21st Century Lullaby

Sara Messenger © 2001

There were sweethearts
Who knew each other all their lives
And never had to face a night alone
There were families
Who stuck it out through thick and thin
And fathers to be found each night at home
Mistakes to make, and to forgive
There was time enough to live
And love so tough the bonds were never torn
Won’t you please forgive me telling you the way it was
In the days before the day that you were born

There were rivers clear and sweet enough to drink
And skies so blue the atheists would pray
Generations who worked the land with love
Together at the closing of the day
When the wisdom of the land
Could still stir the heart of man
Only God’s hand could form each tender ear of corn
If those ears could hear they’d fear the angels crying
For the days before the day that you were born

Born in a time when the world's gone awry
And the earth meets the sky as a stranger

There were small towns
Each one different from the next
Where you knew the folks who owned each little store
There were children playing ’til the light grew dim
And mothers begging them to come indoors
Everywhere in every place
People talking face to face
Before walking was replaced
And strange devices held and worn
No, you can’t imagine how it was
In the days before the day that you were born

There was music that could tap into the soul
Penned without a manager’s advice
There were voices at the service of the heart
And not contrived to bring the highest price
There was magic in the air
There was still reason to care
And hope that there were better days in store
Now I pray someday you’ll live to see the dreams we had
In the days before the day that you were born