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Your Ancestor

Hello there
This is your ancestor speaking
Your predecessor from the 21st century
When you emerged repressing me
Remember? That was us
The Homo Economicus
 
Don’t walk away please stay
Please listen to what I have to say
I know I’m out of favour out of date
You hate me probably and it’s too late
To change my fate but please two minutes
For your ancestor the one that went before you
I assure you that when you let me explain a little more
Of what we went through what we really meant to do
That the intention wasn’t evil on our side
It might shed a different light
On how you think of us your ancestors
So you may learn from us because
To not get lost in the future
You must know your past right?
 
So here I am 
This is your ancestor speaking
Your predecessor from the 21st century
You’re blaming me for spreading myself 
Endlessly around the globe exploiting nature 
Leaving no hope for a future driving the Earth 
To the verge of exhaustion draining her to the bone                     
 
Like a virus in fact doing what it loves the most
To multiply and multiply completely undermining its host 
And you’re right in a way looking back I admit that we did
But we weren’t aware thought we were doing good
Economic growth for all of you
Comfort and convenience
Life is so much easier 
Than it has ever been before
You have to give me that
Of course I do regret
That we’ve polluted ourselves 
Out of existence
Created an unbridgeable distance
From all other forms of life 
Until life finally left us
Exit Homo Economicus
 
You say growth was my Holy Grail
Yes it was and it failed 
It couldn’t last I do agree 
But in the middle of the hustle
You cannot really see
 
The point I’m trying to make
We weren’t fully awake
We didn’t know the things you know
It seemed good to stick with growth
Climate change we heard the words
But the words just didn’t hurt 
And it may sound absurd to you
But we loved our children too
We were stuck in a system of business
That’s how we survived it gave us our lives
To buy or not to buy was to be or not to be 
Buying things determined our identity 
And you can laugh about it now
But remember it was how 
We managed to get out
Of poverty and wilderness                                        
Don’t call it pure silliness
So we aren’t flawless
Your great-grand parents
But you shouldn’t lay it all on us 
The Homo Economicus
 
You say growth was my Holy Grail
Yes it was and it failed 
It couldn’t last I do agree 
But in the middle of the hustle
You cannot really see
 
So here I am
This is your ancestor speaking
Your predecessor from the 21st century
To ask for forgiveness and for some understanding
Please don’t be too demanding                                                      
 
Don’t be too hard on us
We did the best we could
Moving forward like we thought we should
Though we were just a phase 
In the existence of the human race 
We paved the road for you
In many ways
This is your ancestor speaking
The relatives you know so well
Forgive us I beg you
For sending you to hell

Lyrics & performance Nynke Laverman | Music Nynke Laverman & Sytze Pruiksma | Musical production & recordings Sytze Pruiksma, Lân Studios, Weidum | Mix Harry Zwerver, Studio 12, Franeker | Mastering Darcy Proper, Valhalla Studios, NY

Plant

Plant, 2021

Translation

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