The fool speaks first and speaks the longest Fills the room so nobody asks what he's missing I used to be that man — I know that road Loud enough to cover up what I didn't know But wisdom don't announce herself at the door She sits in the back — she's been there before She watched you burn and didn't say a word Waited till you were ready to be heard Pre-Chorus It ain't in the books, though the books can help It ain't in the crowd — it lives by itself It's the thing that stays when everything falls The still small voice at the end of the hall Chorus The way of the wise is a narrow road It don't carry pride — it don't carry gold You walk it alone in the dark of the night Not because you're fearless — because it's right The way of the wise The way of the wise Verse 2 I've sat with men who had all the answers Wrapped their certainty in God and called it candor And I've sat with men who didn't say much Just handed you truth like a cup No sermon — just a steady kind of knowing Like a river that don't need to tell you it's flowing The wise man counts his words like currency Spends them slow — spends them deliberately Pre-Chorus It ain't in the books, though the books can help It ain't in the crowd — it lives by itself It's the thing that stays when everything falls The still small voice at the end of the hall Chorus The way of the wise is a narrow road It don't carry pride — it don't carry gold You walk it alone in the dark of the night Not because you're fearless — because it's right The way of the wise The way of the wise Bridge You'll know it by its cost Every wise man paid in something lost Ego laid down on the altar stone The lesson learned when you're most alone Wisdom ain't a gift — it's a wound that healed right A scar you wear like a second sight You don't choose the way The way chooses you When you've finally run out of something to prove Final Chorus The way of the wise is a narrow road It don't carry pride — it don't carry gold You walk it alone through the fire and the test Not because you're chosen — because you chose the best The way of the wise The way of the wise Outro (sung low, building to choir) Narrow road... steady feet... Not the loudest — the deepest... The way of the wise... Is the way of the whole...
