Lyrics:
You brought a torch
to a room full of mirrors.
Then blamed the reflection.
You read the headline
then you knew the machine
knew the future
knew my soul
knew everything in between
You said
close the door
pull the plug
burn the book
break the glass
Funny how fear
learns a new language
every time the century moves too fast
I’ve heard this sermon
from the horse to the wire
from the lens to the screen
from the sampler stealing music
to the internet killing everything
Still here.
Still making strange things
out of what we’ve seen.
I don’t need your permission
to touch the unknown
I’ve spent my whole life
turning static into home
You can keep your panic
I’m busy making something
You can shout apocalypse
I’ll turn the volume up
Call it fake
call it dangerous
call it whatever helps you sleep
I’m still here
with my fingerprints
all over the machine
My hands.
My questions.
My choice.
Turn it up.
Every new tool
gets dragged through the town square
Monster
savior
thief
god
Pick a costume
throw tomatoes
pretend complexity is hard
I’ve watched people fear a thing
before they ever touched it
Judge the conversation
before anybody spoke
There are real questions here
power
money
control
But screaming at the mirror
won’t tell you who owns the wall
So ask who profits
ask who decides
Ask who gets access
and who stays outside
But don’t hand me a cage
and call it being wise
You can keep your panic
I’m busy making something
You can shout apocalypse
I’ll turn the volume up
Call it fake
call it dangerous
call it whatever helps you sleep
I’m still here
with my fingerprints
all over the machine
I know what fear sounds like.
It sounds certain.
That’s the part
that makes me nervous.
I’d rather ask the ugly question
than worship the easy answer.
Maybe we build badly
maybe we build well
Maybe we find heaven
inside somebody else’s hell
Maybe every tool
carries the hand that holds it
So I’m watching the hand.
I’m watching the hand.
You can keep your panic
I’m busy making something
While you write the obituary
I’m still becoming
Call it fake
call it dangerous
paint the future black and white
I’ll be over here
making ghosts visible
under unfamiliar light
You brought a torch
to a room full of mirrors.
I stayed
to see what appeared.