[Verse 1]
If you want a heart of sympathy
Then pray to God to help you, please
See the world that Jesus sees
Yeah
[Verse 2]
But be careful what you ask Him for
Cause if you’re gonna open up that door
There’s no going back to before
[Verse 3]
Cause once you see a mother who can’t feed
The baby that cries in her arms
Your heart will break and you’ll lay awake
No, sleep won’t come quick anymore
So do you want to know?
[Verse 4]
You pass him on the way to work
He holds a sign beside the curb
You look away and avoid the hurt
[Verse 5]
Cause why should you be held responsible
Besides, he’ll probably just spend it all
On cigarettes and alcohol
[Verse 6]
But once you see that the man on the street
Has a name and a family like you
Your heart will break and you’ll lay awake
Cause you’ll understand God loves him, too
So do you want to know?
Oh, no
[Verse 7]
If you want a heart of sympathy
Then pray to God to help you see
[Verse 8]
But once you see a world that’s in need
And a sorrow you just can’t ignore
Your heart’s gonna break and you’ll lay awake
Cause you’ll know you could do so much more
Do you want to know?
Do You Want To Know
Song Meaning
Josh Wilson builds "Do You Want To Know" around a warning rather than an invitation — praying for compassion isn't framed as a safe request, since "there's no going back to before" once that prayer is answered. The song works through two specific cases rather than a general appeal: a mother who can't feed her child, and a man holding a sign on the roadside that most people walk past without looking at directly.
Wilson keeps naming the ordinary excuses that let people avoid that second case — "why should you be held responsible," the assumption the money would just go to waste — before undercutting them with a simple fact: the man has "a name and a family like you." The refrain's repeated question, "so do you want to know?", isn't rhetorical; it treats real compassion as something that costs sleep and comfort, not just good intentions.
The closing verse widens the lens from two individuals to "a world that's in need," making clear the song was never really about isolated cases — it's asking whether the listener actually wants their heart to break for what breaks God's, knowing that once it does, indifference stops being an option.