We Lived on a Planet
We lived on a planet so full of wonder and despair
Of beauty and neglect, and hopelessness and care
An ever shifting landscape, a never ending slide
Too busy to look up for the things we hold inside
Greed was our god and we fed him every day
A warm and fuzzy feeling, till it came the time to pay
You see, we traded bits of paper for the things we loved so dear
Two weeks in the sun, a new smartphone and some beer
We had these politicians who looked after us so well
And yes, I’m being sarcastic, as if you couldn’t tell
The papers told us stories and we gobbled up each bite
No need to check for truth because it’s more than likely right
We filled up the sky with crazy horses till we choked
Then laughed at anybody who suggested there was hope
The seas were full of things that we didn’t need no more
Like plastic bags and chemicals, Oh, and did I mention war?
We fought for bits of land that held the world’s resources
And put up border signs, protected by armed forces
We thought it was important to maintain the status quo
If there was another way, it’s not one that we’d know
So we plodded on regardless with the knowledge we’d been told
A race for life and trappings, and a pension when we’re old
We thought it was important to have one more than the others
To feed ourselves to gluttony and stay under the covers
See, we didn’t really need other people any more
Anything we didn’t have could be delivered to your door
The only things we didn’t have were the things that you can’t ration
Like empathy and hope, integrity, compassion
Society was broken, people just didn’t care
That some were starving on the streets, and some were billionaires
The values of our forebears had long since flown adrift
And the wonders of our world, no longer thought to be a gift
So Mother Earth fought back, she thought she might inspire us
She made us all slow down with a rather nasty virus
It might all seem quite harsh, maybe hard to believe
But what was she supposed to do? She couldn’t even breathe
The governments said “just keep calm, it’s all under control
Watch the daily briefings and we’ll give you the death toll”
They viewed them just as numbers, and were slow to hatch a plan
And exposed us all to covid, every woman, child and man
Then they put us into lockdown, and said to stay at home
Unless you’re with the NHS, you guys can just keep on going
They couldn’t pay them extra, they were classified ‘unskilled’
They’d send them plenty PPE, once the order was fulfilled
And this was the same message, from far and distant lands
Science can only take us so far, you’ll need to wash your hands
“We’re working on a vaccine but it’s some way down the line,
Meanwhile try some bleach, and build yourself a shrine
So the spring of 2020 was spent in every nation
Working from the kitchen table, in social isolation
Keeping a safe distance when we ventured out of doors
On cycle paths and woodland walks, no longer ‘such a bore’
See, They closed down all the restaurants and the pubs and barbers too
You couldn’t get a haircut, or a piercing, or tattoo
They closed down all all the factories , we didn’t have to worry
Unless you worked for Amazon, they got back in a hurry
They told us “Don’t visit your granddad, and leave you mum alone
Your new communication modes are zoom, and skype and phone
You can go out for provisions as long as it’s essential
But keep your distance, stay away, this thing’s environmental
But we’re human. We adapt to every situation
And pretty soon a kind of calm, broke out across the nation
A sort of peace, or acceptance that we’d never be the same
We spoke to our neighbours, and went online for fame
Musicians played free online concerts and poets read their musings
Kids were schooled at home, ha, that must have been amusing
I think it was about that time, we began to realise
Our world was run on selfishness, and hate, and fear and lies
But would the people rise up? Would they dare to rearrange
Well, half of us had already been crying out for change
Would we have the courage to stand up for what’s right
Or would we go back to the good old days, without putting up a fight
Well, that’s one for another time, the point I’m trying to make
Is that we can all still slow down, still have that 60 minute break
And maybe if we listen hard enough, and stop to feel the breeze
We could hear the birds singing, and notice all the trees
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