From the recording See the Lights LP1
Set in a dystopian future when it is no longer possible to live on the earth because of climate change and war, one survivor decides that it is better to leave this futile new reality to be reunited somehow with a lost love as there appears to be no future other than perpetual loneliness.
The text is written as the last entry of a diary in which there is mention of the failure to address the issues of global warming, plastic waste, self-interest and complacency.
Inspired by the short story, „The Machine Stops“ by EM Forster (1909).
This is the most complicated song I have released so far with different rhythms (3/4, 4/4 and 7/4) and speeds, with the aim of giving different moods to the song ranging from drifting through space to anger and frustration, with a very final ending which should be the wake-up call….end of the dream, or the beginning of the reality?.
CREDITS:
Steve Lewis - lyrics, music, vocals, cellos, guitars, basses, mandolines, drum programming. Home studio.
Michael Krebs - mixing and effects, UNSAS®️ Studio Potsdam. https://www.christoph-nichelmann.de
Milan Holz - mastering, https://m-studio@gmx.net
Lyrics
I fall asleep. My last journey.
Into the great unknown.
But I am not afraid
I am coming to find you.
In my dream we could not save the planet.
Nobody listened. You were gone.
I wanted to be free……
Is there someone I can write to, about the weather events since 22
I have a right to state my point of view, though I’ve sat on the fence like the others do.
Too hot or cold, nothing was normal, like the climate had become hormonal.
This should have been a wake up call, not a muted alarm bell down the hall
It was clear at the start of the century, that the future of the planet was in jeopardy
We thought with increasing uncertainty. We were in control of our destiny
But on the journey to net zero. Nobody wants to be the hero
Promises made at every climate meeting, but how can words stop the overheating?
I’m sick and tired of people who’ve got nothing to say, and let the planet die a little every day.
I’m sick and tired of waiting for sustainable change not driven by financial gain,
I’m sick and tired because nobody seems to care. We can’t even breathe the air.
I’m sick and tired of the plastic sea, bigger than France and Germany
I urge you to find a real solution Before the glaciers melt and we choke from pollution
Save our planet for the next generation. Stop this procrastination.
How can we say we are really helping when we drive our cars when the ice is melting.
Tell everyone we can’t pretend that all is ok. This is the end.
I wake up from the longest dream. Drifting past places where I have never been
Many years have passed me by. The war is over but the rivers are dry.
Where did you go? I’m all alone above the earth in my orbital home
So what happens when this machine dies? I’ll be free to look for you in clearer skies
Far away from this desolate place. I’ll look for you in a state of grace
Close your eyes. No time to weep. Think of better times and drift off to sleep
Fading away
See the lights
Coming closer
I’m sick and tired of people who’ve got nothing to say, and let the planet die a little every day.
I’m sick and tired of waiting for sustainable change not driven by financial gain,
I’m sick and tired because nobody seems to care. We can’t even breathe the air.
I’m sick and tired of the plastic sea, bigger than France and Germany