Gloria Estefan
We Needed Time
Things rarely go as planned
All the dreams that we envisioned
Seemed to crumble in our hands
So suddenly alone
With my thoughts and my decisions
With the life that I have known
That will forever be changed
And I pray it’s for the better
Taking what we learned together
To finally build a better world
[Chorus 1]
But we needed time to catch up
The race we started, put on pause
Slow the wheels that, fast, were grinding
On the things that matter most
We needed time to let go
Of worthless things we valued wrong
To rediscover new directions
New beginnings
There’s so much we can do
Since we’re all in this together
Let’s find ways to make it through
There’s something to be said
For having time to mull it over
Think about what lies ahead
This exceptional moment
Inconceivable and strange
Where we stop to rearrange
Where we’re forced to reexamine
What we truly care for
Who we would sacrifice all for
[Chorus 2]
But we needed time to catch up
The fires we started, let cool down
Slow the speed that we were driving
Stop the train and just get off
We needed time to finally see
There’s so much more that we can be
To reimagine, make some good news
Find a new way
And when we’re finally looking in our rearview mirror
I hope it shows us the way forward
That much clearer
With our baggage much lighter
Grateful, caring and wiser
[Chorus 3]
But we needed time to catch up
The fights we started, wind them down
Slow the rhetoric we’re spouting
When we’ve just walked on common ground
We needed time to recognize
How easily we’re all equalized
Each one of us pieces of the same thing
Of the same team
Things rarely go as planned