The Question In The Room

The Question In The Room Lyrics by Walter Zenko Late in the evening when the city's asleep, A question comes calling from somewhere deep, The scientists watch what the senses reveal, The things we can measure and test and feel. They tell us how rivers and seasons behave, How life leaves its footprints and waves follow waves, But before the first chapter that nature can show, There remains an old question we'd still like to know. Chorus 1 Who struck the first note of the song we sing? Who gave the rose its scent in spring? Science can follow the trail of a spark, But not what may have kindled the dark. Somewhere between faith and doubt, That's where the music wanders about. Verse 2 Some say every doorway leads back to a source, Every river follows an unseen course, Others just smile and quietly say, The mystery's enough at the end of the day. But the question keeps dancing wherever we go, In the places we think that we already know. Verse 3 Look at a garden in bloom after rain, The balance of beauty, delicate and plain, Some see intention in all that they find, Some see the workings of nature's design. Yet everyone pauses from time to time, To marvel at order and rhythm and rhyme. Chorus 2 Pour another glass and dim the light, Let the conversation drift tonight, No one owns the final word, No single voice has all been heard. Still we gather, still we stay, Listening for what the silence might say. Verse 4 A philosopher asked, and the question remains, Why there's a world instead of empty plains, Why laughter and longing and tears appear, Why any of us should be standing here. The answer keeps slipping beyond our grasp, Like smoke from a cigarette fading fast. Verse 5 Then there's the feeling that right is still right, Even when no one's watching at night, Some say that's heaven speaking within, Some say it's where evolution begins. But kindness survives every argument made, Like a melody refusing to fade. Verse 6 And what of the mind with its secret light, Dreaming by day and wondering at night? How does awareness itself arise? The finest minds still pause and realize, There's wonder enough in simply being aware, A mystery lingering everywhere. Final Chorus Let's leave the question open wide, Pull up a chair and sit beside, The mystery that won't let go, The oldest tune we'll ever know. Whether a Creator waits beyond sight, Or meaning emerges from life tonight, We'll raise a glass to the search we're on, And sing while the questions carry on.