4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Lyrics
[Intro - Sparse Pulsing Synth, Single Voice]
Before the world
Before the sun
Before a breath
We were one
[Verse 1 - Him]
A winter of my youth
A porch light in the snow
I could not find the words
But I already seemed to know
[Verse 2 - Her]
You stood there at the door
The porch light in your hair
I knew before I knew
The Author had already written us there
[Pre-Chorus - Both]
The paper came later
The license was a line
The covenant was written
Before there was a time
[Chorus - Both]
Still the first time
Still the first time
Every time I find you
Still the first time
Still the first time
Still the first time
Every meeting new again
Still the first time
[Verse 3 - Him]
Thirty years in
Same shy hand
Still trembles at the weight
Of what I still don't understand
[Verse 4 - Her]
A stone is already cut
Two names, one side
The grave is just the seam
Between what the Author writes
[Pre-Chorus - Both]
The rendering will lift
The constraints will fall
The covenant that held us
Will hold us through it all
[Chorus - Both]
Still the first time
Still the first time
Every time I find you
Still the first time
Still the first time
Still the first time
Every meeting new again
Still the first time
[Bridge - Call and Response]
(Her) I will find you
(Him) Again
(Her) I will find you
(Him) Again
(Her) In the morning of forever
(Him) I will still be at your side
(Her) The same girl
(Him) The same boy
(Both) The covenant companion in the light
[Final Chorus - Both, Layered in Octaves]
Still the first time
Still the first time
Every time I find you
Still the first time
Still the first time
Still the first time
Forever new again
Still the first time
[Outro - Whispered, Fading Over Pad Wash]
Before the world
Before the sun
Before a breath
We were one
Still the first time
Still the first time
Still the first time
This song lives alongside Chapter 29 of A Thought in the Mind of God -- The Covenant Companion at the Feast.
Commentary