[Intro]
[Engine Idle, Highway Ambience, Light Drums, Bass Groove]
[Spoken Vocal]
Remember when…
A summer drive meant stopping for gas…
And cleaning the windshield.
Not once…
But over and over again.
Now the glass stays clean…
(There is no yield)
Revealed:
(No bugs in the scene)
… know what I mean?
[Verse 1]
Cruisin’ down the blacktop
Windows rolled down
Used to hear the buzzin’
All around town
Dragonflies and fireflies
Moths beneath the moon
Clouds of life were everywhere
But they vanished much too soon
[Pre-Chorus]
Something changed
Along the way
The silence grew
Day by day
[Chorus]
A fly…
(On the phenomenon)
Oh my
(Now there’s none)
[Refrain]
Splatometer
(Runnin’ flat)
Splat!
Insect splatter
(Sure does matter)
[Verse 2]
Used to wipe the windshield
Every hundred miles
Now it stays so spotless
Year after year and mile after mile
The roads are getting cleaner
But something isn’t right
When the air grows empty
Of wings in summer light
[Pre-Chorus]
The birds are looking
Fields and streams
No dinner cooking
Just leftover dreams
[Chorus]
A fly…
(On the phenomenon)
Oh my
(Now there’s none)
[Refrain]
Splatometer
(Runnin’ flat)
Splat!
Insect splatter
(Sure does matter)
[Bridge]
[Music Drops to Bass and Organ]
Half or more in others too
And the warning’s coming through
Vacant fields and flowers
The blame is all ours
[Build]
One by one
The losses add
Until the whole thing’s looking bad
[Chorus]
A fly…
(On the phenomenon)
Oh my
(Now there’s none)
A fly…
(Where’d they go?)
Oh my
(We may never know)
[Refrain]
Splatometer
(Runnin’ flat)
Splat!
Insect splatter
(Sure does matter)
Splatometer
(Falling fast)
Splat!
(How much longer)
Can this last?
[Final Verse]
The windshield tells a story
Anybody can see
A signal from the roadside
Of a changing tragedy
The smallest things among us
Often hold the biggest key
And when they start disappearing
What does that say for you and me?
[Final Chorus]
A fly…
(On the phenomenon)
Oh my
(Now there’s none)
A fly…
(On the windshield glass)
Oh my
(Passed into the past)
[Extended Refrain]
Splatometer
(Runnin’ flat)
Splat!
Insect splatter
(Sure does matter)
Food webs shatter
(That does matter)
Empty chatter
(Science matters)
[Outro]
[Highway Sounds Fade]
[Soft Acoustic Guitar]
[Fade Out]
Splat…
Splat…
Splat…
(No more of that…)
About the Song
The “windshield phenomenon” refers to the observation that people see far fewer dead insects on their windshields today than they did a few decades ago. What began as an anecdotal observation has since been confirmed by scientific studies documenting substantial declines in insect populations around the world.
Researchers have even measured the trend directly using standardized bug-splatter surveys.
*In Denmark, a study tracking insect impacts along the same driving routes from 1997 to 2017 found roughly an 80% decline in insect splatters, paralleling declines in insect-eating bird populations.
* In the UK, “Splatometer” surveys conducted by the Kent Wildlife Trust found a 50% to 72% reduction in insect collisions compared with measurements from 2004.
* A landmark 2017 study in German nature reserves reported a 76% decline in total flying insect biomass over a 27-year period.
The causes are complex and likely include habitat loss, pesticide use, pollution, climate change, invasive species, and other environmental stressors acting together. Regardless of the exact mix of causes, the decline is significant because insects form the foundation of many ecosystems, supporting pollination, soil health, birds, amphibians, and countless other species.
In many ways, the disappearing bugs on our windshields may be one of the most visible signs of a much larger ecological disruption.
From the album “Cracked Windshield“