Truth Has No Team
Lyrics
Down at the hall on a Thursday night The chairs were set in rows A simple question crossed the floor And everybody chose
A red flag rose from the left-hand wall A blue one from the right Neither side had heard the question But both came dressed to fight
One spoke loudly for equality One for tradition and law Both began with something decent Then forgot what talk was for
Every doubt became an insult Every question chose a crew No one asked what might be true They only asked which side was you
Different banners on the wall Same demand beneath them all
Different flags, the very same boot Different slogans when winning replaces truth When the state becomes the master And the person wears the chain The road bends round from either side And the old control remains
Truth has no team Truth has no tribe It does not need a crowd To keep a lie alive
By morning it was on the screens A thousand voices strong Each one certain, each one shouting Each one sure the rest were wrong
A picture stripped of context A headline cut in two A stranger judged by twenty words Before the facts came through
They praised the sharpest insult They shared the cruelest line And anyone who stopped to question Was accused of changing sides
No one asked what might be true They only asked, is he with you
Different flags, the very same boot Different slogans when winning replaces truth When the state becomes the master And the person wears the chain The road bends round from either side And the old control remains
Old friends stopped speaking over dinner Brothers turned away Children learnt to fear a question Before they learnt what words could say
Every side demanded loyalty Every leader claimed the key They promised us protection If we traded being free
Then left and right both locked the door And called the prison peace Power never minds the flag When power owns the keys
An old voice crossed the marketplace No banner in his hand He said, show me what your words mean And help me understand
Do not tell me who has spoken Tell me whether it is true Show me where my thinking fails And I will change my view
I speak to win I name the foe I strike before the doubts can grow
Ask what is true Test what you know Leave enough room for your mind to grow
One path searches through the doubt One path only shuts it out
The ends did not meet in what they believed Or the futures they pursued They met in what they would permit To crush a different view
Freedom is not choosing which hand Will tighten up the chain Or which set of noble words Will justify the pain
Keep the state a servant Keep the person more than names Let every claim face daylight No matter who proclaims
Let dissent remain a warning Not betrayal of the land Let an honest change of mind Be a strength we understand
Truth may bruise your certainty And take your pride apart But losing one mistaken thought Is where freedom gets its start
Truth has no team, no flag, no side It needs no mob to keep it alive Let the state remain the servant Let the person speak their name Keep the question at the centre Or the ends will meet again
Different flags can hide the same boot Different slogans can bury the truth When winning matters more than wisdom And obedience earns acclaim The road bends round from either side And the old control remains
Truth has no team Truth has no tribe Ask me where I am wrong And keep the question alive
When the cheering stops And the crowd moves on Will you still ask what is true
The question still stands