[Silence]
\n[Instrumental Intro: Bright \u201960s surf-rock guitar, spring reverb, driving bass, snappy drums]<\/p>\n
[Spoken]
\nDown at the Jersey Shore…
\n(For sure!)<\/p>\n
The waves are rockin’…
\n(Rollin’!)<\/p>\n
The wind is blowin’…
\n(Howlin’!)<\/p>\n
[Big Yell]
\nSURF’S UP!<\/p>\n
[Instrumental Hit]
\n[Instrumental, Driving psychedelic surf-rock guitar, pounding drums, rolling bass, distant wave sounds]<\/p>\n
[Verse 1]
\nDown the shore
\n(The water roars)
\nBarrier island
\n(Takes the score)<\/p>\n
Sand gets thin
\n(The tide comes in)
\nHold that line
\n(One more time)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nDangerous surf
\n(Down the shore)
\nThat’s for sure<\/p>\n
Changing Earth
\n(Man’s demand)
\nMother be dammed!<\/p>\n
Surf’s up!<\/p>\n
[Verse 2]
\nNor’easter’s coming
\n(Here tonight)
\nWinds will be humming
\n(What a fright)<\/p>\n
Flood warning
\n(Coast to coast)
\nHigh tide rising
\n(That’s no boast)<\/p>\n
[Pre-Chorus]
\nFull moon
\n(Coming soon)
\nPulling on
\n(The and on and on)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nDangerous surf
\n(Down the shore)
\nThat’s for sure<\/p>\n
Changing Earth
\n(Man’s demand)
\nMother be dammed!<\/p>\n
Surf’s up!
\n(Down to earth)
\nSurf, surf, surf!
\n(Yup…)
\nSurf’s up!<\/p>\n
[Instrumental Jam I]
\n[Surf guitar \/ crashing drums \/ bass rumble]
\nWave!
\n(Wave!)
\nWave!
\n(Crash!)
\nSand!
\n(Gone!)
\nShore!
\n(More!)<\/p>\n
[Verse 3]
\nFederal money
\n(Going down)
\nWho’s gonna pay
\n(For this town?)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nDangerous surf
\n(Down the shore)
\nThat’s for sure<\/p>\n
Changing Earth
\n(Man’s demand)
\nMother be dammed!<\/p>\n
Surf’s up!
\n(Down to earth)
\nSurf, surf, surf!
\n(Yup…)
\nSurf’s up!<\/p>\n
[Bridge]
\nHow much
\n(Can we spend?)
\nHow long
\n(Can we pretend?)<\/p>\n
How high
\n(Can we build?)
\nHow far
\n(Will we yield?)<\/p>\n
The question changes
\n(Year by year)
\nFrom saving beaches
\n(To staying here)<\/p>\n
[Psychedelic Surf Jam]
\n[Extended guitar feedback \/ ocean sounds \/ tom-tom rolls]
\nKeep pumping!
\n(Pump! Pump!)
\nKeep building!
\n(Pump! Pump!)
\nKeep fighting!
\n(Lump upon lump)<\/p>\n
But the ocean
\n(She doesn’t care)
\nComin’ in again
\n(To lay your beach bare)<\/p>\n
[Verse 4]
\nYou can improve
\n(A mountain of sand)
\nBut you can’t move
\n(The sinking land)<\/p>\n
You can build
\n(Another wall)
\nBut the waves
\n(Still bring on the fall)<\/p>\n
[Refrain]
\nDangerous surf
\n(Down the shore)
\nThat’s for sure<\/p>\n
Changing Earth
\n(Man’s demand)
\nMother be dammed!<\/p>\n
[Outro]
\nSurf’s up!
\n(Down to earth)
\nSurf, surf, surf!
\n(Yup…)
\nSurf’s up!<\/p>\n
[Silence]
\n[End]<\/p>\n
About the Song
\nClimate change and coastal impacts are becoming a big problem along the Southern Jersey Shore, with the barrier-island towns taking the brunt of the punishment. Federal funding for beach nourishment has also become much more limited, and sand itself is becoming a finite commodity.<\/p>\n
The next couple of days should be an interesting experiment. A powerful, rare September nor\u2019easter is hitting the Jersey Shore tonight, bringing widespread coastal flood warnings, dangerous surf, and wind gusts up to 50 mph. The National Weather Service has issued a Coastal Flood Warning for Atlantic, Cape May, Ocean, and southeastern Burlington counties from Wednesday afternoon through early Saturday morning. The system is also coinciding with an approaching full moon, which can significantly exacerbate tidal flooding across vulnerable shorelines, coastal roadways, and back bays.<\/p>\n
At some point, we\u2019re going to reach a hard physical and economic limit. You can keep pumping sand onto a beach, but you can\u2019t manufacture an unlimited supply of sediment or indefinitely out-engineer rising seas and increasingly energetic storms.<\/p>\n
The question may eventually stop being, \u201cHow much will it cost to save the beach?\u201d and become, \u201cHow long can we realistically keep trying?\u201d<\/p>\n