Baba Brinkman - Darwin's Acid lyrics

In 1859 Darwin spilled the first splashes
Of his universal acid
And the effects were like magic
Burning human arrogance into ashes
In pretty much the same way
That Copernican math did
No, the stars don’t shine just to
Improve the view from earth
No, we’re not the centre of the universe
No, we weren’t created in
The image of Jupiter
No, we’re not so special, and yes
The truth hurts
But that’s how evolution works –
Once it’s been applied
The acid burns into the superstitious side
Of the human mind, and fills it with light
It even dissolves the original sin of pride
The pride that says: "I’m a special creation
And my creator has given
Me dominion over nature and he has the power


To replenish his creatures
So if species go extinct
He can recreate them later
And if he doesn’t
Well that’s just part of his plan"
Ah, but Darwin’s acid is hard to withstand
It plucks the arrogance deep from
Within the hearts of man
And teaches us never to build
Our houses on sand but instead to try to
Understand why we’re here
One species among millions in this biosphere
Each with millions of ancestors
Whose fighting spirit's
Combined to give us this great survival gear

These minds, these limbs
These incredible tools
Perfected by millennia of competitive use
And yes, these attention-seeking genitals too
Without them
These living forms could never improve
It’s such an elegant view
Full of breadth and grandeur and yet
Some people react with depression and anger

Like: "It’s so unsympathetic
So viciously random!
What’s the point of compassion
Or ethical standards? If this is just a game
That organisms are trapped in
Genetically adapting to environmental factors
Then there’s no responsibility
For individual actions!
Where’s the governing dynamic?!"
Well, once again Darwin gives us some answers
He says yes, everything from violence to
Violets to viruses
Consists of organisms adapting
To environments if you’re alive
It’s because your ancestors were
The best survivalists
They were the finalists in
The genetic Olympic Games
Every one of your ancestors
Lived to reproductive age
And they were all better than
Their competitors at getting laid
Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here today
There’s something inspirational in this
Vision of Darwin’s
And it goes like this: organisms
Like us – are not isolated
Organisms are part of an environmental mix
So your decisions affect evolution
– it isn’t directionless
Now, before you dismiss me
As a mad environmentalist
Just try to imagine how
Natural selection applies
To countries that have industrialized
Companies live and companies die
And when customers buy based on
A company’s green plan
That affects the economy
Just ask Alan Greenspan
Cultural evolution is ours to reinvent
Wait, can we affect current
Events? Yes We Can and when we choose who to
Sleep with and reproduce
Our sexual choices affect the gene pool
So it’s simple, all we need to do is refuse
To sleep with mean people
And things will improve
Especially women – on you
The pressure is greater
‘Cause men will always do what it
Takes to get into your favour
That’s just in our nature
So if selfish behaviour
Was a sexual graveyard
The effects would be major!

In each of these cases
Our intentional efforts
Can play the part of environmental pressures
I can say: "This is a
Space where a peaceful existence
Will never be threatened
By needless aggression"
I can say: "This is an
Ecosystem where people listen
Where justice increases over egotism
This is a space where
Religions achieve co-existence
And racism decreases with each coalition"
This is my vision of Darwinism
And how we all factor in
Each of us is a part of
The environment we pass through it
And change it
And affect the way that others adapt to it
And after we get to look back
And see how we impacted it
And maybe have a laugh if our
Sense of humour is still alive
And what did Charles Darwin do?
Darwin threw some light
On the origin of mankind
And he left us with skewered pride
But he taught us that, yes
There’s grandeur in this view of life