4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
Track four is about a different kind of camp - the one that casts you out without ever facing you. There was a man who took my article up into his pulpit. He never spoke my name - he did not have to, he read the title, and the people knew. And he preached against it hard. This happened recently, not in some distant decade. And the whole song hangs on one fact. He never called.
The chorus turns on that, and it is sharper than rage. He had my number, it was sitting right there in his hand. He could have tapped it any night, and I would have answered him. But my phone stayed dark and quiet. The second verse says simply what a brother does - a brother takes his phone out and finds your name and calls. A brother writes the letter, a brother drives the road, a brother sits you down and opens up the Book.
And verse three names what I actually needed, because it was never agreement. I never needed him to tell me I was right. I have been wrong before, and I will be wrong again. I needed him to come, I needed him to face me like a man. You can pin a word on a man from a hundred miles away, but you cannot call him brother from that far. The bridge is the quiet end of it - a whole row of men who had my number and never used it. The silence was its own answer. So I stopped waiting for his call. Not bitter. Just done watching the screen.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
There was a man who took my article up into his pulpit
He never spoke my name, a careful man, he did not need my name
He read the title of the thing I wrote, and the people knew the man
And he preached against it hard
He preached against it hard
[Chorus]
But he never called
He never called
He had my number, it was sitting right there in his hand
He could have tapped it any night, and I would have answered him
But my phone stayed dark and quiet
And he never called
[Verse 2]
A brother takes his phone out and he finds your name and calls
A brother writes the letter, and a brother drives the road
A brother sits you down and opens up the Book to where you erred
And says now show me, brother, let us reason it through
[Chorus]
But he never called
He never called
He had my number, it was sitting right there in his hand
He could have tapped it any night, and I would have answered him
But my phone stayed dark and quiet
And he never called
[Verse 3]
I never needed him to tell me I was right
I have been wrong before, and I will be wrong again
I needed him to come, I needed him to face me like a man
You can pin a word on a man from a hundred miles away
But you cannot call him brother from that far
No, you cannot call him brother from that far
[Bridge]
And he was not the only one, there was a row of them
A row of men who had my number and would never make the call
But the silence was an answer, and the silence told me plain
A man who will not come to you was never going to call you brother
So I stopped waiting for his call
I stopped waiting for his call
[Final Chorus]
He never called
He never called
And I have quit watching the screen for his name
He never called
And I am not waiting anymore
[Outro]
My phone stayed dark and quiet
And he never called
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