I was looking for a road When every road was turning black, Searching for a little truth In a world that won't look back. I heard the songs of victory Rolling like thunder through the night, But underneath the celebration Something wasn't right. We sang of freedom, sang of glory, Raised our hands and praised the dawn, Never asking what was hiding When the light of day was gone. The world was young inside the music, And the melody was sweet, But every verse grew darker As the years fell at our feet. **And I don't know where we're going, I don't know what we've become. I can hear the drums of triumph, But I can't forget what's coming. There's a sickness in the singing, There's a shadow in the crowd, And the things we're learning to accept Would have made our fathers proud? No— They would have cried out loud.** There was a time when shame meant something, When a lie was still a lie, When a man could stand for something And not apologize. There was a time when tenderness Was something worth protecting, Before we taught the children That destruction was correcting. And now the song is growing older, And the innocence is gone. The cradle that once held tomorrow Has forgotten what it's for. We built machines to serve our kingdoms, Then surrendered them the keys, And somewhere in the quiet We forgot what it meant to be free. **So sing me one more song of triumph, Sing it loud enough to shake the sky. But don't ask me to ignore the bodies, Don't ask me to believe the lie. For every crown that we have fashioned, For every throne that we have raised, There is a price beneath the marble That history cannot erase.** I wanted just a direction. I wanted somewhere I could stand. I wanted to know what waits beyond us, What is written in the sand. But the farther that I traveled, The less the answers came, And the world became a mirror Reflecting back my name. Then I heard a voice behind me: *"You were looking for the future, But the future looked at you. You were asking what the world becomes— Now ask what you will do."* And suddenly the song was changing. Not with anger. Not with fear. But with something buried deeper Than the darkness I could hear. Because the world may keep on falling. Men may worship what they've made. They may call the darkness progress, They may call surrender change. They may dress the grave in flowers, They may teach the dead to sing, But truth does not become a falsehood Just because the whole world screams. **So let the final verse be thunder. Let it rise above the noise. Let the ones who still remember Find their courage and their voice. I don't know what tomorrow brings me. I don't know how this story ends. But if the world has lost its direction, I will not lose mine again.** The song that once was young is dying. Its tender heart has seen too much. Its hands are stained with every secret That we swore we'd never touch. Yet somewhere underneath the ashes, I can hear another sound— Not the anthem of the dying. But a trumpet underground. **And if this is where the road has brought me, If this is what the world has planned, Then I will walk into the darkness With the truth still in my hands. Let the kingdoms rise and crumble. Let the age consume its own. I was searching for a direction— And I finally found my home.** The song grew old. The world grew cold. But the voice within me— **would not die.**
