Foolish Man
This was the second song I wrote completely myself. It's all my performance and production, including my first clarinet recording:
I was once told there's danger in a question,
That faith and doubt cannot live in one mind,
And doubt leads men to shun the truth and fight their God.
So I was told.
I also learned truth shines eternal in the Son,
And that is all the light we need,
Straight from the source.
But I've seen mortal eyes fixed on the Sun,
Now following its brightness through closed eyes;
Doing good and seeing all as this light says it is—-
How the World must be.
Then when night comes they work to morning at their call,
Telling those who stand in darkness the joys of its light.
I was told I'd built a tower to reach the heavens,
And the Lord would cast it down and show the foolishness of men.
Maybe it is so. . .
Some have forgotten that the child of night
Is not the child of darkness.
There is truth at night.
The moon and wandering stars reflect the light
That blind eyes preach.
But no closed eyes will find these lights,
And stars unseen give off more light than the Sun
That leads the blind.
I was told I'd built a tower to reach the heavens,
And the Lord would cast it down and show the foolishness of men.
Maybe it is so,
But truth is good and light
And I will love it.
Self-indulgent exposition
The music has a strummed guitar part, a classical guitar counter melody, a clarinet harmony/counter melody. On the second chorus the strummed guitar is replaced with overdubbed clarinet parts.
The lyrics came from a poem I wrote when arguing with a fellow Mormon about the reality of evolution and its consistency with Mormon doctrine. As a budding Mormon scientist it was important to me that my faith was big enough to encompass scientific truth, and it was painful to be labelled a heretic. I knew I wasn't (that would take another 20 years). While my religious beliefs and practice have changed significantly, and the meaning of the poem for me has changed, it has held up surprisingly well.
I was once told. . .
2002
I was once told there’s danger in a question—
Faith and doubt cannot live in one mind,
And doubt leads men to shun the truth and fight
Their God—so I was told. I also learned
Truth shines eternal in the Son, and that is
All the light we need—straight from the source—
But I’ve seen mortal eyes fixed on the sun
Now following his brightness filtered through
Closed eyelids, doing good and seeing the world
As this light tells them it must look. Then when
Night comes they work to morning, filling their call
And telling those who stand in darkness what
The sun is like—the joys of fixing on his light.
They have forgotten that the child of night
Is not the child of darkness. There is truth
At night. The moon and wandering stars reflect
That same sun closed eyes preach, but no closed eyes
Will find these lights; and stars we cannot see
Give still more light than the sun that leads the blind.
I was told I’d built a tower to see the heavens,
And the Lord would cast it down and show
The foolishness of men. Maybe it is so,
But truth is good and light, and I will love it.