The 1975 Lyrics by The 1975
We are right now
In the beginning of a climate
And ecological crisis,
And we need to call it
What it is: an emergency.
We must acknowledge
That we do not have
The situation under control,
And that we don’t have
All the solutions yet;
Unless those solutions mean that
We simply stop doing
Certain things.
We must admit that we are losing
This battle.
We have to acknowledge
That the older generations
Have failed.
All political movements
In their present form
Have failed, but homo sapiens
Have not yet failed.
Yes, we are failing,
But there is still time to turn
Everything around.
We can still fix this.
We still have everything
In our own hands,
But unless we recognise
The overall failures of
Our current systems,
We most probably
Don’t stand a chance.
We are facing a disaster
Of unspoken sufferings
For enormous amounts of people,
And now is not the time
For speaking politely or
Focusing on
What we can or cannot say.
Now is the time
To speak clearly.
Solving the climate crisis
Is the greatest
And most complex challenge
That homo sapiens
Have ever faced.
The main solution, however,
Is so simple that even
A small child can understand it:
We have to stop our emissions of
Greenhouse gases, and either
We do that, or we don’t.
You say that nothing
In life is black or white,
But that is a lie,
A very dangerous lie.
Either we prevent a 1.5 degree
Of warming, or we don’t;
Either we avoid setting off
That irreversible chain reaction
Beyond human control,
Or we don’t;
Either we choose to go on
As a civilization, or we don’t.
That is as black or white
As it gets
Because there are no grey areas
When it comes to survival.
Now we all have a choice:
We can create transformational
Action that will
Safeguard the living conditions
For future generations,
Or we can continue
With our business as usual
And fail.
That is up to you and me.
And yes, we need a system change
Rather than individual change,
But you cannot have one
Without the other.
If you look through history,
All the big changes in
Society have been started
By people at the grassroots
Level-people like you and me.
So, I ask you to please wake up
And make the changes required
Possible. To do your best
Is no longer good enough.
We must all do
The seemingly impossible.
Today,
We use about 100 million barrels
Of oil every single day.
There are no politics
To change that;
There are no rules to keep
That oil in the ground.
So, we can no longer
Save the world by playing
By the rules, because the rules
Have to be changed.
Everything needs to change,
And it has to start today.
So, everyone out there,
It is now time
For civil disobedience.
It is time to rebel.