About the song
A civil-defense parable: we scan the horizon for the threat while the house quietly splits from the inside.
One hand pounds the gate outside, one hand lifts the latch within.
About these notes
AI-assisted song notes, based on the sources shown here. Not yet human-reviewed.
Words from the artist’s archive
BEFORE YOU WATCH THE SKY lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
The movie shows silver ships hanging over the courthouse. Nobody checks which neighbor quietly scopes the blocks around here.
Verse 1
We learned to fear whatever lands from outer space, the teeth, the swarm, the strange and faceless race. We watched the border, shoreline, radar, road, and gate, convinced the danger had to come from some other someplace. But say the signal started somewhere down your street, among the people who already know each hidden beat. If foreign ship cross the open blue Home-grown hands can reach the wires before you do. Before you watch the sky, see who is splitting up the house.
Verse 2
Say one hundred thousand people move on one command, organized, armed, and waiting for a chosen man. Not one wild crowd that breaks apart when panic starts, but separate rows prepared to act as one large march. Now add an outside strike that lands the very day: two emergencies unfolding on the selfsame day. Each crew, each truck, each medic, every watchful eye must split attention, time, and fuel between the lies.
Chorus
Before you watch the sky, look at the room you're standing in. One hand pounds the gate outside, one hand lifts the latch within. Which way do you turn tonight? Before you watch the sky.
Verse 3
One bench says, "Name the risk before the sirens sound. Do not mistake a quiet room for common ground. A public flag can hide a private oath beneath. A friendly smile cannot confirm where loyalty sleeps. If no one maps the fracture growing through the floor, the second front may open with the first attack." They point to radios cut off and roads made useless, then ask how many minutes hesitation costs. Then the other bench stands slowly in the silence. It keeps both hands where everybody sees them.
Verse 4
"Be careful who gets branded as the hidden threat. Suspicion writes a debt the innocent must bet. A rumor turns a family porch into a courtroom. A foreign name becomes a reason to condemn. If every citizen gets watched as one more spy, we strip the beams while claiming we defend the sky. You may defeat the armed revolt you truly feared, then find the nation lost the home we hold dear."
Bridge
One side says silence leaves the whole defense half-blind. One side says fear can make clear vision dangerous. See who is splitting up the house. The house has doors and windows facing every way. The open sky keeps hanging over all.
Chorus
Before you watch the sky, look at the room you're standing in. One hand pounds the gate outside, one hand lifts the latch within. Which way do you turn tonight? Who keeps watch, and who decides? Who keeps us one on either side? Before you watch the sky.
Inside the recording
The movie shows silver ships hanging over the courthouse. Nobody checks which neighbor quietly scopes the blocks around here.
Before you watch the sky, look at the room you're standing in.
Before you watch the sky, look at the room you're standing in.
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.