Cloud of Witnesses

[Verse 1]
There from my lofty vantage point
I came to watch over you
I said, “Please sir” to an angel
“Remove your hat so I can get a better view”
That’s when someone pulled a lever
And the misty curtain was withdrawn
On a scene of a little house with tall trees
And you laughed and danced across its summer lawn

[Chorus 1]
Where are you going in your
Bright, clean, and innocent dress?
The cloud of witnesses says
“It’s anybody’s guess”

[Verse 2]
And then you crossed the equator
In a broken glass-bottom boat
In the bottomless depths of your ocean
You knew you had to sink and drown to stay afloat
The years are timid and fleeting
Tears of dew on morning grass
They took you to Loveland and badlands
You didn’t notice there the faithful Shepherd with his staff

[Chorus 1]
Where are you going in your
Bright, clean, and innocent dress?
The cloud of witnesses says
“It’s anybody’s guess”

[Verse 3]
And with your babies gone now
You’re learning how to let them go
Their memories dance across your summer lawn
And like those who came before, you want to know

[Chorus 2]
Where are they going in their
Once clean and innocent dress?
The cloud of witnesses says
“It’s anybody’s guess”

[Verse 4]
Now you hold a faded photograph
Of you in your mother’s lap
You sigh as your old hand trembles
Alongside these words that I once scribbled on the back:

[Chorus 1]
Where are you going in your
Bright, clean, and innocent dress?
The cloud of witnesses says
“It’s anybody’s guess”

[Outro]
And all I can do for you today is
My very best