[Silence]<\/p>\n
[Spoken word]
\nWhat happens when we miss the 1.5\u00b0C Paris target?
\n(Did you forget?)<\/p>\n
[Instrumental Intro: Slow Blues Guitar, Deep Sub-Bass, Low Piano, Organ, Drums, Percussion]<\/p>\n
[Intro]
\nKnock, knock…
\n(Who’s there?)
\nDebt collector…
\n(No one’s here!)<\/p>\n
You thought you had time
\n(You thought you were fine)
\nBut time has a way
\n(Of collecting its pay)<\/p>\n
[Verse 1]
\nWe borrowed from tomorrow
\nAnd spent it all today
\nTook a little from the future
\nThen we threw the bill away<\/p>\n
“Don’t worry ’bout the interest”
\n(We’ll deal with that somehow)
\nBut the debt kept getting bigger
\n(And the collector’s here right now)<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nFirst came the warning
\n(We waved it away)
\nThen came the interest
\n(It started to stay)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nBeyond speculation
\n(It’s debt collection)
\nWhat’s at stake
\n(A bone break)
\nFirst your fingers
\n(While the pain lingers)
\nThere goes the toes
\n(Holy! And another knee)<\/p>\n
[Verse 2]
\nYou can’t put the pain
\nA hundred years away
\nWhen the heat is at your doorstep
\nAnd the flood is on its way<\/p>\n
Somewhere far?
\n(Right where you are)
\nFar away?
\n(Not today!)<\/p>\n
[Chorus]
\nNot speculation
\n(Not speculation!)
\nNot some distant fate
\nThe consequences
\n(Are already at the gate)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nBeyond speculation
\n(It’s debt collection)
\nWhat’s at stake
\n(A bone break)
\nFirst your fingers
\n(While the pain lingers)
\nThere goes the toes
\n(Holy! And another knee)<\/p>\n
[Bridge]
\nThe future moved closer
\n(The future moved here)
\nSomewhere else vanished
\n(It disappeared)<\/p>\n
[Break]
\nKnock, knock!
\n(Who’s there?)
\nDebt!
\n(What debt?)<\/p>\n
Climate debt!
\n(Not yet)
\nYour dues due
\n(Better come through)<\/p>\n
How much can you take
\nBefore you finally wake?<\/p>\n
[Instrumental: Extended Blues-Rock Guitar Solo, Organ, Deep Bass, Heavy Drums]<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nIt’s not tomorrow
\n(It’s today)
\nIt’s not somewhere else
\n(It’s this way)<\/p>\n
It’s not abstract
\n(It’s real)
\nIt’s not a theory
\n(Look and feel)<\/p>\n
[Final Refrain]
\nBeyond speculation
\n(It’s debt collection)
\nWhat’s at stake
\n(A bone break)
\nFirst your fingers
\n(While the pain lingers)
\nThere goes the toes
\n(Holy! And another knee)<\/p>\n
Beyond speculation
\n(It’s debt collection)
\nWhat’s at stake
\n(A bone break)
\nHow much pain
\n(Before we wake?)<\/p>\n
[Outro]
\nKnock, knock…
\n(Who’s there?)<\/p>\n
Debt collection…
\n(Already here.)
\nOh, dear!<\/p>\n
You missed the payment…
\n(We know.)<\/p>\n
You missed the warning…
\n(Oh, no)<\/p>\n
Now…
\nPay attention.
\n(Avoid termination)<\/p>\n
[Silence]<\/p>\n
The new release of the day, \u201cDebt Collection,\u201d is the accounting of an accounting story. No, it\u2019s not folklore anymore. It\u2019s a retro-futuristic, swampy blues tune about spending your future.<\/p>\n
The situation is due to what we do. And now, the blues dues are due.<\/p>\n
About the Song: Climate Debt Collection
\nWhat happens when we miss the 1.5\u00b0C Paris target?<\/p>\n
Think of it like owing money to a loan shark. The debt doesn\u2019t wait decades to be collected.<\/p>\n
Our fingers are being broken now. Our kneecaps are next.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest challenges in communicating climate change is proximity\u2014both in time and location.
\nIf the consequences seem far away, people dismiss them. If they\u2019re happening somewhere else, people ignore them.<\/p>\n
But climate change is moving from:
\nfuture \u2192 present
\nand
\nsomewhere else \u2192 right here.<\/p>\n
We missed the 1.5\u00b0C Paris target. The climate debt is already being collected.<\/p>\n
How much pain do we need to feel before we pay attention?<\/p>\n