What You Heard

Everybody's talking Nobody hears Every truth gets filtered Through a thousand fears Assumptions beat intentions Judgment comes too soon Before the first word Leaves your lips They've already reached the truth

You don't hear my language You hear your own Every conversation Dies before it's grown

We stand on different mountains Watching different skies Still believing We're seeing Through each other's eyes

You hear your story Inside my voice You turn my reasons Into your choice We're speaking different languages Using the very same words And somewhere in between What I meant never arrives

Opinions march like armies Facts surrender first Every sentence taken hostage Every silence made to hurt Nobody waits for meaning They only choose a side Truth is left abandoned Somewhere beyond the noise

Every answer Comes too fast Nobody listens Long enough to last

We're drawing different maps To the very same place Never noticing We're lost within the same space

You hear your answers Inside my voice You turn my questions Into your choice We're speaking different languages Using the very same words And somewhere in between What I meant never arrives

I know that you believe You understand What you think I said But I am not sure You realize That what you heard Is not what I meant

Listen Not to answer

Listen To understand

Listen Before the echo Changes everything

You hear yourself Inside my voice You turn my silence Into your noise We're speaking different languages Using the very same words And somewhere in between What I meant never arrives

I know that you believe

You understand What you think I said

But I'm not sure

You realize

That what you heard Is not what I meant