{"id":43376,"date":"2025-05-01T12:23:23","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T12:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idea.membrane.com\/songwriter\/?p=43376"},"modified":"2025-05-01T13:07:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T13:07:04","slug":"going-up-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/2025\/05\/01\/going-up-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Going-Up-I.mp3<\/a>
\nGoing-Up-I.mp4<\/a>
\nGoing-Up-Unplugged-Underground-XVIII.mp3<\/a>
\nGoing-Up-Unplugged-Underground-XVIII.mp4<\/a>
\nGoing-Up-intro.mp3<\/a><\/p>\n

[Intro]
\nHold on! (This lift is going up)
\nIs that right? (Yup, going up)
\nTo the top (might never stop)<\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\n1 point 1
\n(And we’re not done)
\nI’ll see you
\n(at 1 point 2)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nHold on! (This lift is going up)
\nTo the top (might never stop)
\nIs that right? (Yup, going up)
\nHold tight!!<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nYou can depend
\nOn the demand
\nOf man
\nHe’ll come to know
\nHow far to go
\nBelow<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nPushed right through
\n(1 point 2)
\nDidn’t pause to see
\n(1 point 3)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nHold on! (This lift is going up)
\nWe’re rollin’ on by (headed high)
\n(Is that right?) Yup, going up
\n(Hold tight!)<\/p>\n

[Verse 3]
\n1 point 4
\n(No, no more)
\nPast 1 point 5
\n(Can no longer thrive)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nHold on! (This lift is going up)
\nTo the top (might never stop)
\n(Is that right?) Yup, going up
\n(Hold tight!)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nYou can depend
\nOn the demand
\nOf man
\nHe’ll come to know
\nHow far to go
\n(…. so)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nHold on! (This lift is going up)
\n(Is that right?) Yup, going up
\n(Hold tight!)
\nTo the top (might never stop)<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE SONG<\/p>\n

The song “Going Up” uses the metaphor of an unstoppable elevator ride to capture the terrifying escalation of global temperatures due to human-driven climate change. It’s a stark, cleverly minimalist narrative about humanity\u2019s relentless pursuit of growth and consumption\u2014even as the climate “lift” speeds toward collapse.<\/p>\n

Verse 1:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

1 point 1 \/ (And we’re not done) \/ I’ll see you \/ (at 1 point 2)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This introduces global temperature rise in degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. At 1.1\u00b0C, we’ve already seen devastating effects\u2014but the line \u201cwe’re not done\u201d underscores our inertia. \u201cI\u2019ll see you at 1.2\u201d suggests we\u2019re on track to go higher, almost passively.<\/p>\n

Bridge:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Hold on! (This lift is going up) \/ To the top (might never stop)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The lift represents the climate trajectory\u2014an industrial, mechanical metaphor for a world getting hotter. The repeated \u201cmight never stop\u201d is ominous: we are on an upward trajectory that, without drastic intervention, could spiral out of control.<\/p>\n

Chorus:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

You can depend \/ On the demand \/ Of man \/ He\u2019ll come to know \/ How far to go \/ Below<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a powerful indictment of human consumption and economic systems. The “demand of man” is driving climate change, and while \u201cyou can depend\u201d on this relentless drive, it will ultimately bring humanity “below”\u2014suggesting collapse, death, or moral and ecological ruin. It plays on the irony that \u201cgoing up\u201d in temperature means \u201cgoing down\u201d in survivability.<\/p>\n

Verse 2:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Pushed right through \/ (1 point 2) \/ Didn\u2019t pause to see \/ (1 point 3)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Here, the temperature climb continues\u2014we skip past thresholds without heeding their warning signs. The lines emphasize recklessness and acceleration\u2014we don\u2019t stop to reflect or redirect.<\/p>\n

Verse 3:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

1 point 4 \/ (No, no more) \/ Past 1 point 5 \/ (Can no longer thrive)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is the heart of the warning. 1.5\u00b0C is the widely accepted upper limit to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Going beyond it risks triggering irreversible tipping points\u2014melting ice sheets, dying coral reefs, mass displacement. \u201cCan no longer thrive\u201d implies the breakdown of ecological and social systems.<\/p>\n

Outro:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n

Hold on! (This lift is going up) \/ (Is that right?) Yup, going up \/ (Hold tight!) \/ To the top (might never stop)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The song ends as it began: still climbing, still accelerating. The repetition of \u201cYup, going up\u201d becomes chilling\u2014a robotic affirmation of our trajectory, devoid of accountability or alarm.<\/p>\n

Summary:<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“Going Up” is a climate alarm bell in musical form. The imagery of rising temperature milestones\u20141.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5\u00b0C\u2014acts as both mile markers and warnings, and the \u201clift\u201d captures how quickly, and thoughtlessly, we’re rising toward catastrophe. It critiques the faith in endless growth and technological progress while warning that this path leads to collapse below.<\/p>\n

From the album “To Too Hot<\/a>“<\/h3>\n

The Human Induced Climate Change Experiment<\/a><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Going-Up-I.mp3 Going-Up-I.mp4 Going-Up-Unplugged-Underground-XVIII.mp3 Going-Up-Unplugged-Underground-XVIII.mp4 Going-Up-intro.mp3 [Intro] Hold on! (This lift is going up) Is that right? (Yup, going up) To the top (might never stop) [Verse 1] 1 point 1 (And we’re not done) I’ll see you (at 1 point 2) [Bridge] Hold on! (This lift is going up) To the top (might never stop) […]<\/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":[9,14],"tags":[163,4123],"class_list":["post-43376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daniel","category-lyrics","tag-climate-change","tag-to-too-hot"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43389,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43376\/revisions\/43389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}