Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

We sat together round a battered table
And talked of simple trials and pleasures
Of books and cars, of flowers and maples
The words seem now like little treasures.

Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

A new baby is born into the world
A beloved brother must take his leave
These things speak as echoing shouts unfurled
Shaking the heavens, that we might perceive!

Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

The soft quavering note of a violin
A happy evening, spent with a friend.
A walk in the woods away from the din
Why must these beautiful things have an end?

Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

Our hearts are thick, too heavy to comprehend
The beauty and glory that saturates life
It blurs together in a swirling blend
To our untrained eyes in need of sight.

Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

Fleeting glimpses is all that we get.
We cannot hope to clear our own way
We waken in awe, then sleep and forget
That glimmer of light, till another day.

Who will waken us? Who will tear apart
These solemn chains that weight our hearts?

A redeemer has come, will come again
Who will lift the veil, uncover the shroud
Will swallow up death and raise those once slain
Will fill hearts with joy, and clear troubled brow

He will waken us. He will break apart
The chains which for so long, constrained our hearts.