Have you heard the news today?
People right across the world are pledging they will play the game
Victims of a modern world, circumstance has brought us here,
Armaggedon's come too near, too too near yeah
Now foresight is the key to save our children's destiny
The consequences are so grave the hypocrites we are their slaves

So my friend to stop the end on each other we depend,
Mountain high and river deep, stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep,
People, stop it going on

Have you heard the news today?
Money's on the menu in my favorite restaurant,
Now don't talk about quantity, 'cause there's no fish left in the sea.

Greedy men been killing all the life there ever was,
So you better play it nature's way or she will take it all away,
And don't try tell me you know more than her about right or wrong,
Now you've upset the balance man, done the only thing you can,
Now my life is in your hands

Mountain high and river deep, stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep,
Oh people, stop it going on

Ahahahaha, hehehehehe...
Mountain high and river deep, stop it going on,
We gotta wake this world up from its sleep,
People, stop it going on
Greedy men will fade away, oh they will fade away when we stop it going on,
I know it's got to be that way, oh people stop it going on!
I'm asking, when you gonna learn to stop it going on?
When you gonna learn to stop it going on?

Overall Meaning

"When You Gonna Learn" is a song by British band Jamiroquai, released as their debut single in 1992. The song is a commentary on the social and environmental issues of the world. The lyrics are a warning to humanity about the consequences of our actions and how we need to take responsibility for our behaviour to save our children's future. The chorus of the song is a call to action, urging people to wake up and take control of their lives.

The first verse expresses a sense of urgency regarding the state of the world. The line, "Armaggedon's come too near, too too near yeah" suggests that the destruction of the planet is imminent if we don't act soon. The second verse focuses on greed and its effects on the environment. "Money's on the menu in my favourite restaurant" depicts how people's wants and desires can override the needs of the planet, while "there's no fish left in the sea" highlights the depletion of natural resources due to human activity.

The bridge is a plea to humanity to work together to prevent the end of the world. "To stop the end on each other we depend" implies that the destruction of the planet is in our hands and that it can only be avoided if we unite. The chorus repeats the message of the song, urging people to wake up and take action to save the world.

Overall, "When You Gonna Learn" is a powerful message about the need for environmental and social awareness. The song encourages listeners to take responsibility and make a change before it's too late.

Line by Line Meaning

Have you heard the news today?
Do you know what's happening in the world today?

People right across the world are pledging they will play the game
People from all over the world are promising to take action.

Victims of a modern world, circumstance has brought us here,
We are all suffering from the problems of the present world, due to the situations or events that have taken place.

Armaggedon's come too near, too too near yeah
A disaster or a catastrophic event is looming and it's dangerously close.

Now foresight is the key to save our children's destiny
We need to be more proactive and plan for the future to secure our children's future.

The consequences are so grave the hypocrites we are their slaves
The outcomes of our actions are mammoth, and we are slaves to people who say one thing but do another.

So my friend to stop the end on each other we depend,
We need each other to make a change and prevent the end of the world from happening.

Mountain high and river deep, stop it going on,
We need to scale great heights and go to the depths of waters to fix things and stop the problems from continuing.

We gotta wake this world up from its sleep,
We need to open the collective eyes of the world and find solutions.

People, stop it going on
Everyone needs to play their part to fix the problems at hand.

Money's on the menu in my favorite restaurant,
Money has become the sole focus of businesses, to the extent that they are willing to do anything for profit.

Now don't talk about quantity, 'cause there's no fish left in the sea.
We shouldn't discuss profits as there are no fish left in the sea, showing that the consequences of greed are already being felt.

Greedy men been killing all the life there ever was,
Selfish and greedy people are destroying all the living things that exist.

So you better play it nature's way or she will take it all away,
We need to learn to work with nature, or nature will destroy itself and everything with it.

And don't try tell me you know more than her about right or wrong,
We can't assume we know more than nature itself, and how it works.

Now you've upset the balance man, done the only thing you can,
By being greedy and selfish, we have destabilized the world's natural balance.

Now my life is in your hands
The fate of the world now rests in our hands.

Greedy men will fade away, oh they will fade away when we stop it going on,
Those who are greedy will eventually disappear, but only when we work together to stop these selfish practices.

I know it's got to be that way, oh people stop it going on!
We need to stop these bad practices to save the world from disaster.

I'm asking, when you gonna learn to stop it going on?
When will we learn that we need to take action to stop these problems from continuing?

When you gonna learn to stop it going on?
We need to make changes to prevent these problems from continuing.