Had not heard this song much, but stumbled on it today.
Maybe just a down day, but reading the lyrics while listening was beautiful, devastating, and terrifying.
Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other’s heart for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in the moment they were swept before the deluge
Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal it’s secrets by and by
By and by…
When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other’s heart for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love’s bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in the moment they were swept before the deluge
Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal it’s secrets by and by
By and by…
When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky
Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of her fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge
Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal it’s secrets by and by
By and by…
When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky
Excellent song!
“When the light that’s lost within us reaches the sky” I’ve heard this song many, many times, and never read what is in that lyric. Thank you.
All these years later, its beginning to ‘filter’ into more general songwriting. Here, at min 3:30, country singer Tim McGraw sings “When it’s hot, eat a root beer popsicle/Shut off the AC and roll the windows down/Let that summer sun shine/Always stay humble and kind”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awzNHuGqoMc
wow thanks for that. let’s see if I can make wordpress display it
“When you get you’re going, don’t forget to turn back around. Help the next one in line. Always be humble and kind”.
The political culture of this country would do well to disown any endorsement or commentary from the likes of Ted Nugent, and encourage more messages like this one.
The “political culture” of this country (as well as all the other “cultures” you can identify) needs to get its collective head out of its ass and pay attention ONLY to the scientific truth.
Don’t want to insult all you music lovers, poets, philosophers, and navel gazers out there, but all this “humans are special and wonderful because we sing and have pretty thoughts” is actually just more quasi-religious self-serving bullshit, and just a few steps removed from the crap spewed by the bible-thumpers.
The game is entering the final innings, Nature Bats Last, and she is over there on the sidelines warming up with a huge bat. When she finally steps up to the plate, the little ball that is the presence of the human species on this planet is going to be knocked out of the solar system.
(Ooops, I forgot—–Musk is going to save the species by colonizing Mars, and Cruz is going to help him by diverting NASA funds away from earth study to deep space exploration. All hail to Saint Elon and Lucifer Cruz!)
Yeah… for sure time is short.
A nice first step would be for the GOP to disown clowns like Nugent, clinging to fearful notions aimed at other tribes of humans and get behind more humane and sensible messages. There isn’t much time to grow up and face our problems, but at least we could get to the point where folks would at least begrudgingly agree to do what is needed.
Beautiful, devastating and terrifying…. also describes the film I just got back from: “How to Let Go of the World, and Love what Climate Can’t Change”, by award-winner Josh Fox. Two hrs of visiting native peoples, Chinese, Climate scientists like Michael Mann, activists like Tim deChristopher, and many others, with their stories and science. Brought tears, for sure.
There’s a lot that resonates in there, thanks.
This is another one of my favourites:
There is unrest in the forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas
The trouble with the maples
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the maples
Can’t be happy in their shade
There is trouble in the forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the maples scream ‘Oppression!’
And the oaks just shake their heads
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights
‘The oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light’
Now there’s no more oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe and saw
Still one of my favourite Peter Gabriel songs, haunting lyrics and melody although the meaning is, according to PG, about reading each others thoughts.
Thanks for musical break after your cracking pace, after reading some readers ideas in earlier posts, this song echoes in my mind. Where’s the E-P when you need him. ??????
https://youtu.be/j-_k5sO2jqM
Another music break post that draws more attention than have some past “serious science” posts. A thought—-are the good guys missing out by not using the music video/comic book/video game/apps world to spread the AGW message?
Since so many “modern” humans seem to spend so much time in these “dream worlds” (especially the younger set) and don’t pursue the science-economics-politics-psychology-history behind AGW in any depth, it might behoove Steyer and DiCaprio and other rich folk in the “entertainment” business to devote some resources to influencing the lemmings in this way. Pay Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift etc. to make music videos on AGW and the environment.
That could then be the basis of the “news” we see on TMZ, Access Hollywood, and Entertainment Tonight—-catch the mindless droolers as they watch those shows. Better yet, spend some of those $$$ to develop a nightly “AGW TMZ”—-I’d bet that some companies would buy advertising and help keep it afloat.
I figured DiCaprio would have already been partnering to make a high-profile fiction movie that would possibly chronicle the lives of folks in a future business as usual scenario with maybe some methane feedback thrown in (possibly a slightly higher than middle of road scenario). It could be an entertaining movie, for sure, but with the consultation of the scientists and bulk of research, really flesh out a scenario to give it life. ABC’s documentary “Earth:2100” and the “6 Degrees” doc based on the Lynas book didn’t exactly get people talking.
The World War Z book was very popular, and the movie was OK, but if cheesy zombie apocalypse, 2012, or Day After Tomorrow scenario can draw the crowds, I can’t imagine a real scenario couldn’t as well. Then again, maybe these types of movies are what our psychology uses to ignore our real troubles.
That’s a good point a lot of youngsters (and oldsters too) dwell in a virtual reality world, these days, even driver directions for routes are given from on-board computerized/GPS’s. I know the Potsdam Institute have made a few quality children’s books (some are free of charge). Just hope that concerned parents acquire them for their offspring. Also there are quite a few playstation games, just not sure if they sufficiently exciting to attract older kids to buy. It is a difficult message to get any enthusiasm about. A lot of people simply don’t seem to care, they just deflect the subject when you even raise and discuss it. They just want to acquire more and more attractive possessions. Maybe our marketing age of consumerism has been too well studied and been too successful . I just don’t know the answer, just trust in organizations like the U.N. If the U.S (the most powerful democracy in the world) vote for Trump or the other denier guy, after having such an outstanding president like Obama, I will be truly dispirited and flabbergasted. Maybe I am even a different species from the voters.
About one of the Potsdam books, . . .
“Alice, the Zeta Cat and Climate Change”: A fairytale about the truth
“This lovely book, which should have the widest possible reach, tells the epic climate-change story in terms of a ‘fairytale about the truth’,”
https://www.pik-potsdam.de/news/press-releases/201calice-the-zeta-cat-and-climate-change201d-a-fairytale-about-the-truth
This excellent comic book is free, downloadable or order-able. I remember Prof Stefan Rahmstorf mentioning one that has been translated into many different languages, and think has his own input in the book. Can’t remember the title but will try and find it. regards redsky
http://www.wbgu.de/en/comic-transformation/
The Prof Stefan Rahmstorf children’s science book on climate change was called “Clouds, Wind, and Weather” (voted Environmental Book of the Year 2012).
Well, while we are sharing, here is a metal tune/video as an outlet for you frustration. Disturbed from a few years back.
*your frustration
While we’re in that mood…
My own favourite environmental anthem – Pink Floyd’s “Sorrow”, inspired by Steinbeck “Grapes of Wrath”, but capable of a much wider interpretation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKNlGfkyhc
The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land
Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky
A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking
He’s haunted by the memory of a lost paradise
In his youth or a dream, he can’t be precise
He’s chained forever to a world that’s departed
It’s not enough, it’s not enough
His blood has frozen & curdled with fright
His knees have trembled & given way in the night
His hand has weakened at the moment of truth
His step has faltered
One world, one soul
Time pass, the river rolls
And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
And silent replies that swirl invitation
Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
A grim intimation of what is to be
There’s an unceasing wind that blows through this night
And there’s dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight
And silence that speaks so much louder than words
Of promises broken