Mother, father please explain to me
Why a world so full of mystery
A place so bitter and still so sweet
So beautiful and yet so full of sad, sad

Mother, father please explain to me
Why forests march to desert speed
While snowcapped mountains melt away
What do we tell our babies, when do we say? Oh

Mother, father please explain to me
How a man who rocks his child to sleep
Pulls the trigger on his brother's heart?
He digs a hole right to the middle of this storm of hatred

Mother, father please explain to me
How it could be so this world has come to be
A precious balance in between
Such cruelty and such kindness please, please

Mother, father please explain to me
How this world has come to be
Unequaled in her blessings, oh, I see
Unbridled hatred so extreme, please tell me

Mother, father please explain to me
How this world has come to be so
Twisted between time and dreams
Oh, mother, father please explain to me

Oh, what's all this talk about?
All this talk about it
Spinning down, down, down, down, down
All this talk about
Endless words without
Nothing's done

Mother, father do you know
While one man's belly overflows
Another sleeps in hunger's bed?
Oh, we trade our world for a piece of bread

Oh Mother, father please explain to me
How this rare world's come to be
A place so full of color yet overflowing
Always in black and white
Drowning in the waters of our

Mother, father please explain to me
How this world has come to be
While still blessed in all the things we see
Such a sad, sad home for you and me

Come out you, and hold
Come on out you
Come on out you
Come and save yourself

Come on out you
Come on we're taking the water
We're takin' the water
We're takin' the water
But you know
We got the freedom
We got the freedom

There's no God above
And no hell below
Oh, it's here with us
It's up to us
To keep afloat

How this sweet world has come to be
Oh to keep afloat

Mother, father please explain to me
How this rare world has come to be
Oh, let the blue planet
Let the blue planet

Mother, father please explain to me
Mother, father please explain