How Far Back Does Music Go?

In the rhythm of a heartbeat music is begun In the rhythm that we travel when we saunter, when we run. The thrill that lifts our hackles when the wind begins to moan We learned to recreate with just a length of hollow bone I look at all the pieces and I really want to know How far back does music go? How far back (I say) how far back does music go? How far back--how far back does music go. When the rhythm of a mama's heart'll make a baby grow. Through the mesh of our perceptions music seems to reach To the nerves we grow to notice how emotion colors speech. Speed and pitch and volume held relaxed or urgent vibes In the wordless cries and chatter of pre-neolithic tribes. If the stimulus is missing, the pathways never grow How far back does music go? How far back (I say) how far back does music go? How far back--how far back does music go. When the rhythm of a mama's heart'll make a baby grow. Dolphin calves learn music in the waters off the coast Fledglings study music where the sparrows curse and boast Wolves will sing together; it's a guess, but I'll be bound Words grew out of music, not the other way around Listen to the world, then come and say it isn't so: How far back does music go? How far back (I say) how far back does music go? How far back--how far back does music go. When the rhythm of a mama's heart'll make a baby grow.