I agree it's about us figuring things out, and really matches what an earlier responder said about Karl's intentions when writing the song, but even moreso, I get the sense it's about us messing everything up. We've fouled up this gorgeous planet that we were lucky enough to "inherit," and now we want to go to the moon and try to make things right but we'll just mess that (and space) up too! Think of all the junk in space - satellites, etc. We can't keep ourselves from messing up a good, pure thing. We think we know and understand so much - well, we TRY to understand, and we often do get there (we know more about lots of things than in the days before science and before they could just sit and think) - but that understanding somehow doesn't stop us from fouling the water and the air and killing each other and never seeming to learn or get any better as a whole. I just love this song, and I know Karl Wallinger was very earth-concious, very concerned about the planet, so this interpretation is the one I've always had and continue to think fits the song.
[Edit: clarification after reading ILikeSin's comment]
I agree it's about us figuring things out, and really matches what an earlier responder said about Karl's intentions when writing the song, but even moreso, I get the sense it's about us messing everything up. We've fouled up this gorgeous planet that we were lucky enough to "inherit," and now we want to go to the moon and try to make things right but we'll just mess that (and space) up too! Think of all the junk in space - satellites, etc. We can't keep ourselves from messing up a good, pure thing. We think we know and understand so much - well, we TRY to understand, and we often do get there (we know more about lots of things than in the days before science and before they could just sit and think) - but that understanding somehow doesn't stop us from fouling the water and the air and killing each other and never seeming to learn or get any better as a whole. I just love this song, and I know Karl Wallinger was very earth-concious, very concerned about the planet, so this interpretation is the one I've always had and continue to think fits the song.
[Edit: clarification after reading ILikeSin's comment]