Hell Or High Water

Hi, neighbour
Nice day, but might rain yet
And by the way, climate change makes a great icebreaker
Hope you don't mind if I say what's on my mind lately
You do?
Well, I hate being the guy to break it to you

But humankind ain't advice takers by nature
We're stuck to our ways like stubborn bugs to flypaper
Rising tides aren't quite so high when spied from skyscrapers
So we'll keep making money now and decide how to survive later

We'll be fine, we're primates, with a migratory mind state
But where do you relocate to when you can't find a dry acre?
It's so polluted though that you've no hope to hydrate here
Entire states lie in waste, the change is night and day

This type of failure's kinda major, but, hey, that's the price we pay
For infinite growth inside a finite place
Isn't it gross? Revenue became our entire life's aim
Looks like the only way we'll learn to change our ways is via pain

When the levee breaks through, then it's fairly late to
Regret every mistake you may have ever made
Come hell or high water, we'd better make a change
Why I ought to, well, but then again

Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
Funny how the flood is spreading as if it's a flame
And the heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
See, never will the sea level ever be the same

I remember civilisation started to creak at the seams
It seemed increasingly frequent to see the freakiest scenes
Streets full of people ceased to be peaceful, there was bleeding and screams
As they received beatings from eager police for breaching the peace

Here we see freedom in freefall, I mean, is there even a need for thieving to eat
Or is it merely more evil and greed?
We've all ignored the awkward things that we've seen on our feed
But now they're written in your floods of tears, so read them and weep

See the double meaning to "we're in it deep"?
But inner demons and beasts? We can leave them deceased
We don't need them now that even our seasons have ceased
At least seasonal depression has no reason to be

But now, the sea's at our feet, we're feeling weak at the knees
It's either gills or survival skills we'll need just to breathe
It's getting wetter and we'd better do better
But if there's one thing to bring people together, it's immediate pressure

It's such a deep dilemma for the complete beginner
How did the dove of peace become a piece of meat for dinner?
Just pull off the beak and feathers, now, come on, let's eat together
Roast it over open flames so the taste is even better

Seven deadly sins end in several deadly plagues
Yet never did we know: was our co-architect the end of days?
Everything we've ever made buried under waves
Guess they're sending us a genesis to get our penance paid

Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
Every day we wade in, we play a deadly game
Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
We'd better have a game plan better than merely praying

Why do we need to pick between unity and liberty
If it seems whatever team you tick will lead to misery?
To disbelieve truth is easy if you choose to disagree
Though pictures of its pitfalls litter all of human history

Old worlds sink beneath the new, at least initially
'Til it repeats and it repeats and it re— jeez!
Look overhead! The Sun's corona's thrown a solar flare!
The comms are blown up, thus, there's no numbers to phone repair

So prepare for hold-ups, all the bumpy road ahead
And shadows that are so intense you won't detect a polar bear
All progress frozen for a moment there, so unfair
Au contraire though, mon frère, there's hope, don't despair

Let's set the record straight — you're getting maced with "face it" pepper spray
Best set up base, this is the day for which the preppers pray
Unless they face the lesson that the desolation's there to stay
It ain't a getaway or lazy daydream on a bed of hay

Best not get up late, we're set in our ascetic ways
And when there isn't anaesthetic, antiseptic, sepsis takes
Interest in your intestines with a kiss to take your breath away
So, let's assess the question, eh? Maybe there's a better way?

Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
Funny how the flood is spreading as if it's a flame
And the heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
See, never will the sea level ever be the same

Seven deadly sins end in several deadly plagues
Yet never did we know: was our co-architect the end of days?
Everything we've ever made buried under waves
Guess they're sending us a genesis to get our penance paid

Gather round the campfire, now, how to even start this?
We're running out of gaslight, but carry on regardless
Funny how we'll only see it now we're in the darkness
Salaries and spas flipped to tragedy and hardship

Our values fell after we sank the flooded markets
So now we're bound to starve unless we gather in the harvest
And that's the legacy we left: a planetary carcass
Now we're merely stardust, aren't we bloody marvellous?

You know it's nothing advanced: you've so much blood on your hands
These flows are flooding your lands, sunk your boat and scuppered your plants
And only after the catastrophic event occurs, you go
"Oh, so that's probably what I should have done to prevent it first"

We need a rebirth to appease Earth
I plead that you heed these words, each verse
I didn't mean to flood this beat with such a deep dirge
But beneath the heat lurks a hunger that'll feed thirst

I'll jump in feet first: I want to see this earth
Reimbursed for each hurt that we deemed to be worth
Inflicting terror on our victim, terra should be being nursed
But ever since we started living on it seems cursed

We birds tweet, perched on the steep verge of a ravine
Verdant leaves, fir trees, sweet birch and green ferns
Then deny the fact the fire's happening despite the fact we see it burn
Like, "Ah, there's been worse!", 'kin Lee Hurst

We need to reverse the mentality of "me first"
I'm telling you, humanity could either be a brief burst
Or we could reach further than we'd even rehearsed
A valiant crew that's gallant to the planet in which we serve

Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
Every day we wade in, we play a deadly game
Heavy rain, ever so heavy rain
We'd better have a game plan better than merely praying

When the levee breaks through, then it's fairly late to
Regret every mistake you may have ever made
Come hell or high water, we'd better make a change
Why I ought to, well, but then again