Carousel
High above our struggles where the air is cool and thin
The trenches where we push and shove each other
sure don’t seem to be so grim
and the fighters and the dancers are no different, it seems
From up here, we live our dreams

Far below the surface of a manufactured smile
lies a hunger that’s been staging, that’s been raging
for a long, long while
Maybe someday when we free ourselves, we’ll see
From down here, we cannot breathe

Why don’t we run?
Why don’t we fly?
Why don’t we reach down and throw it all away?
It’s not too far
It’s not too high
It’s not too late to take what you’ve got inside
and make it right

In the middle of a carousel that spins us around
stands the stake that holds us down, pins us to the ground
And all around us are the sights and sounds of a carnival
So let go, enjoyn the show

Behind the walls of prisons we have built through compromise
It’s easy to forget what we have lost, hard to see through children’s eyes
Wasted hours, wasted lives spent in service of our greed
From in here, want is need

Lyrics by Chris O’Brien copyright 2002.