Dan Bull - Civilization lyrics

We learned to band together and endeavor
Clasp our hands together
Man developed language, letters
An incredible advantage
Getting plans together
But would we stand the test of time
Against the planet's reckless climate
And it's angry weather?

Spread the sails
And head west against the gales
And storms aboard Norse longboats
With decks as dense as nails
Our aim was riding waves
And finding, claiming strange horizons
Invading islands
Native populations slain with violence
Enslaved and made to aim skyward
Think of bigger things - sphinxes, pyramids
Raise them high in the
Name of different kings


The different things we've held sacred
Divine through places and times
The range of supplications and rites
Through ages we find nations arise
As old civilizations crumble to dust
Becoming strangers in time, waiting to die
Replaced in the night
The day breaks and the light changes
Illuminating newer human faces as fights rage
The human race is facing the might
Of righteous states who would write
The history books even if it
Took a knife's blade to find the right page
Sengoku Jidai men offered to die
For the honor of a warrior's life

The sun's coming and we're watching it rise
As a new era's here, it's as solid as iron
Pull the tongs from the fire
Strike the hammer to the anvil
Craft a weapon to bring an
Enemy to a standstill
The blacksmith is the wizard that gives us
These powers - devour enemies
Leaping down from the siege towers
The better the tech is
The lesser the effort to wreck it
The less time to see their eyes
And feel sympathetic never regret it
A true knight never stays a true blade
Never says touché
But would forever lay in blue
Rays of weathered glades
To demonstrate his never-ending dedication
To the crusade reformation through flame
And after the cremation is a new age
Time's quill is quick to spill it's
Ink onto a new page

The faces are the same as when in days gone
But brains are cultivated thus creating
The Renaissance
We're still using steel tools to stay strong
Replacing blades with greater trades
Pen and paper, song
Faith in God is tested, hiding in the desert
Men excited
Then enlightened by the scientific method
Tried describing it's expression
By inscribing his impression
When applying it to heavenly bodies
That everybody reckoned
Must have been made by a
Creator or a greater force
Nature's author faced examination
Never faced before
The grace of horse and rider
Replaced by wars and violence
Debased the laws of science
Made the case for all the pious
Why is it progress always leads
To loads of mess
The western region spread across
The globe and coalesced
Settlers spread disease with effortless ease
Was it reckless or did
It just happen inevitably?
While evidently we never can see
Through the lens of this century
But there's no retreating now
Whether or not it was meant to be

The seven seas were sailed navies prevailed
Leaving trails of devastation in their wake
As people wailed
A world of wonder plundered traded
In the name of progress
But human nature's way shows we
Should expect no less oh, yes
Struck by the realisation this
Is just civilisation
In the natal stages of industrialisation
Trust me when I say
That previous achievements are
Just child's play
Compared to this colossal school of thought
We set the world ablaze with
Fossil fuel we bought it's an epiphany
Giving us pretty much infinite energy
It's electricity
Edison, Nikola Tesla - different inventors
Giving us everything we depend on
Whether it's engines, cinema
Television or telecoms
Sending a message and spreading it on
These unreal frontier channels
We develop the tech and then sell it on
The reel travels round
With the speed of a machine gun's barrels
Machinery's a meaner beast and we're
Still in the saddle
No need for cavalry - battle
Superseded that with ease allies and Axis
Charging each other like batteries
A power vacuum allowing the
Superstates to flourish
Redistribute the food even if it
Means people are malnourished
Propaganda is the only view that
You're allowed to publish
'Cause totalitarians are well aware
Of how to punish
Gunning down numbers countless
For doubtless nothings that they've done
But that won't stop subversive insurgents
From coming out with courage
Using their power to the fullest
Whether creativity or demonstrating
General relativity
Evidently when we find time to be efficient
Einsteinian clear vision can reveal the
Precision behind the blinds nuclear fission
Despite derision
Physicists decide the mission is dividing
Splitting atoms
Till a blinding light is given
Quite efficient
The divine right to mankind's
Plight is christened
A minor decision hijacked by politicians
But as long as they listen to
The will of the people
Treat all as brilliant equals
We can achieve more
Than we've ever conceived before

Leave this poor place please explore space
Earth, she's a small base even more await's
I implore great leaders
To lead with all the grace
Of which we're capable
And be the author of your fate
Band together and endeavour
Clasp our hands together
As our ancestors have
And stand the test of time forever