Centuries pass, memories fade
Borders change, history is made
Technologies progress
We change the way we dress
And before you know what's going on
You look around you—it's all gone
...
Sometimes in my mind
It startles me to find
Memories of an ancient time
Back when the whole world was mine
A period long since forgotten
Back when I'd barely begotten
...
Then I left and became a man
Developed a culture, found out who I am
Left behind the one I loved
Traded in for the new thrill of
Triumph and honor on the battlefield
And the thrill that war seemed to wield
...
Nations rose and nations fell
All captivated by the spell
Of history whizzing before our eyes
Taunting with a nonexistent prize
Promising power that never would come
Though a taste of it was found by some
...
Yet through it all, our cultures remained
And eventually primitive ways were tamed
But history keeps on repeating itself
We do things destructive to our own health
Life goes on and time has passed
Friendships are made, but they never last
...
So many things have happened to me
During the last couple centuries
My borders kept shifting and being redrawn
I was this, I was that, I was here, I was gone
Different powers kept taking control
I didn't know if I should go with the push or the pull
...
I remember I met him that day
While fighting to get my way
I was central, he was allied
But to him, I felt, I always was tied
Like I had known him long ago
Now he was just someone to overthrow
...
Our cultures together were intertwined
I knew this within the recesses of my mind
I'd met him before; I'd known him well
But I'd been someone else then, that much I could tell
I'd changed too much in the passing time
But I had once been his love, and he had been mine
...
Somehow he ended up being my friend
He did his best to help me until nearly the end
Of the war in which I made terrible choices
Did horrible things, silenced innocent voices
I was blinded by prejudice and by my pride
And yet, the whole time, he stood by my side
...
We lost the war to the enemy
Great empires now naught but a memory
Everything that had once mattered was lost
All of this at a most unworthy cost
Dreams of being great like our ancestors
Were smashed and destroyed and left to fester
...
Life kept advancing, dizzyingly quick
I was forced to change so much it still makes me sick
My borders, flag, government, even my name
All thanks to the choices that led me to shame
Left my life in shambles, me a ruined man
If only things had gone according to plan
...
Nowadays he is still my good friend
But all of us have scars that may never mend
We're not as close as we were long ago
He loved me once, that much I know
Whatever may happen, I wish him well
Whether he feels that way now, I can't tell
...
We both have changed so much over the years
But through all the wars, all the pain, all the tears
I know it may not always show
But there's one thing I'd like you to know…
Meine Italien, Ich liebe dich mehr
Than most anything else about which I care.
