You All Loved Him Once - Conor Oberst

You all loved him once

And not without cause

He fed you through the winter

He led you through the fog

You hid behind his body to be sheltered from the mob

You all loved him once

And not without cause

You all loved him once

When his glory was unmatched

Your signal when to celebrate was the bugle of his laugh

Oh, when it came time to stand with him

You scattered with the rats

You all loved him once

That time has passed

You all loved him once

When the future was opaque

His reassuring visions were the pillars of your faith

Through a thousand false horizons

He would always fly it straight

You all loved him once

That turned to hate

You all loved him once

An uncommon love at that

What you saw as a pedestal

Was his elevated path

So to satisfy the Philistines

You stabbed him in the back

You all loved him once

Imagine that?

You all loved him once

Yes, you ate out of his hand

He mirrored your confusion

So that you might understand

Then your soul was an experiment

So he drew a diagram

You all loved him once

It ended bad

You all loved him once

And not without cause

He helped carry your baggage

When your strength was nearly gone

And though more and more was put on him

He tried his best to take it on

You all loved him once

Not without cause

You all loved him once

Now he is gone