[Intro]
Low and behold…
There’s a fine line…
A number is told
As the story unfolds…
[Verse 1]
One point four
Then one point five
Nothing magical
Keeps us alive
A threshold ain’t
A brick wall
It’s a place
Where the odds change “over all”
A warning line
In a moving game
The situation changes
But the stakes ain’t the same
[Pre-Chorus]
One more chance
One last glance
One more dance
The wire is waiting
Hidden from view
You don’t know exactly
What it will do to you
[Refrain]
Low and behold…
(… through…)
… the threshold…
Trip (trip) tripin’
(Over the wire)
Trippin’…
(Into the dire)
[Verse 2]
Surprisingly…
Ain’t a magic door
Where everything suddenly
Gets worse than before
It’s probability
Stacked in the air
Feedbacks awakening
Everywhere
[Refrain]
Low and behold…
(… through…)
… the threshold…
Trip (trip) tripin’
(Over the wire)
Trippin’…
(Into the dire)
[Bridge]
One tripwire…
slight time transpire…
… tripwire…
(Wrapped in barbwire)
You thought there’d be
A warning light
A siren
A flashing sign
Surprise?
(Open your eyes)
Nothing new (knew)
All your fears…
(Have been known for years)
[Instrumental]
So don’t ask me
(If you can see)
The scene (is seen)
[Refrain]
Low and behold…
(… through…)
… the threshold…
Trip (trip) tripin’
(Over the wire)
Trippin’…
(Into the dire)
[Outro]
Low and behold…
(… probability)
The threshold…
Trip (trip) tripin’
(Over the wire)
Trippin’…
(Into the dire)
One point five…
(Still alive)
One point five…
(Now try to survive…)
Trip (trip) trippin’
… the tripwire…
Tripwire…
… wire…
… wire…
… dire…
About the Song
The 1.5°C threshold identified in the Paris Agreement—and the roughly 2°C level generally regarded as an even more dangerous boundary—is not important because the difference between 1.4°C and 1.5°C is somehow magical. These numbers matter because increasing global temperatures raise the probability of triggering major climate tipping points.
And once tipping points begin to activate, the question of whether warming ultimately reaches 2°C, 3°C, or even 4–7°C becomes much less relevant for two fundamental reasons:
First, tipping points can initiate self-reinforcing feedbacks that continue driving change even after the original forcing changes.
Second, the impacts do not necessarily increase gradually with temperature. They can accelerate, compound, and cascade as interconnected systems begin to destabilize.
In other words, 1.5°C is not a destination. It is not merely a warning sign or an alarm. It is a tripwire.
From the album “Feedback Coupling“