Lyrics
The saddest thing I've ever seen
The speaker describes witnessing a profoundly sorrowful sight.
Was a starving face on my TV screen
The speaker observes a starving individual on television, emphasizing the impact of world hunger.
The desperate face that I saw
The speaker is struck by the desperate expression of a person, leading to disbelief.
Had my disbelief hanging from my jaw
The disbelief is so intense that it physically affects the speaker, causing their jaw to hang open.
Our harvest could be shared around
The speaker reflects on the potential for sharing the harvest, but laments that it is wasted or unused.
Instead it's buried in the ground
Despite the possibility of sharing, the harvest is instead buried, suggesting a loss or squandering of resources.
The saddest thing I've ever seen
Repetition of the saddest thing, reinforcing the emotional impact of the scenes described.
Was a football fan dying for his team
A football fan's death for their team is highlighted as a tragic event, underscoring the intensity of sports fandom.
The toughest thing I have ever known
The speaker recalls the toughest experience - the death of a soldier who never returned home.
Was a soldier boy who never made it home
Further emphasis on the soldier's fate, emphasizing the sorrow of unfulfilled potential and loss.
It's fiction live before our eyes
The speaker characterizes certain real-life events as if they were fiction, highlighting their surreal and disheartening nature.
It leaves me cold and my heart cries
The speaker's emotional response to the depicted scenes is conveyed - feeling cold and experiencing heartache.
The greatest thing I've ever seen
The speaker shifts to a positive experience, describing the joy of witnessing a newborn child.
Was a newborn child looking up at me
The speaker recalls the touching moment of a newborn child looking up at them, evoking a sense of wonder and innocence.
The greatest sound I've ever heard
The speaker identifies the greatest sound as a baby's cry, contrasting the negative aspects of the world.
Was a baby's cry in this wicked world
The cry is acknowledged within the context of a wicked world, emphasizing the fragility of innocence.
The innocence of that cry
The innocence of the baby's cry leads to a similar emotional response - feeling cold and heartbroken.
Leaves me cold and my heart cries
Repetition of the emotional response, reinforcing the impact of the contrast between innocence and a troubled world.
It's a heartbreaking world if you want it to be
The speaker generalizes the world as heartbreaking, suggesting that its nature depends on one's perspective or actions.
It's a heartbreaking world if you want it to be
Repetition of the idea that the world is heartbreaking, reinforcing the perspective that it can be perceived negatively.
It's a heartbreaking world if you want it to be
Reiteration of the notion that the world is heartbreaking, emphasizing the subjectivity of this perception.
And you're the one that breaks it for me
The speaker addresses an unnamed entity as the one who breaks the world's heart for them, implying a personal connection to the pain in the world.
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