You Can't Own a Lake

Lyrics

[Intro] A lake is not a marble on a desk It was here before the paperwork [Verse 1] You can frame a deed and stamp a seal Put a brass nameplate on the deal But water runs where water will Down the valley, past the hill A loon don't read your contract lines A trout don't care who's got the signs The shore keeps drawing its own shape No private fence can make it stay [Pre-Chorus] You can point, you can claim You can print your name But the rain falls on everybody Just the same [Chorus] You can't own a lake It's part of the earth You can buy a little paper But you can't buy its worth You can't own the water You can't trademark the sky The world was here before you And it'll outlast your lie [Verse 2] The reeds lean low in the afternoon The tide keeps time with a borrowed moon Every drop has crossed a thousand hands From mountain stone to the open land A shoreline shifts, a season turns The river gives and the river learns Call it yours from a golden gate The current never signs your name [Pre-Chorus] You can point, you can claim You can print your name But the rain falls on everybody Just the same [Chorus] You can't own a lake It's part of the earth You can buy a little paper But you can't buy its worth You can't own the water You can't trademark the sky The world was here before you And it'll outlast your lie [Bridge] Ask the heron by the cattails Ask the willow at the bend Ask the child who skips a stone Where ownership begins The answer moves beneath the surface Older than a flag or brand No one person holds the planet In the hollow of a hand [Final Chorus] You can't own a lake It's part of the earth You can buy a little paper But you can't buy its worth You can't own the water You can't trademark the sky The world was here before you And it'll outlast your lie [Outro] A lake is not a trophy A lake is not a throne You can stand beside the water But you never stand alone