Perishable Expert

[Intro: Glass harmonica]
They call me an expert.
I hope they don't ask about yesterday.

[Verse 1]
I spent years understanding
All the things I love to teach
Now a dozen new inventions
Put the answers out of reach

Everybody wants an explanation
Spoken with authority
But sometimes I am learning
Just ahead of those who listen

[Pre-Chorus: Fragile harmonies]
I can say I understand
Or admit I'm learning too

[Chorus: Soaring syncopated melody]
I'm a perishable expert
With an expiration date
Every certainty I publish
Has a chance to mutate
But the value isn't knowing
Every answer in advance
It's the willingness to question
And the courage to adapt

[Verse 2]
There's a pride in being trusted
There's a pressure in the praise
When the thing that made you valuable
Might be different in a day

[Bridge: Time signatures shift]
(What changed?)
(Let me see)
(What's next?)
(Ask with me)

[Final Chorus: Expanding harmonies]
I'm a perishable expert
And I'm finally learning why
Being wrong about tomorrow
Doesn't cancel what I've tried
I can teach the art of learning
Not the certainty of facts

[Outro: Quiet twelve-string guitar]
I don't know.
Let's find out.