Lyrics
[Intro]
Is the march of events ordered and guided by eminent men,
or do our leaders merely fall into their places at the heads of the moving columns?
[bridge]
Is human progress the result of the resolves and deeds of individuals,
or are these resolves and deeds only the outcome of time and circumstance?
[Verse 1]
Is History the chronicle of famous men and women,
or only of their responses to the tides, tendencies and opportunities of their age?
Do we owe the ideals and wisdom that make our world to the glorious few,
or to the patient anonymous innumerable many?
[Verse 2]
The question has only to be posed to be answered. We have but to let the mind's eye skim back over the story of nations,
indeed to review the experience of our own small lives, to observe the decisive part which accident and chance play at every moment.
[chorus]
If this or that had been otherwise,
if this instruction had not been given,
if that blow had not been struck,
if that horse had not stumbled,
if we had not met that woman,
or missed or caught that train, the whole course of our lives would have been changed;
and with our lives the lives of others, until gradually,
in ever-widening circles,
the movement of the world itself would have been affected.
[Piano solo]
[beat drop]
[bridge]
Is human progress the result of the resolves and deeds of individuals,
or are these resolves and deeds only the outcome of time and circumstance?
[Verse 1]
Is History the chronicle of famous men and women,
or only of their responses to the tides, tendencies and opportunities of their age?
Do we owe the ideals and wisdom that make our world to the glorious few,
or to the patient anonymous innumerable many?
[Verse 2]
The question has only to be posed to be answered. We have but to let the mind's eye skim back over the story of nations,
indeed to review the experience of our own small lives, to observe the decisive part which accident and chance play at every moment.
[chorus]
If this or that had been otherwise,
if this instruction had not been given,
if that blow had not been struck,
if that horse had not stumbled,
if we had not met that woman,
or missed or caught that train, the whole course of our lives would have been changed;
and with our lives the lives of others, until gradually,
in ever-widening circles,
the movement of the world itself would have been affected.
[Piano solo]
[chorus]
If this or that had been otherwise,
if this instruction had not been given,
if that blow had not been struck,
if that horse had not stumbled,
if we had not met that woman,
or missed or caught that train, the whole course of our lives would have been changed;
and with our lives the lives of others, until gradually,
in ever-widening circles,
the movement of the world itself would have been affected.
[Verse 3]
The question has only to be posed to be answered. We have but to let the mind's eye skim back over the story of nations,
indeed to review the experience of our own small lives, to observe the decisive part which accident and chance play at every moment.
