An old man with no children is taken outside at night and told to look up. Count them, if you can. That is how big your family will be. He has no proof, no child, nothing in his hands but time, and he believes it.
Years later the laughing turns into a boy. Then comes the hardest morning a father ever walked, up a mountain with the wood and the fire. And at the last moment a voice says no, and there is a ram caught in the bushes.
The song is about believing a promise before there is any evidence for it. So the last chorus turns round to face you: one of those lights is your name.
the LORD brought him outside, and said, “Look now toward the sky, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He said to Abram, “So will your offspring be.” He believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness.
The World English Bible. A modern English translation made from the Hebrew and Greek, in plain language, and in the public domain.
An old man in a quiet house
No child in it, no name to leave
He walked out past the light of the fire
Where there was nothing left to see
Too old for wishing, too old for waiting
Sarah in the doorway trying not to laugh
A tent in the desert and a word he couldn't hold
And nothing in his hands but time
Then the voice said, come outside (come outside)
Just look up (look up)
If you can number them, then you can number what I'll do
Count the stars (count the stars)
Go on and count them if you can
Count the stars
Every light out there is a name
And he believed it before it ever came
Years went by and the laughing turned into a boy
Running in the sand with his father's eyes
Then the hardest morning that a man ever walked
Up a mountain with the wood and the fire
And he raised his hand (raised his hand)
And the voice said no (said no)
There's a ram in the thicket, let the boy go
Count the stars (count the stars)
Go on and count them if you can
Count the stars
Every light out there is a name
And he believed it before it ever came
Look up (look up) what do you see
Too many (too many) to ever count
Look up (look up) that's you and me
Standing in the light of what he found
An old man in the dark
Nothing but a word to hold
No proof, no map, no morning
Just the sky, and he believed it
And he believed it... he believed it...
And he believed it... he believed it...
Count the stars (count the stars)
Go on and count them if you can
Count the stars
Every light out there is a name
(One of them is mine, one of them is yours)
Every light out there is a name
Every light out there is a name
Count the stars