Take those potatoes out of your ear
Listen to the warnings
Verify all your fears
There's a world outside
That's ready to blow
And we're all to blame
When it finally explodes

You gotta listen up
Gotta listen to what
They're telling you
Gotta listen up and think
About what they're saying to you

They're the modern day catastrophists
They've got practical solutions
(know all the right equations)
They're the self-appointed
Righteous pragmatists
And they know 50 ways
To save the world
What makes you think
You can cure our disease?

Maybe its just our biology
Maybe its time to make room
For another species
This is the 21st Century


Lyrics submitted by oofus

Modern Day Catastrophists Lyrics as written by Greg Graffin

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Modern Day Catastrophists song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

5 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment
    Anyone know why this song says "this is the 21st Century" when it was released in 1993?
    subverton March 10, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Subvert, because the song was writting thinking in future...
    Catalonia ISNT_Spaon July 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I see. I love this song, underrated as fuck, like most of Recipe for Hate.
    subverton May 13, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Great song, and one of my favorites from Recipe for Hate. I noticed the lyrics were left out of the second verse (as they are on most web pages). The only ones I could find online with that verse said: Temperature is rising, but the odorous way It'll bury us alive in what we throw away If we don't reuse most of our debris Our kids can't go where nothing for free I never thought that made sense or really sounded right, so I slowed it down in media player and it really sounds like this: Temperature is rising but the odorous way Will bury us alive in what we throw away If we don't resuse most of our debris Our kids can't go with a carbon copy Anyway, that part makes more sense to me. If we don't do something about the state of our environment, eventually the following generations will be forced to try to fix our mistakes or just have to deal with the consequences. I also like the sarcastic tone of the song, in lines like "they're the self-appointed righteous pragmatists, and they know 50 ways to save the world". Whether man-made problems or natural ones, there are some things such as climate change that we may be unable to change.
    jester scripton November 28, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    activists.
    pinkfadeon March 30, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Another Love
Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
Album art
X French T-Shirt
Shudder to Think
This song is timeless, and nearly 20 years after its creation, still possesses the mystique it did the first time i heard it ~1994. To me, at first blush, all those years ago, it had some kind of homo-erotic allure. The line "so that the others may do" tells of something which must be done for others to follow suit. It felt like like some kind of roxy-glam-pop invitation to sexual liberation. Upon further introspection I think the song may not have an intrinsic meaning, but simply represents a sort of "holding open the door" for people who otherwise might be affronted by this song/band's unusual style. I know, as a sort of armchair rock-historian, that there have been few bands so daring and so true to the sound that wanted to emerge from within, whether the creator wanted it or not. This band handled it with elegance and grace seldom, if ever, seen.
Album art
High On Life
Viyaa
This track marks the first collaboration between the artists. It was produced in its entirety by Datbeatgod and released for public consumption on January 1, 2021.
Album art
Better Than Feeling Lonely
Olivia O'Brien
This standalone single is the latest in the artiste's album run out. It was produced by Rogét Chahayed, Taylor Dexter & Wesley Singerman, and released via major streaming platforms on January 1, 2021.
Album art
Still Luv
Kennedy Rd.
This standout song off her eponymously named album was produced by AVB & Itsashleetho and released on December 28, 2020.