21 October 2026
Verses
Ocean scientists propose that man might speak to whales;
It seems to me an honest one must tell us bitter tales.
They would lament the changes to the water they live in
That can make them lose their way and burn their very skin
Must you do these things to live? They all might want to know.
We say man must have growth or die; we have to let it go.
They ask, does growth sustain all life on land above the shore?
We tell them no, but from it comes the profit, that drives more.
The whales enquire if profit could restore their happy state?
We say these concepts are too big for us to demonstrate.
We tell them profit feeds man's dreams, some think it sets us free.
What do you think, asks a whale, could man's dreams feed me?
Chorus
Why do you have to hurt the sea? the cetaceans want to know.
We say we must have growth or die; we have to let it go.
They're right, that tide should really lift all boats, I want to say.
I start to speak, but they are gone, across the poisoned bay.
Verses
Most of us cannot survive, unless we use the sea
But there's using and abusing of fragile capacity.
In our hearts, we know the truth: the end is coming near
The last fish caught, the sea too warm for any life to bear.
So speaking to these gentle beings is not a good idea
For they will surely tell us things that we don't want to hear.
Chorus
Why do you have to hurt the sea? the cetaceans want to know.
We say we must have growth or die; we have to let it go.
They're right, that tide should really lift all boats, I want to say.
I start to speak, but they are gone, across the poisoned bay.
A note from the lyricist
The starting point for this song was an article in the Guardian about the idea that man might communicate with whales. I thought this had moral and ethical implications that are already exercising scientists. Right off the bat, there is the risk that knowledge of cetacean communication might be abused for commercial and military purposes. This is an angry and melancholic song. It does not pull the punch that spending money and time trying to communicate with these lovely creatures may be misguided. We know that the medium that gives them life and the wider environment is becoming hostile to them – we should spend the money on trying to put that right, not vanity projects chasing scientific prestige. I hear the song as a protest folk/prog rock song, with a female vocalist.
