The old man turned off the radio
Said, "Where did all of the old songs go
Kids sure play funny music these days
They play it in the strangest ways"
Said, "it looks to me like they've all gone wild
It was peaceful back when I was a child"
Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys
Are trying to be heard above your noise?
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What Is Truth?"
A little boy of three sittin' on the floor
Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"
"son, that's when people fight and die"
The little boy of three says "Daddy, why?"
A young man of seventeen in Sunday school
Being taught the golden rule
And by the time another year has gone around
It may be his turn to lay his life down
Can you blame the voice of youth for asking
"What Is Truth?"
A young man sittin' on the witness stand
The man with the book says "Raise your hand"
"Repeat after me, I solemnly swear"
The man looked down at his long hair
And although the young man solemnly swore
Nobody seems to hear anymore
And it didn't really matter if the truth was there
It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair
And the lonely voice of youth cries
"What Is Truth?"
The young girl dancing to the latest beat
Has found new ways to move her feet
The young man speaking in the city square
Is trying to tell somebody that he cares
Yeah, the ones that you're calling wild
Are going to be the leaders in a little while
This old world's wakin' to a new born day
And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way
You better help the voice of youth find
"What Is Truth?"
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My brother made a mixtape when he was six. I remember sitting on the duplex living room floor picking out songs with him. We put it together from my dad's old records, big records from cardboard boxes, singles from plastic cases. That tape persisted for the longest time, I think the last time he played that he was fifteen or so. Tape's been a part of my life for the longest time, and this was, I think, the second song.
The reason I post this tonight is because I'm wrestling with a question very close to the premise of the song. Not "What is truth?" but "What is our duty to the truth?" Do we have an obligation to tell the truth, a duty to be exercised at all times? Is it worth destroying relationships for? When a person is unredeemable, does telling the truth even matter? Can a person ever be unredeemable? What is truth worth, at what point is the human cost not worth it?
And when I close my laptop and sit here, staring off into the darkness, I'll remember sitting on the living room floor with my brother. And I'll hear Johnny Cash saying "What is truth?"
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