Samuel Johnson is purported to have said, “Among the calamities of war may be jointly numbered the diminution of the love of truth”. Today, we might well refer more generally to “the calamities of modern political life” when we lament the place that truth holds for us. This song invites us to consider the value of truth as a way forward for us all.
Lyrics
Modern Truth
Like a wisp of winter air
Or the days of misspent youth
Like a choking swirl of chimney smoke
This thing called modern truth
As elusive as a fly
As useless as a dare
If you scratch too deep you soon will see
There’s really nothing there
Through the gathering fog
You can say just what you please
You never know where it will go
It spreads like a disease
Some may get upset
Some just carry on
And when you reach to touch the thing
The thing's already gone
Let’s open our eyes, our ears and our minds
Even though we might be troubled
By the things we find
For we must know we won't get very far
Until we trade this modern truth
For the things that really are
As convenient as a chair
As pretty as white lace
It takes the world we thought we knew
And leaves dust in its place
But are we so alone
So boxed in on our own?
Or are there things that we all share
That we can call a home?
Close your eyes imagine a new day
When people who we lean upon
Mean the things they say
Close your eyes pray to where you pray
That somewhere in these lives we lead
We'll find a better way
Like a wisp of winter air
Or the days of misspent youth
Like a choking swirl of chimney smoke
This thing called modern truth
As elusive as a fly
As useless as a dare
If you scratch too deep you soon will see
There’s really nothing there
© Gary Poole 2017