer it I only let it rest And when the noise inside grew still I heard beneath the sound the sky was never seperate from everything underground [Pre Chorus] Heart said feel it Mind said know Neither knew the way alone So I pulled another chair beside the fire and let them both come home [Chorus] Roots in the dark limbs in the light one reaching down one learning to fly As within so without but never quite the same A thousand different rivers dont need a single name Give me room to wonder give me room to grow Teach me what youve learned then let me choose the road No king no throne no crown above just hands that mend and hearts that love Roots in the darkness leaves in the Sun different together many and one [Verse 2] A child said I disagree The teacher said show what you see Well test your road against the world and let the truth speak free Strange ideas arent made true because we want them so and truth has never needed fear to tell us where to go Let the dreamer turn the pieces Let the skeptic test the seams Theres a Playground for the questions and a Garden for the dreams [Chorus] Roots in the dark limbs in the light one reaching down one learning to fly As above so below an echo not a chain Patterns may resemble while the workings arent the same Give me room to stumble give me room to know Leave the broken markers where tomorrows feet may go fearless leaps into the deep Unknown Every honest answer lights another road Roots in the darkness leaves in the Sun different together many and one [Verse 3] Then came a man with golden numbers Look how much weve gained But outside every measured line another world had paid Heat beyond the boundary hands beyond the page hours quietly stolen and renamed another wage So count the things that disappeared Ask who carries what An answer isnt whole because we measured one small spot Fix before converting Understand before control Dont polish one bright fragment while youre breaking down the whole What good is our abundance if nobody has time to hold a child build something laugh wander dream or climb If machines can carry burdens let some burden disappear Progress ought to give us life not only another gear [Bridge] Still the water not the world just long enough to see which ripple came from outside which one came from me Fear can paint an enemy Hunger can build a throne A wounded heart can fill a world with wars it calls its own So before I change my neighbor before I make them see Ill sit beside the hidden root and ask whats moving me If I find some quiet there I wont call you asleep I wont drag you toward my mountain or tell you what to seek Ill show you where I found the water show the scars upon my feet then leave the doorway open Your road is yours to seek [Verse 4] Build a Nest that keeps us warm but never builds a cage Make openings beside the walls and pencils by the page Plant a Garden big enough for things we cannot name Keep a Playground for the fool who asks us to rearrange Weave memory through tomorrow but dont let yesterday decide The past can be a root beneath us without becoming where we hide Let the mechanic hear the bearing Let the farmer read the rain Let the singer sing to seven Let the scientist say I dont know There are countless ways of living A forest isnt beautiful because every trees alike [Final Chorus] We are roots in the dark limbs in the light reaching together through different sides As within so without relationship remains not sameness not obedience not everybody chained Give us room for wonder Give us room to grow Share everything youve learned then let each spirit choose its road No king No throne No crown above No wisdom needing fear or force to prove that it is love Protect the Nest Open the Playground Tend the Garden as we go Mend the Weave when we have torn it Leave more paths than what we know [Outro] The root does not command the leaf to tell it of the Sun The leaf does not condemn the root for where its work is done One drinks deeply from the darkness One dances in the light And somewhere in the living tree they meet each day and night Seek but do not capture Teach but do not rule Question without fearing what the answer does to you Build but leave some room Love but never own And when you think youve reached the end leave a little empty stone Someone we may never meet might find what we could not know Roots in the dark Limbs in the light And the Weave continues
