You felt the bitter disappointment after forty-eight

Across the continent and from another shore

Where revolution only served the power of the state

It rang the bell and fought a propaganda war

With no sacrifice on the altar of abstractions that only falter

Where is the song before it is sung

We haven't heard it for a while

Who tolls the bell before it is rung

In all of these romantic years of exile

Oh Natalia, take my heart

My past and thoughts all fade into a distant memory

So much has happened in the intervening years

We send our words to fight against a common enemy

Against hypocrisy and every kind of fear

All these questions remain a mystery

Waiting here for the end of history

Where is the song before it is sung

We haven't heard it for a while

Who tolls the bell before it is rung

In all of these romantic years of exile

Oh Natalia, Natalia...

We hear the storm approaching

And no one is to blame

A voice cries in the heart of every man

People make their choices and history unfolds without a plan

Where is the song before it is sung

We haven't heard it for a while

Who tolls the bell before it is rung

In all of these romantic years of exile

Oh Natalia, Natalia...

from The Chronicle of a Literal Man

words by Rob Morsberger, music by Rob Morsberger and Greta's Bakery, 2010