Even A Child
Neil Finn/Johnny Marr
I want to turn on the lights
I want to keep your hopes alive
So where do I begin
To help you believe again
Makers of secret planes
Keepers of our last remains
Dream of a holy state
In a nightmare time
You know I meant it well but who was it meant to help
Even the child knows you don’t waste it
A promise is only given once
And there is no doubt that changes have begun
Even a child knows that you can’t fake it
As long as the world is waking up
You are free now to recover your heart
The stories left to write
The ebb and flow of my life
To justify the end
I’ll do everything I can
And i’ts a dangerous game
I heard you tell someone that you don’t care
But I don’t believe the message
And when you sing about love
What are you thinking of
Even a child knows you don’t waste it
As long as the world is waking up
And there is no doubt that changes have begun
Even a child knows you don’t fake it
A promise is only given once
You are free now to go wherever you want
There’s nothing like waking up in some foreign town
Music is a call to prayer
Wailing out of speakers in the market place
The first time ..even a child
Even a child knows you don’t waste it
A present can always be delivered twice
You are free now to receive the gift of insight
From now on let’s be open
All in time let’s breathe in
Am I brave?…You’re so brave
Am I afraid?…No not afraid
Even the child
Song appears on:
Crowded House - Time On Earth (2007)
“It’s about not wasting time and remembering the important stuff. It’s a theme I’ve written a lot about on this record.
I wrote this song with Johnny Marr at the beach in New Zealand, and that phrase, “Even a child” was quite a difficult one to work out because it’s what came out accidentally. I couldn’t quite rationalise how that fitted together and then finally a few pennies dropped and the chorus came and at the same time, he did a demo at home. He had his daughter, Sonny, singing on it and she is still in fact on the track, although there’s other voices in there. There was something about the sound of her sweet voice that reminded me that certain truths are known by children and forgotten by adults quite regularly. When you get given a present or a gift or anything, you don’t waste it.”