Looking back is not the same as looking forward
you cant see what it is youre heading toward
all thats visible is whats left behind
the dreams distilled and the dreams discarded
what made you leap or left you empty hearted
in the moment and in the fullness of time
Now you see what it is that you would have changed if only youd known
where youd be and to be here is very strange waking up alone
in the middle ages
All along you paid close attention
to the answers when a voice asked the question
howd you get here, where do you belong
17 makes us brave and so full of nerve
35 makes us pause but were undeterred
never say die and so we push on
And some come to a place of reckoning try to fix what they find
I arrived with the questions still beckoning in the back of my mind
to the middle ages
Now you b**h about your job whats wrong with folks today
the price of gas and milk and the guy who begs for change
hes camped out at the light you hide behind your shades
and will the green to flash to speed your getaway
youre racing to keep up or just to be on time
thats what you tell yourself when the emptiness inside
threatens to break out clouding up your eyes you just have to pull over
We used to dread lives rendered ordinary
we always said wed own a grander story
but the only kind worth telling somehow
is the one about a jolt that makes you listen
that jagged lightning bolt of recognition
that love and kindness are all that matter now
And way back in the back of your mind you heard something getting through
like some beautiful pa**age without words welcoming you
to the middle ages