Stornoway - The Bigger Picture

You may have seen a thread of silver, On the window in the bathroom
That was thicker than the thread your heart was hanging from
You may have seen a lid of darkness, Clamping down upon a sunset
No less tightly than your heart was being strung

In the bigger picture there’s a thread thirteen times thinner
In the bigger picture there’s a lid fourteen times tighter
In the bigger picture there’s a night fifteen times darker
And it’ll hold you like no other in the bigger picture

You may have seen the first star flickering, In the park one summer evening
No less faintly than the dream that you were wishing on
You may have seen the seagulls circling, On the haze above the factory
With more purpose than the course your life was on
But if you haven’t seen the places you have come from, Then you haven’t seen how far you have come

In the bigger picture there’s a star sixteen times fainter
In the bigger picture there’s a course seventeen times straighter
In the bigger picture there’s a dream eighteen times greater
And it’ll steer you like no other in the bigger picture

You may have seen a blazing bonfire, Burning bright with fickle beauty
That was turned to lifeless ashes in the morning
You may have seen a single snowdrop, Where it shivered in the graveyard
No less fragile than the soul to which you cling
But if you haven’t seen the people you have come from, Then you haven’t seen the person you’ve become

In the bigger picture there’s no answer to your prayers
In the bigger picture but there’s a billion other fires
In the bigger picture you’ll learn how to build yours higher
When you’ve seen the savage wonder in the bigger picture
In the bigger picture there’s a sea breeze three times fresher
And it’ll make your two eyes water in the bigger picture