Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth

I originally heard "3 days 2 nights away from the fens/ Payment to anything that brings a quick return to my friends" -- but when I looked up the lyrics in other sources, they consistently were written this way.

Anyway, whether my ears or others' are right, this song definitely suits Neko's sensibility, with its take on nature as dangerous, gorgeous, and untameable.

I think what she sings is what you originally heard.

I like the fact that the first time you see this song title, you expect it to be some kind of hippie manifesto (never turn your back on = never abandon, never betray), but when you actually listen to the words it's actually almost the exact opposite (never turn your back on = never underestimate, never fully trust).

A great Sparks song and Neko's interpretation is both true to the source yet is its own thing. It is, as stated above, about how you can't turn your back on nature because it can destroy you.

(Reposted from the Sparks page this song is a cover of. Note that the Neko Case version leaves a few lines of the original out.)

This is a deceptively complex song that hinges on a vaguely understood relationship between two interlocking ideas. First is the harsh, seemingly dualistic reality of nature: serene and alluring at its best, tempestuous, brutal and unforgiving at its worst. The same beautiful clouds you marvel at can raze cities and kill with indifference. The second main idea is in the implied narrative that builds on the second half and requires a little more unpacking. We have the image of a destructive deluge with narrow survival prospects already in place, then the rest of the song takes on a first-person perspective of someone separated from friends they wish to return to. In their desperation, they admit their infidelity and vow to do better. Whether this is relationship infidelity or religious infidelity is not specified, but in either case we are hearing thoughts driven by desperation and remorse.

Something left unsaid in this narrative portion becomes somewhat accessible through revisiting the first half: does this person believes there is a connection with their behavior and the grim situation they are in? A deity punishing them perhaps? Or have they simply reevaluated their behavior and values because they are now facing death? The answer is most likely the latter. Consider the tone of the line "grasp at straws that don't want grasping". In the context of a violent flood that can hurl towns from A to B, the real theme becomes clearer: at the end of the day the universe just doesn't give a damn. We cry out in the dark we hope that someone hears us, but the world is a cold, unfair and uncertain place.

So what can we do? The answer is in what causes that last vow to "be more faithful". The sentiment isn't really about fidelity, but about remorse and values. When people face death they realize their mistakes, and they're almost always caused by having made the wrong things important to them. The essence of the song becomes clearer here. We need to face reality, no matter how unattractive the truth can be, to meditate on our priorities and values, to not be lulled into routine and take the good things around us for granted, to not wait until the twilight of our lives to pursue truly important—to not turn our backs on Mother Earth.