This is one of those songs that came after many false starts and unproductive sessions. Sometimes trying to find the right idea – musically or lyrically – is like casting a fishing line. The first few throws may amount to nothing, but finally, you feel tug and you have something to reel in. What I finally reeled in is a song about a subject that, as an artist, I frequently find on my mind. Lyrics are after the break as usual.

Word
lyrics and music by Ahd Child

Verse 1
A word can be a seed
One tiny little speck
That can start a new life
If conditions are right
If the wrong word is planted
It can grow into a weed
So be careful what you sow
Or there’ll be nothing left to reap
Or a word can be a root
Growing large and intricate
While on top it seems delicate
The word is truly vigorous
And it can’t be unsaid
Because when leaves look dead
The root is still alive
And it sprouts once again
But it could be
That a word is like a tree
That sways but doesn’t fall
In a hurricane’s breeze
Some stand straight
But some bend when they sway
So they still stand up
But  their structure’s corrupt
And a word is the fruit
From the tree from the root
And it carries more seeds
To be spread in that breeze
And what may sprout
Depends on how it started out
It can be a tangle of weeds
Or a forest of flowers

Chorus
I could say don’t do as I say
But then why should I say
The words that I say
I guess I could say don’t do as I say
But then why should I say
Anything

Verse 2
If you say the wrong words
Then those words are sown
And they can grow in the mind
Hidden and unknown
It’s not always easy
To trace cause to effect
So never assume
Bad seeds are lifeless and dead
You can call it just entertainment
But that’s wishful thinking
In truth, the words that we hear
Do sink in
And these bad seeds
Can form roots that run deep
That are too strong to kill
By the time that they’re seen
And from these roots
Come our twisted up trees
With tangled branches
And poisonous leaves
And they grow ripe fruit
Bad words do reproduce
And the good that we know
Get’s choked out and reduced
Every man has a garden
To tend or neglect
To make it grow right
Requires constant vigilance
So let diligence be our mantra
As we think before we speak
Envision the fruit
As you plant the seed

Chorus

Verse 3
So why must it be
That we treat words like pebbles
Throwing them carelessly
Then assuming they settle
Some words are flowers
But some also have thorns
The ones that seem sweet
Might do the most harm
A word is a life
That will grow and thrive
And words never seem to die
So be careful what you say
A word is not a game
To carelessly play
You can walk away
But words tend to stay
We can pretend that their sterile
But they will still grow
We can claim ignorance
But the truth is we know
You can act like you don’t
But you won’t change truth by lying
Reality happens
Even if you deny it
I don’t claim to be a leader
But I do recite lyrics
I could tell kids don’t listen
But they might still hear them
I might be teaching a lesson
Even if I don’t intend it
So I consider my words
I try to only speak wisdom

Chorus

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