LoserNo1's version of the lyrics is more accurate than what is currently posted.
Temporary Ground is about mortality and the ephemeral nature of reality. As Heraclitus said in ancient times, "You can never step in the same river twice." The universe is constantly in flux, which leaves us self-conscious creatures in a constant state of uncertainty and doubt. Yet at the same time, this perpetual change is the source of beauty, curiosity, surprise, artistry, invention, and all the things that give life meaning.
The ending hints at a more cynical direction, stating that "the old explorers had it easy" because there was so much still to be discovered (although none of it truly "new" as there is nothing new under the sun). Now with all our science and technology we have nothing left to discover except the ultimate cause of reality itself, which may finally reveal our quaint notions of being at home in the universe as nothing more than an illusion.
LoserNo1's version of the lyrics is more accurate than what is currently posted.
Temporary Ground is about mortality and the ephemeral nature of reality. As Heraclitus said in ancient times, "You can never step in the same river twice." The universe is constantly in flux, which leaves us self-conscious creatures in a constant state of uncertainty and doubt. Yet at the same time, this perpetual change is the source of beauty, curiosity, surprise, artistry, invention, and all the things that give life meaning.
The ending hints at a more cynical direction, stating that "the old explorers had it easy" because there was so much still to be discovered (although none of it truly "new" as there is nothing new under the sun). Now with all our science and technology we have nothing left to discover except the ultimate cause of reality itself, which may finally reveal our quaint notions of being at home in the universe as nothing more than an illusion.
Powerful stuff.