Lyric

A photograph: white wilderness, one small tent

Who lived there? Listen. This is how it went

A boy saw a photo of an Alaskan town

He wrote to the mayor: "Please invite me there."

The dream came true — a reply came down

He crossed the sea for the northern air

He lived among the Inuit, learned to hunt, to gather berries

Learned a tradition old and deep. He understood:

People and nature lived harmoniously — sharing carries

He became part of the white and endless wood

The earth was here long before our first word

The earth will be here when our songs are done

Words are power. Words are light —

And beauty is passed on to everyone

He returned as a photographer. The severe north, the lonely nights

The playful bears, a sudden scene of life and death

The tundra bloomed. A polar bear walked the heights

He pressed the shutter — and held the planet's breath

Now the glaciers disappear. Global warming takes the land

A habitat is lost. The sea level grows, slowly, twice as fast

The island rests. The Arctic turns into sand

Will enough of us remind the world of the past?

The earth was here long before our first word

The earth will be here when our songs are done

Words are power. Words are light —

His photographs are passed on to everyone

And now… they are passed on to you

A photograph. White wilderness. One small tent

The beauty stays. The light is lent