[Verse 1] I heard it on my mama's radio Before I knew the name A voice so heavy with the world It sounded just like rain He wrote a letter to the future Pressed it into wax A question no one wants to answer And nobody sends back [Pre-Chorus] They called it too political He called it telling truth He crossed his arms above the keys And said I'm done with you [Chorus] What's going on? He sang it and the whole world froze What's going on? A wound that never fully closed They killed the man but missed the song Eighty-seven Aprils strong We're still asking What's going on [Verse 2] Born where the hymns bled through the floorboards Gospel burned his bones He could make a piano speak In languages it never owned He gave us mercy, gave us healing Every broken sound Then April first, his father's hand Brought the whole cathedral down [Pre-Chorus] One day before his candles One bullet from his blood The silence after shook the block Louder than the flood [Chorus] What's going on? He sang it and the whole world froze What's going on? A wound that never fully closed They killed the man but missed the song Eighty-seven Aprils strong We're still asking What's going on [Bridge] I was driving nowhere fast When his voice came through the dash Pulled over on the shoulder Let it play until the last Some voices don't belong to time Some questions never rest Every child who finds that song Holds the question in their chest [Final Chorus] What's going on? Somebody answer, what's going on? What's going on? The question carries on and on They tried to silence, tried to bury Board the chapel door But the song keeps finding throats Who weren't even born before [Outro] What's going on... What's going on...
