The Whole World Changed

What looks at first to be
Remarkable, bizzare
Will soon reveal itself to be
Part of a pattern

And we who stand outside
Identify the history
In the seemingly
Unprecedented thing

A young man dreamed in 1944
Of a magazine that spoke for his generation
And two years later from a townhouse in Hell's Kitchen
Issued issue number one of The Connector

A young man dreamed in the middle of the war
Of a monthly source of truth and investigation
So Aubrey Bernard, 25 years old
Rolled the dice and rolled the presses on The Connector

And the whole world changed
And everything stayed the same
The whole world changed
And everything, everything, everything stayed the same
Circulation boomed with international acclaim
And everything, everything stayed the same

A young man dreamed in his dorm room up at Harvard
That he'd someday write for his favorite publication
So Conrad O'Brien, as of 1962
Sent dispatches from Saigon for The Connector

A young man learned as he grew to middle-age
How to navigate the constant exasperation
So Conrad O'Brien, in 1981
Became the next editor-in-chief of The Connector

And the whole world changed
And everything stayed the same
The whole world changed
And everything, everything, everything stayed the same
News subscriptions dwindled and new competition came
And everything, everything stayed the same

We talk a lot about the truth around here
The truth is not just something verified
The truth is palpable, tangible, real

The truth is not about the facts, forgive me
The facts can always be manipulated, arranged, massaged
We are not purveyors of facts, we are tellers of truth
So here's a truth

For fifty years, we've stood on this foundation
Truth: in fifty years, we've never been outrun
Now, in partnership with this great corporation

We are resolute, determined, as we have been from day one
We are fighting now to honor what our founder would have done
In 1946, and fifty-six, and sixty-six
And seventy-six, and eighty-six, and ninety-six
Who stood firm

While the whole world changed
The whole world changed
The whole world changed
The truth will stay the same

To the next fifty years!
A young man dreamed in his bedroom in New Jersey
Of his name on a byline in The Connector