Traveler

[Verse 1] An old oak stood beyond the meadow, Where the crows drew circles in the rain, Its roots were drinking ancient secrets, From veins that wandered through the plain. One evening as the daylight faded, And shadows stretched across the field, A crack appeared within the silence, And time forgot what it concealed. [Verse 2] I stepped between the turning moments, Through corridors of dust and gold, Where emperors and saints were arguing About the futures they had sold. I watched the kingdoms build their towers, Then sink beneath the weight of years, The victors carved their names in marble, The marble drowned in dust and tears. [Chorus] And the clock keeps turning, Though the hands are made of sand, All the maps of tomorrow Cannot hold the ones we had. [Verse 3] I walked through cities yet unbuilt, Saw silver birds eclipse the sun, Heard children singing songs of ages That for my world had not begun. I learned the names of distant sorrows, The shape of wars still left to start, But every answer that I gathered Only hollowed out my heart. [Instrumental] [Verse 4] I came back through the oak at midnight, The meadow sleeping under stars, The same old fence, the same old lantern, The same familiar little scars. Yet something in me had departed, A traveler stranded out of place, For I had seen a thousand sunsets I would never live to face. [Chorus] And the clock keeps turning, Though the hands are made of sand, All the maps of tomorrow Cannot hold the ones we had. [Bridge] What's the worth of distant mornings If your chair sits empty there? What's the use of knowing history If you cannot share the air? The future is a painted window, Beautiful but cold to touch, And all the years beyond the horizon Cannot love you half as much. [Final Chorus] So let the rivers find the ocean, Let the stars forget my name, Let tomorrow keep its secrets, It will come and go the same. For the light inside my doorway, And the laughter in the hall, Are worth more than every kingdom, Worth more than knowing all. [Outro] The oak still waits beyond the meadow, Its shadow long, its silence deep, But I remain beside the fire, With the ones I wish to keep. With the ones I wish to keep... While the centuries fall asleep...