The Changes

I wonder if I'll ever see those places from the photos in the box
Will I ever walk those streets again?
And will I ever see the faces of the people that I love?
And put my arms around them ... without fear ... without guilt

Bridges and rivers, buildings pulled down
Only superficial changes to the old Yorkshire town
And old people raise their eyes to the hills
For a break in the weather, for a sign that nothing has changed

Nothing ever happened here -
Everything goes back to normal
No sacrifice is due!
And if you read the right pundit
Anything you want to be ... is true
(And prepares the path for blame)

I look at Steve and Jonas by the van on one morning in July
Setting off into the great unknown
We'd do a gig and not get paid in a backwater German town
And somehow fall asleep with the thought of a job well done
I mean, God! It was so much fun!

Up and down the street for hours, we can't find the hotel
Luke says "if they put up a sign, they'd probably do well"
Five friends who just can't meet any more
Expanded to millions ... behind every door there's a story

Because nothing ever changed!
Everything goes back to normal!
Nothing ever happened here
Nothing ever was for granted
It's all recanted now!
Everything goes back to normal!
Nothing ever happened here
Nothing ever was forever - it's hard to sever

And those guys are still there, lost in their van
In an old box of photos I get out when I can

But I've got a feeling, and the feeling is good!

I'll take a pencil and put a ring on the calendar
"We'll get an album out in 2022"
And suddenly we've got a purpose, some reason for going on
'Cos all the time left at home needs a song, and now it's come!

Turns out, that lady my kids used to like was right! Really! Honestly!
"THE ONLY WAY IS UP" ... (baby)

"Ah, look at all the lonely people"
Behind every "thumbs up," behind every "like"
Behind every curtain, behind every Mic

Misrepresentation and bias and hate
Amid social isolation ... who could carry that weight?
We've spent our lives living in room 101
Let's not go back there this time ... let's try to make a change
Let's make something happen here

Gonna need a Lot Of Love to get Net Zero Hate
Gonna need a Lot of Love - the imbalance cannot wait
Gonna need a Lot of Love!
'Cos I've been free these 60 years, will Luke and Theo do the same?
Will Steve and Jonas be foreigners in the New World Power Game?

I wonder if we ever really need to just go back to "once before"
Did we take away anything?
It was a world ruled by tyrants, then we handed it to fools
We're disappointed. But never surprised
The story's in our eyes

Bothers and Sisters, Uncles and Dads
Supporters on the terraces waving Leeds United flags
The old people remember what went before
It's not time for nostalgia, the future's holding a door

Let's go through!
Let's make something happen here!
Let's not just go back to normal!
Let's make something change
Let's start to see the world around us and hope it can ground us now
Let's not just go back to normal!
Let's make something happen here!
'Cos in the meantime...

Those guys are still there, lost in their van
In an old box of photos I get out when I can