BEFORE YOU BEGIN

BEFORE YOU BEGIN - LYRICS

[Verse 1]

Never start what you cannot finish,
Never promise what you cannot give.
Never light a fire you cannot extinguish,
Nor plant thorns and expect a flower to live.

Never hope to reap what you never sowed,
Nor demand what you never gave away.
Never ask for change you have not shown,
Nor blame the world for the choices you made.

[Chorus]

Before you begin, know where you want to go,
Before you make a promise, make it strong enough to hold.
Don't ask of others what you fail to do,
Don't sow discord and expect peace to find you.

If you cannot go the distance, don't promise you will stay,
But if the dream is worth pursuing, don't be afraid to try.
Life teaches us through every fall
That growing means learning from it all.

[Verse 2]

Never judge a fall without knowing why,
Nor condemn the silence of those who hide.
Never let your pride become a prison,
Nor use your pain to wound another life.

Never give up a dream because someone doubted you,
Nor mistake one ending for the end of all.
Never wait for love without giving love,
Nor think one fading flower means no flowers bloom at all.

[Chorus]

Before you begin, know where you want to go,
Before you make a promise, make it strong enough to hold.
Don't ask of others what you fail to do,
Don't sow discord and expect peace to find you.

If you cannot go the distance, don't promise you will stay,
But if the dream is worth pursuing, don't be afraid to try.
Life teaches us through every fall
That growing means learning from it all.

[Bridge]

Those who never risk will never know what they have lost,
Those who never look within won't know themselves at all.
Not every ending means defeat, not every yes is right,
Knowing when to walk away takes courage and insight.

Before you ask the world for what it never gave to you,
Look closely at your footsteps and ask, “What did I do?”

[Final Chorus — rising]

Before you begin, know where you want to go,
Before you make a promise, make it strong enough to hold.
Don't ask of others what you fail to do,
Don't sow discord and expect peace to find you.

If you cannot go the distance, don't promise you will stay,
But if the dream is worth pursuing, don't be afraid to try.
Our worth is not in how we start, nor in what time takes away,
But in what we do with life and the good we leave behind.

[Outro — slow, almost spoken]

Never start on impulse,
Never give up out of fear.
Never live on empty plans,
Never mistake pride for love.

Never wait for a new world
Without changing what lives in you.
For it is not enough to want life…
You must deserve to live it too.