The Only They Is You — An adult figure encounters many translucent social masks in a flowering orchard and steps forward as a radiant authentic self

The songbook

The Only They Is You

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr. Listen to the recorded versions and follow the lyric below.

Original Doug Heyes lyrics · AI-generated music & vocals

The lyric moves through inner voices, fear and the lingering presence of someone who is gone. A narrator struggles to separate remembered intimacy from the commands and echoes filling his thoughts. The refrain turns attention inward, presenting a troubled conversation with the self rather than a settled explanation of what he hears.

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Recorded versions

3 recordings. Different voices and arrangements bring another side of the song into the light.

Lyrics

The Only They Is You

Words by Douglas Heyes Jr

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THE ONLY THEY IS YOU

When they talk to you
Their voices coming through
They tell you what to do
The only they is you
When you think you are alone
AnswerIng your call
There's nobody on the phone
You’re back against the wall

You can hear but don’t you listen
To those voices from inside
Know that they are fixin’
To take you for a ride
If you follow long enough
You’re going to hit the wall
You’ll hear the voices echoing
Like footsteps down the hall

You’ll wake up one morning
Up upon a hill
Hear the voices howling
As they circle for the kill
Hear them calling out your name
What will you do now
Time to tighten up your game
And get away somehow

There will come another day
When you will fight, my son
When all those voices in your head
Circle into one
And though we count the dead
The war may not be won
So skip a Stone, go home alone
And wait for them to come

There's no need to fight
And stay up all night
At war with all your fear
With dawn so very near
I don't have to say
What the voices said today
When they talked about you
Like they already knew
They say all things go away
It don’t matter anyway
And though I have lost everything
I can hear the Angels sing

Sometimes voices come from you
Or from deep inside me too
I know why you just don't care
You were never even there
There was never you and me
Just another fantasy
Sail into eternity
Underneath the apple tree

Still I hear you calling me
Still I see your smile
Still I wish you'd stay with me
For a little while
I know I must let you go
I’ll wake up alone
Middle of the night
Somewhere I call home

Suddenly the lights go out
All over this town
The band is playing in my head
Without making a sound
I remember what you said
Before I hit the ground
Take a look inside your head
I’ll always be around

When they talk to you
Their voices coming through
They tell you what to do
The only they is you
The Only They is You

© Douglas Heyes Jr. All rights reserved.