Le Réseau

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
They hand you the map of the city.
All straight lines and perfect squares.
A grid of good intentions, printed and clean.
They say, "This is how you get from here to there."
They say, "This is the normal way."
A simple, legible plan.
Easy to fold, easy to understand.

[Chorus]
But your mind, my love, is not a grid.
It is a river delta, finding its own way to the sea.
It is the root system of an ancient tree.
It's a network, le réseau, a constellation we are only just learning to read.
And Harvey Blume was right, you see.
It is as vital as the forest, as crucial as the biodiversity.

[Verse 2]
In Sydney, nineteen ninety-eight, a student typed a quiet phrase.
Judy Singer called them "Odd People In."
A new name for the old, winding ways.
A word that was not a cage.
A word that was a key.
For the ones who felt the static, who heard the unheard melody.

[Chorus]
Because your mind, my love, is not a grid.
It is a river delta, finding its own way to the sea.
It is the root system of an ancient tree.
It's a network, le réseau, a constellation we are only just learning to read.
And it is as vital as the forest, as crucial as the biodiversity.

[Bridge]
So we don't try to straighten the roads.
We don't try to pave the riverbed.
We build quieter rooms.
We dim the overheads.
We learn to listen to the rhythm that isn't on the page.
We let the beautiful, strange network finally come of age.

[Outro]
Let me trace your map.
This sudden turn here.
This cluster of stars.
This path that leads nowhere and everywhere at once.
This is not a flaw.
This is the art.
This is your network.