Ordinary Visionary
I am not a great visionary
But I see some things in the ordinary
Things that will not bring me fame nor victory
But a strange hope sprouts in the dirt of misery
The smell of bread in the evening air
Lifts hearts everywhere
In the narrow alleyways of my neighborhood
I heard someone singing in the name of love
After the streets ran with blood
A sweet-voiced tenor offers a shameless song
He says, I am not a great visionary
But I see some things in the ordinary
Things that will not bring me fame nor victory
But a strange hope sprouts in the dirt of misery
The pigeon who coos in the shuffle of boots
Is crying for peace
I’ve stepped on stones where other feet have been
Violent feet and wounded feet
Feet that are hungry, feet that have everything
Rebellious dancing feet that long to be free
They say, we are not great visionaries
But we see some things in the ordinary
Things that will not bring us fame nor victory
But a strange hope sprouts in the dirt of misery
The lines we traced in a hidden place
Were the map of a new country
Bridge:
I need some holy magic, I need a balm from Gilead
To begin again to speak the world into being
Because words are water, and water carves rock
Water ruins legal paper
And water rusts the scissors of war
It’s my only holy weapon
So God let it rain, God let it rain, God let it rain on me
One hammer rings down in the valley
Another rings up here on my street
Someone is calling, someone is answering
Someone’s repairing the home they love still
They say, we are not great visionaries
But we see some things in the ordinary
Things that will not bring us fame nor victory
But a strange hope sprouts in the dirt of misery
Dancing wild by the side of a creek
Sometimes human beings
We can make beautiful things
Chords
Intro:
C | Dm C | G | D GChorus:
||: C | Dm C | G | D G :|| x2 F | B♭ F | G F | C | C | GVerse:
C | Dm C | G | C | C | Dm C | Dm C | G F | F Bridge:
||: Em | Am | F | G :|| x3 Em | Am | D | F | F | F | G | Em | Am | Em | Am | F | G | C | C | G