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.