{"id":55979,"date":"2026-10-09T15:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T15:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/?p=55979"},"modified":"2026-10-09T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T15:35:13","slug":"welcome-to-the-present","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/2026\/10\/09\/welcome-to-the-present\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to the Present"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[Intro]<br \/>\nRound and round&#8230;<br \/>\n(Where are we going?)<br \/>\nRound and round&#8230;<br \/>\n(What are we showing?)<\/p>\n<p>Tick-tock&#8230;<br \/>\n(Watch the clock)<\/p>\n<p>Tick&#8230;<br \/>\n(Tock&#8230;)<\/p>\n<p>Wait a minute!<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\n&#8230; weight, weight, weight<\/p>\n<p>[Verse 1]<br \/>\nFeedback doesn&#8217;t have a beginning<br \/>\n(No, no beginning)<br \/>\nDoesn&#8217;t have an end<br \/>\n(Going round again)<\/p>\n<p>A little change<br \/>\n(And another one follows)<br \/>\nToday sets the stage<br \/>\n(For tomorrow&#8217;s sorrows)<\/p>\n<p>From the top of the world<br \/>\n(To the bottom of the sea)<br \/>\nIt&#8217;s all connected<br \/>\n(To you and me)<\/p>\n<p>[Refrain]<br \/>\nWelcome to the present&#8230;<br \/>\nAt present,<br \/>\n(&#8230; the future may be running a little late.)<br \/>\nAt any rate&#8230;<br \/>\n(We represent:)<br \/>\nThe insanity<br \/>\n(Of humanity)<br \/>\nThrowin&#8217; our weight around<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\nSlowin&#8217; us (slowin&#8217; us)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<\/p>\n<p>[Verse 2]<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re moving the mass<br \/>\n(From here to there)<br \/>\nChanging the balance<br \/>\n(Everywhere)<\/p>\n<p>Moment of inertia<br \/>\n(What&#8217;s that mean?)<br \/>\nHow mass is arranged<br \/>\n(Changin&#8217; the spin of our machine)<\/p>\n<p>[Refrain]<br \/>\nWelcome to the present&#8230;<br \/>\nAt present,<br \/>\n(&#8230; the future may be running a little late.)<br \/>\nAt any rate&#8230;<br \/>\n(We represent:)<br \/>\nThe insanity<br \/>\n(Of humanity)<br \/>\nThrowin&#8217; our weight around<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\nSlowin&#8217; us (slowin&#8217; us)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<\/p>\n<p>[Bridge]<br \/>\nHold on&#8230;<br \/>\n(What&#8217;s that you say?)<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re changing the length<br \/>\n(Of the day?)<\/p>\n<p>Round and round!<br \/>\n(Round and round!)<br \/>\nShift that mass!<br \/>\n(Watch it pass!)<br \/>\nLand to sea!<br \/>\n(You and me!)<br \/>\nSpin it slow!<br \/>\n(Like we don&#8217;t know!)<br \/>\nWeight!<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\nWhat&#8217;s that rate?<br \/>\n(At any rate!)<\/p>\n<p>&#8230; no time to hesitate&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>[Breakdown]<br \/>\n(WAIT!)<br \/>\nWho&#8217;s got the weight?<br \/>\n(We got the weight!)<\/p>\n<p>Who&#8217;s running late?<br \/>\n(The future&#8217;s fate?)<br \/>\nWho&#8217;s spinning round?<br \/>\n(We&#8217;re slowing down!)<br \/>\nWait!<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\nAt any rate!<br \/>\n(Slight change of date!)<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re changing the planet!<br \/>\n(Welcome to the present!)<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re changing the clock!<br \/>\n(Welcome to the present!)<br \/>\nWe&#8217;re changing the system!<br \/>\n(Welcome to the present!)<br \/>\nAnd the future&#8230;<br \/>\n(May be running a little late!)<\/p>\n<p>[Final Refrain]<br \/>\nWelcome to the present&#8230;<br \/>\nAt present,<br \/>\n(&#8230; the future may be running a little late.)<br \/>\nAt any rate&#8230;<br \/>\n(We represent:)<br \/>\nThe insanity<br \/>\n(Of humanity)<br \/>\nThrowin&#8217; our weight around<br \/>\n(Wait!)<br \/>\nSlowin&#8217; us (slowin&#8217; us)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<br \/>\nDown<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<\/p>\n<p>[Outro]<br \/>\nWelcome to the present&#8230;<br \/>\n(Where tomorrow&#8217;s delayed)<br \/>\nWelcome to the present&#8230;<br \/>\n(Where the clock&#8217;s being played)<\/p>\n<p>The Earth keeps turning<br \/>\n(We&#8217;re learning too late?)<br \/>\nThe future is coming&#8230;<br \/>\n(But it&#8217;s running a little late!)<\/p>\n<p>Round and round&#8230;<br \/>\n(Still going round)<br \/>\nDown&#8230;<br \/>\n(From spinnin&#8217; round)<br \/>\nWait&#8230;<br \/>\n(Weight!)<br \/>\nAt any rate&#8230;<br \/>\n(The future may be running late)<\/p>\n<p>Welcome&#8230;<br \/>\n(Welcome&#8230;)<br \/>\nTo the present.<\/p>\n<p>The planet&#8217;s still spinning.<br \/>\nJust&#8230;<br \/>\n(A little slower.)<\/p>\n<p>And the future?<br \/>\n(Please allow extra time.)<\/p>\n<p>About the Song<br \/>\nFeedback coupling doesn&#8217;t really have a beginning\u2014or an end. But some of its largest planetary impacts can be traced all the way down to Middle Earth, where our collective girth is literally helping change the length of the day. Humanity is redistributing mass across the planet and, in doing so, altering Earth&#8217;s moment of inertia and subtly influencing its rotation.<\/p>\n<p>The slowing of Earth&#8217;s rotation is not an isolated curiosity. It is a measurable consequence of the same climate-driven processes reshaping the planet. Melting ice sheets and glaciers redistribute enormous amounts of mass, shifting water from land into the oceans and changing how that mass is distributed relative to Earth&#8217;s rotational axis. Although sea levels may rise by only millimeters in a year, the cumulative redistribution of water involves staggering quantities of mass, with consequences that extend throughout the interconnected ocean-atmosphere system.<\/p>\n<p>Viewed in this broader context, changes in Earth&#8217;s rotation provide another physical indicator of planetary-scale transformation. The significance isn&#8217;t simply that a day can become slightly longer. It&#8217;s that climate change can influence processes extending far beyond surface temperatures, connecting melting ice, rising seas, shifting mass, and Earth&#8217;s rotational dynamics.<\/p>\n<p>Welcome to the present. The future may be running a little late.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/global_warming\/Spinning-Slower-Climate-Change.html\">How Fast Is Climate Change Changing? Earth\u2019s Rotation Is Changing More Than at Any Time in 3.6 Million Years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<figure>\n  <a href=\"\/global_warming\/climate-graphics\/Earth-Slowing.png\"><br \/>\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/global_warming\/climate-graphics\/Earth-Slowing.png\"\n      alt=\"Climate-driven changes in Earth's rotation caused by climate change.\"\n      width=\"100%\"\n      loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n  <\/a><figcaption>\nNonlinear Climate Acceleration: The Earth Is Slowing Down<br \/>\n    <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><a href=\"\/global_warming\/Spinning-Slower-Climate-Change.html\">How Fast Is Climate Change Changing? Earth\u2019s Rotation Is Changing More Than at Any Time in 3.6 Million Years<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From the album <strong>&#8220;<a href=\"\/albums\/Feedback-Coupling\/\">Feedback Coupling<\/a>&#8220;<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Intro] Round and round&#8230; (Where are we going?) Round and round&#8230; (What are we showing?) Tick-tock&#8230; (Watch the clock) Tick&#8230; (Tock&#8230;) Wait a minute! (Wait!) &#8230; weight, weight, weight [Verse 1] Feedback doesn&#8217;t have a beginning (No, no beginning) Doesn&#8217;t have an end (Going round again) A little change (And another one follows) Today sets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55979"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55983,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55979\/revisions\/55983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}