4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Lyrics
[Intro - Synth pad swells, sparse arpeggio, voice entering close]
I had been reaching for something
Across a room I thought was wide
Trying to bridge what I was told
Was a chasm with His will on the other side
[Verse 1 - Sparse, close-mic'd, almost spoken]
I was inspecting every prayer
For evidence the verdict held
I was scanning every doubt
For the proof that I was one of His
I was running the catechism in my head
At every traffic light
I was reading my own heart for receipts
Of a love I could not see
[Pre-Chorus - Synth pulse rising, pad bloom starts]
But the questions never stopped
Even in the answers they gave
Even on the days I knew
I would lie awake and ask if it was true
[Chorus - Drums kick, pad widens, harmonies layer]
What if the chasm was never there
What if the bridge I built was a story
What if the room I was reaching for
Was the room I was already in
The room I was already in
[Verse 2 - Slightly fuller, building]
I was reading Acts seventeen one Sunday
*"In him we live, and move, and have our being"*
And the word *in* did something in me
I had been picturing Him across the room
And the verse was saying I was inside Him
That He had never been across at all
That the air I was breathing was His thinking
That the floor I was standing on was His will
[Pre-Chorus - Questions dissolving]
And the questions began to quiet
Not because they were answered
But because they stopped applying
The chasm I was straining toward
Was not a chasm I could reach
Because the chasm was not there
[Chorus - Same words, transformed register, more open]
The chasm was never there
The bridge I built was a story
The room I was reaching for
Was the room I was already in
The room I was already in
[Bridge - Sparse, reverbed, vocal close again, drums dropping]
I was being thought
I was being thought the whole time
While I was building
While I was inspecting
While I was bridging
While I was doubting
He was thinking me into being
And the thinking was the love
And the love was the ground
And the ground was the room
[Final Chorus - Widescreen, stacked vocals, synth anthem]
The chasm was never there
The bridge I built was a story
The room I was reaching for
Was the room I was already in
The Author had been thinking me
The whole time
The whole time
The room I was already in
[Outro - Fading pad sustains, vocal ascending and dissolving]
He was closer than that
He was closer than that
He was closer than that
The room I was already in
Commentary