Once Upon A Time

Lyrics

Verse 1
Once upon a time, you trusted the radio's voice,
Taught to name your neighbor, told that love left no choice.
A war was called a rescue, though the proof was never true,
And the names on those black walls are the bill still owed to you.

Pre-Chorus
You weren't wrong to trust the tone,
Believing those who owned the microphone.
It's not naive to love your land —
But it's blind trust now, you must understand.

Chorus
If you hold onto once upon a time,
Where every story used to rhyme,
Where the roles seemed fixed, the rules seemed kind,
To people cut from the same design.

You may not see the past has had its day,
But I love you enough to say —
The world you're grieving slipped away,
It wasn't built that way for all who stay.
(Can you feel for the ones the past forgot?)

Verse 2
The data may offend you, though it's stated with care,
Attitudes shift through the ages — the proof is laid bare.
The polls have tracked it through the years while you were living your life,
The ones who left held no hatred — they just needed a world that felt right.

Pre-Chorus
Your nervous system isn't broken,
It protects the self it built, with words unspoken,
Defending walls it learned to raise,
Against a world that changed its ways.

Chorus
If you hold onto once upon a time,
Where every story used to rhyme,
Where the roles seemed fixed, the rules seemed kind,
To people cut from the same design.

You may not see the past has had its day,
But I love you enough to say —
The world you're grieving slipped away,
Because it wasn't built that way for all who stay.
(Will you feel for the ones the past forgot?)

Bridge
Please don't believe the new red scare,
Please don't send the young to wars they can't bear —
Its cost is written in granite and stone,
May we not repeat what history's shown.

You may feel afraid to face the unknown,
Feeling safer rooted, feet planted, alone.
But if you'd let the hard truths in,
And truly listen to those you disagree with,
You'd find there's a growth you've yet known.
For I don't want you standing there alone —
(I'd rather that you weren't, in your time's end.)

Final Chorus
So let go of your once upon a time,
Let go of the need to always climb.
The push to win, no matter the cost —
This world has moved on, but you're not lost.
Go with the current, and keep your grief,
Honor your feelings — but don't let pain steal joy's relief.

I'm here, and I am not your enemy,
I'll stand beside you, whatever comes to be.
I hope you learn to grow, and you learn to weather,
This strange new world we will build... together.