Full lyrics for On the Happy Life by Augustinus Vox, including The Question of Joy, Built to Seek, The Feast of Words, False Flames, and the full 11-track album
Tracklist
- The Question of Joy
- Built to Seek
- The Feast of Words
- False Flames
- Eternal Ain’t Elsewhere
- The Turn Within
- Only the Wise Are Happy
- Joy Ain’t a Feeling
- The Light That Lasts
- We Sat and Laughed
- Fove Precantes, Trinitas
The Question of Joy
They asked me what I’m chasing
And I didn’t know the name
It wasn’t gold or glory
But it burned inside the same
It woke me up at midnight
It whispered in the sun
A hunger I could never lose
No matter what I’d won
It ain’t a thrill it ain’t a game
It’s something deeper I can’t tame
The question of joy it’s written in me
Like a song that aches to finally be free
I’ve searched the stars I’ve searched my skin
But maybe joy begins within
The question of joy it won’t let go
It’s the cry beneath what I think I know
I’ve heard it in the silence
When laughter couldn’t stay
I’ve felt it when the crowd was gone
And the mask was stripped away
It’s not the smile on every face
It’s the reason why we seek
And maybe what I’m calling joy
Is a truth too strong to speak
Not just delight not just escape
But something shaped to fit my shape
The question of joy it’s haunting my mind
Is there a flame that doesn’t unwind
I’ve searched the stars I’ve searched my sin
But maybe joy begins within
The question of joy I carry its weight
Could it be love could it be fate
What if joy’s not found in thrill
But in a heart that’s standing still
The question of joy I ask it still
And maybe that longing is part of His will
I haven’t answered I haven’t won
But the search feels like it’s just begun
The question of joy it’s fire and breath
And I’ll chase it down through life and death
Built to Seek
From the cradle to the grave
We’re chasing something we can’t name
In every win in every ache
In every song the heartbreak makes
We reach for more we always do
It’s like the empty points to You
This restless pulse this open sky
Wasn’t made to just get by
We were built to seek not just survive
There’s fire in the soul that keeps it alive
We long for joy we crave the real
We’re shaped to need what we can’t steal
The ache ain’t wrong it’s just too deep
We were built to seek
We were built to seek
We chase the wind in every age
We write our hopes on every page
But pleasure fades and power slips
And none of it can seal the lips
When silence falls and lights go down
The soul still cries without a sound
But maybe longing is a sign
That joy’s not lost just not yet mine
We were built to seek not just survive
There’s fire in the soul that keeps it alive
We long for joy we crave the real
We’re shaped to need what we can’t steal
The ache ain’t wrong it’s just too deep
We were built to seek
If there’s no joy then why the ache
Why the thirst no drink can break
We were built to seek that’s what we are
Carved by longing led by stars
The hunger points the questions burn
Until we see what won’t unlearn
It’s not a flaw it’s how we breathe
We were built
Built to seek
The Feast of Words
We sat around the table low
No kings no crowns just firelight glow
No feast of wine or meat to spare
But every soul was full in there
We broke no bread we sang no song
But truth was passed the whole night long
The feast of words it fed us deep
More than the harvest more than sleep
We laughed and thought we cried and knew
That joy can live in what is true
No silver plates no golden chords
Just hearts alive at the feast of words
August winds and gentle rain
Tapped the roof like a soft refrain
And in that room a question stirred
Is joy not found in spoken word
And when the silence made its place
We saw the Light behind each face
The feast of words it fed us deep
More than the harvest more than sleep
We laughed and thought we cried and knew
That joy can live in what is true
No silver plates no golden chords
Just hearts alive at the feast of words
A mother’s gaze a friend’s reply
A soul that asks and won’t deny
The feast of words we’ll eat again
Where joy and truth don’t ever end
Not every meal is bread and wine
Some are woven into time
The world may mock what it ignores
But joy was born at the feast of words
False Flames
I chased the shine of gold and fame
Built castles high in someone else’s name
But every time I touched the prize
It turned to smoke before my eyes
The world can sparkle bold and bright
But not everything that glows is light
False flames they burn and fade
Promising warmth but never stay
They light the path but lead to night
They dance like joy but dodge the fight
I learned too late but still I came
To walk away from false flames
I dressed in pride I dined on praise
Thought pleasure’d heal my hollow days
But comfort never answered pain
It numbed the truth then left a stain
The louder thrills the faster gain
All left me dry in sweeter rain
False flames they burn and fade
Promising warmth but never stay
They light the path but lead to night
They dance like joy but dodge the fight
I learned too late but still I came
To walk away from false flames
If it won’t last it isn’t love
If it can die it’s not enough
I want the fire that won’t go cold
The joy the fools can’t buy or hold
False flames they flicker fast
But joy was never made to pass
Now I seek what stays what sings
Beyond the touch of dying things
The truth caught fire and called my name
So I let go of false flames
Eternal Ain’t Elsewhere
I used to think the good was far
Beyond the moon beyond a star
Like joy was locked behind some gate
And only death could make me late
But what if light is not that shy
What if forever walks nearby
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s here in the flame
In truth that burns and won’t play games
It’s not just heaven someday soon
It’s grace that hums in afternoon
Don’t have to climb don’t have to chase
The changeless good still meets this place
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s now it’s near
And maybe joy’s already here
It’s in the stillness of the mind
When all the lies get left behind
It’s not a myth it’s not a guess
It’s peace that grows in brokenness
The world will fade the years will bend
But joy begins where God won’t end
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s here in the flame
In truth that burns and won’t play games
It’s not just heaven someday soon
It’s grace that hums in afternoon
Don’t have to climb don’t have to chase
The changeless good still meets this place
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s now it’s near
And maybe joy’s already here
The timeless lives inside today
And whispers while the world fades gray
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s close it’s deep
It’s truth that pain could never keep
It lives in silence lives in song
It’s been inside me all along
I thought I’d find it after death
But it was hiding in my breath
Eternal ain’t elsewhere it’s always been
And joy begins where I begin
The Turn Within
I walked a thousand roads outside
Chased every star let ego ride
I filled my hands with fleeting gold
But nothing quieted the cold
Then in the hush between my sighs
I heard a voice that never lies
The turn within that’s where it starts
Not in the world but in the heart
I looked out there for something more
But joy was waiting at my core
No shining gate no distant spin
Just truth unlocked by turning in
I used to think the self was small
A shell a ghost a final call
But You were there behind the doubt
A light I couldn’t live without
It wasn’t loud it wasn’t grand
But I met joy by my own hand
The turn within that’s where it starts
Not in the world but in the heart
I looked out there for something more
But joy was waiting at my core
No shining gate no distant spin
Just truth unlocked by turning in
You carved a door beneath my skin
And whispered Child come back again
The turn within it took me years
To face the light behind my fears
But now I know what’s always been
That joy begins
With the turn within
Only the Wise Are Happy
The fool keeps laughing loud and long
But something in the joy feels wrong
He’s drunk on now blind to the thread
That pulls the heart where truth has bled
Not every smile means peace inside
Not every thrill can be your guide
Only the wise are happy the kind who see
That joy is more than being free
It’s walking slow with eyes made clear
It’s holding truth when storms draw near
The fools may dance the rich may roar
But wisdom opens joy’s true door
Only the wise are happy
The world sells joy in plastic forms
But never teaches how it’s born
It starts in silence grows through pain
And sees in loss what love can gain
It isn’t found through strength or speed
But in the one who knows his need
Only the wise are happy not just amused
But anchored deep and rarely bruised
They’ve seen through masks they’ve dropped the chase
They find the good in every place
No stage or crowd no sudden score
Just joy that hums beneath the floor
Only the wise are happy
The fool says joy is mine to take
The wise give thanks and never fake
Only the wise are happy and I still learn
How slow the soul must sometimes turn
But wisdom waits where pride won’t go
And joy will grow when truth says so
I’ve chased enough now I adore
The kind of joy the wise restore
Only the wise
Only the wise are happy
Joy Ain’t a Feeling
I used to think it came and went
Like weather moods or money spent
A passing thrill a spike of light
But gone before the second night
But something deeper wouldn’t shake
A joy that held when I would break
Joy ain’t a feeling it’s a flame
It stays when nothing feels the same
Not every smile is where it starts
It’s rooted deeper in the heart
It walks through sorrow grows through loss
It’s shaped by truth it bears a cross
Joy ain’t just high or healing
No joy ain’t a feeling
It doesn’t vanish with the dark
It lingers soft beneath the spark
It’s not the shout or sudden cheer
It’s being known and drawing near
I’ve laughed in pain I’ve wept in peace
But joy has held when both would cease
Joy ain’t a feeling it’s a flame
It stays when nothing feels the same
Not every smile is where it starts
It’s rooted deeper in the heart
It walks through sorrow grows through loss
It’s shaped by truth it bears a cross
Joy ain’t just high or healing
No joy ain’t a feeling
It’s not a mood it’s not a thrill
It’s presence when the world stands still
Joy ain’t a feeling it’s something more
It knocks in silence at your door
It doesn’t need a perfect day
To lift your heart in quiet praise
It lives in ashes lives in dawn
It holds you when all else is gone
Joy ain’t just high or healing
No
Joy ain’t a feeling
The Light That Lasts
I’ve seen the lights that fade at dawn
The kind you chase then find they’re gone
The gold that rusts the flames that die
The laughter that don’t tell you why
But deep beneath the turning years
There’s something burning past my fears
The light that lasts it don’t decay
It shines through storm and slips through gray
It isn’t bought it isn’t earned
It’s where the soul has always turned
It doesn’t blind it doesn’t boast
It finds you when you need it most
No shadow stands no darkness grasps
The light the light that lasts
It’s not a show it’s not a spark
It’s steady fire in the dark
When all the lesser lights grow thin
That’s when the real one draws you in
No imitation no disguise
Just truth that never ever dies
The light that lasts it don’t decay
It shines through storm and slips through gray
It isn’t bought it isn’t earned
It’s where the soul has always turned
It doesn’t blind it doesn’t boast
It finds you when you need it most
No shadow stands no darkness grasps
The light the light that lasts
The world will flicker time will bend
But this is joy that doesn’t end
The light that lasts it calls me home
When I feel tired when I feel alone
It knows my name it holds my days
It never fades it never frays
So let the fires of earth burn past
I’ll walk in
The light that lasts
We Sat and Laughed
No stage no crowd no urgent plan
Just me and friends the sky the land
We spoke of joy we spoke of truth
And somewhere there we found our youth
Not in escape not in disguise
But in the light behind our eyes
We sat and laughed not just for fun
But cause we knew the race was run
Not all was solved not all was right
But peace had come and stayed the night
No need to win no need to prove
Just hearts at rest in sacred groove
We sat
We sat and laughed
My mother smiled her wisdom bare
She saw the good beneath the care
A moment passed the kind that stays
Like holy echoes in the haze
The truth had come not dressed in flame
But in the warmth of knowing names
We sat and laughed not out of pride
But cause the joy had come inside
Not through success not perfect days
But just by walking wisdom’s ways
The world can break the winds can move
But joy holds firm when rooted true
We sat
We sat and laughed
And maybe this is what we crave
A feast of hearts that truth can save
We sat and laughed and joy was near
Not in control but drawing clear
A table low a sky so wide
And souls at peace with nothing to hide
No need for more no need for math
We simply lived
We sat and laughed
Fove Precantes, Trinitas
The stars are high the fire is low
We’ve searched the depths we didn’t know
We asked for joy we named our ache
Now all that’s left is what You make
We’ve tried we’ve learned we’ve let it be
And turned our hearts to mystery
Fove precantes Trinitas
Hold us gently as we pass
Through every night and every flame
You are the joy You are the Name
Fove precantes Trinitas
Our seeking fades but You will last
My mother prayed her voice was light
She sang the dark into the bright
Not with pride and not with proof
But just a word that held the truth
And now I see what she had known
That joy is found when we’re not alone
Fove precantes Trinitas
Hold us gently as we pass
Through every night and every flame
You are the joy You are the Name
Fove precantes Trinitas
Our seeking fades but You will last
Let us ask Christ and the Father
And the Spirit who binds them in love
One God mighty over all
O Trinity cherish those who pray
Fove precantes
Fove precantes