I Am the One Who Will Remember Everything by Dar Williams Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Oh, what have we here? He must be three or four
Shaken out of a boot on its way back to war
And he's not looking for a father or a mother
Just a seven year old brother
On this smudged line border camp of refugees

[Chorus]
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything

[Verse 2]
So where are we now? He must be five or six
Just running around, hungry kids, sharpened sticks
And he will grow with pain and fear and jealousy
Taken in by schools of zealotry
Who train orphans to make orphans evermore

[Chorus]
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
[Bridge]
We drink the smoke, we ride the noise
We drink the smoke, we ride the noise
And you say it's necessary
And you forget the ordinary
But I say, on the wheel of time
Scour the earth and find
The orphans of forgetting, all the orphans of forgetting
Give them stars for math and praise for good play
Here's a Band-Aid, happy birthday
Yes, of course I did remember
I remember everything

[Verse 3]
Oh come over here, kid, we've got all these books to read
With the turtles and frogs, cats and dogs who civilize the centuries
And in a world that's angry, cruel and furious
There's this monkey who's just curious
Floating high above a park with bright balloons

[Chorus]
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
I am the one who will remember everything
[Outro]
Everything