The old man turned off the radio,

Said, "Where did all of the old songs go?

Kids sure play funny music these days,

And they play it in the strangest ways."

Said, "It looks to me like they've all gone wild.

It was peaceful back when I was a child."

Well, man, could it be that the girls and boys

Are tryin' to be heard above your noise?

And the lonely voice of youth cries, "What is truth?"

A little boy of three sittin' on the floor

Looks up and says, "Daddy, what is war?"

"Son, that's when people fight and die."

A little boy of three says, "Daddy, why?"

A young man of seventeen in Sunday school,

Bein' taught the golden rule.

And by the time another year has gone around,

It may be his turn to lay his life down.

Can you blame the voice of youth for asking, "What is truth?"

A young man sittin' on the witness stand.

The man with the book says, "Raise your hand.

Repeat after me. I solemnly swear."

The man looked down at his long hair.

And although the young man solemnly swore,

Nobody seemed to hear anymore.

And it didn't really matter if the truth was there,

It was the cut of his clothes and the length of his hair.

And the lonely voice of youth cries, "What is truth?"

A young girl dancin' to the latest beat

Has found new ways to move her feet.

A young man speakin' in the city square

Is tryin' to tell somebody that he cares.

Yeah, the ones that you're callin' wild

Are gonna be the leaders in a little while.

This old world's wakin' to a newborn day

And I solemnly swear that it'll be their way.

You better help that voice of youth find what is truth.

And the lonely voice of youth cries, "What is truth?"