You All Loved Him Once

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 the 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 --- You All Loved Him Once - Conor Oberst