Set the alarm for half -past five
And its high -pitched hum
brought me alive again
Dialed the bed into the wall, resets
Gaining two more feet of space
in which to dress
Out of the night spell, out
of the sleep cell,
into the tunnel of day
I took the high -speed lift to Gallery 9
and stood in the mail
on Married Workers Line, Grade 4
Gave me rank and number to the slot
And drew me daily, what a rash,
and took the lot
Oh, what a great day!
Oh, what a May Day!
Oh, what a day to be young!
The thermostats, they were set for spring
When I rode the conveyor
to the female wing of law
Meant to buy the ventilation shaft
Love light shining through the
visor of a mask
Oh, what a great day!
Oh, what a May day!
Oh, what a day to be young!
Her hand was in mine
as we made our way
To the high -speed vertical
Shuttle Bay third class.
The daytime argon light shone
bleak and hot
When we showed our permits
to the shuttle guard.
A moment of fear, love,
then we were clear, love,
then we were movin' away
We lay in the capsule
and we took our ease
while the shuttle leveled off
at about two G's and so
As the admin wings
the private galleries and passed
The living quarters
of the citizens first class
Unfasten your seatbelts,
now we're at topside,
this is the eye of the world.
At last in the observation tower
we stood there silent
in the breathless autumn dawn.
Saw the knives of sun come bronze
and gold and green.
Gilding all the face of earth
we'd never seen.
Don't cover your eyes,
don't turn from the sunrise,
this is the face of the earth.
Look how the hills show rosy red,
and the shag -green scum
of the river bed is still.
That was once a forest,
those were trees,
bearing leaves of green
that rustled in the breeze.
What killed off the trees?
What poisoned the breezes?
What made the rivers run dry?
Look at the land
where the green grass grew.
It's dusted over with
the rusty hue of death.
There the sea lies
stranded by the shore.
No fishes swim there
and the seabirds fly no more.
Who sucked the earth
dry?
Whom made the sea die?
Look what they've done
with the world.
Cursing the ones who gave us birth,
we turned away from the blighted
earth below.
They gave us breath,
but rubbed us of the air.
They killed the grass, the trees,
the seas,
the rivers everywhere.
The Earth was our birthright!