The Heart is Wise
This is my newest song; however, it began as a hummed/mumbled lyric while walking my dog about three years ago. A couple of years later, I responded to a friend's post by "completing" the lyrics and posting them as a comment. This year, after not being able to join Steve Gillette, Cindy Mangsen, and our group of songwriters in Steve's Santa Cruz Songwriter's Workshop for the last three years, Steve offered a Zoom workshop. I decided to do this song, so for the first time, I finally picked up the guitar to put some accompaniment to the tune that I had hummed when first starting the piece. I also added a bridge to complete the song.
It could be a political statement about seeking and finding truth in spite of all the misdirection, obfuscation, and outright lying that passes for too much of our media (I'm talking to you FOX, OAN, Sinclair, etc.). On the other hand, although it actually started as a love song, once the chorus arrived, it moved it toward being another Emersonian manifesto about finding transcendental truth for one's self. See my "Young Enough" on Youtube for a similar theme.
The Heart is Wise
Oh, the heart is wise, but there are SO many choices—
So many voices—It’s hard to hear the heart
Yes, the heart is true, but it’s ever so quiet—
So easy to deny it—Oh, what’s the heart to do to find its way to you?
We teach the child who would be wild her spirit to control
We want her mild, pure, undefiled, thus incarcerate her soul
We know so much more than we know we know
We feel so much deeper than our fears let us show
If we could only learn to listen through the din
The heart might find a way to let us in
We teach the child who would be mild his spirit to control
We want him wild, unreconciled, thus incarcerate his soul
We know so much more than we know we know
We feel so much deeper than our fears let us show
If we could only learn to listen through the din
The heart might find a way to let us in
The wonder in a sunset
A miracle of light
The laughter in a child's eyes
The sound of pure delight
A wind across the water
The thrill of something new
A kindness from a stranger
The strength to see things through
Oh, the heart is wise, but there are SO many choices—
So many voices—It’s hard to hear the heart
Yes, the heart is true, but it’s ever so quiet—
So easy to deny it—Just let the heart break through
To find its way to you?
©2022 Tim McMullen
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