You've Never Seen Everything
Bruce Cockburn Lyrics

Nobody's making me say this
I am speaking on my own accord without any external pressure or influence.

I'm talking to you
Directly addressing the listener or reader.

Been travelling 17 hours
Having journeyed for an extensive period of time.

Irradiated by signals, by images
Bombarded by electronic information and visual representations of various kinds.

of viruses, of virtues, like everyone
Being exposed to both negative and positive information, similar to other individuals.

Like exiled angels we swing out of the clouds
Humans are akin to angels who have been cast out from heaven and are suspended between the earth and the heavens.

Above night city - Fields of light broken by the curve of dark waterways
Flying over an urban area where the light is scattered and interrupted by the dark curves of water channels.

On the other side of the world an unhappy teenage girl sets fire to herself, her house, her neighbourhood and some that dwell therein Sorry simulacrum of sad dawn
A despondent young girl sets her surroundings ablaze, bringing about a sense of melancholy and despair.

You've never seen everything
There is still more to know and see, no matter how much we claim to have witnessed.

Sleep of the just, sleep of reason, any damn kind of sleep please! I'm trying to balance on a sloping bed in Naples or is it Skopje? I forget Through the thin hotel wall a man groans in his dreams
Difficulty in sleeping properly due to the irregularities of the bed and the sounds emanating from outside the room.

And on the other side of the world the drug squad busts a child's birthday party Puts bullets in the family dog and the blood goes all over the baby And the Mounties are strip-searching schoolgirls because they can
Authorities are engaging in horrific and needless violence while abusing their powers.

And a car crashes and burns on an offramp from the Gardiner Two dogs in the back seat die, and in the front a man and his mother Forensics reveals the lady has pitchfork wounds in her chest - Pitchfork! And that the same or a similar instrument has been screwed to the dash to make sure the driver goes too
A brutal car crash involving animals and a violent crime investigation that reveals disturbing details.

I see: A leader of the people with a ring in his nose And the leaders of business tell him which way to go With tugs on the golden chain which once led the golden calf And we're supposed to be impressed with their success But my mind goes blank before the unbelievable indifference shown life spirit the future anything green anything just
A metaphorical observation of leaders being manipulated while they manipulate key issues of interest to the public in order to enrich themselves, resulting in a moral paralysis among people.

Bad pressure coming down Tears - what we really traffic in ride the ribbon of shadow Never feel the light falling all around Years ago when my brother was in India A small town baker got a bright idea He cut his flour with pesticide and sent a bunch of neighbours on their longest journey He was just being cheap -trying to make a profit Didn't even have shareholders to answer to
A reflection on the pressures and tears of everyday life, a cautionary tale about the consequences of greed, in which an unscrupulous baker sells contaminated goods laced with poison.

But it's worth remembering, as we sell off the forest gene-splice the world's food into an instrument of control maim and destroy as acts of theatre, what came next - That when the survivors looked around and understood what had been done they butchered that baker
A warning that the consequences of unchecked human activity can lead to inhumane outcomes and violent responses.

Snow swirls in the parking lot light like flour like pesticide There's a trade war brewing - or at least that's the face they paint on it But it's only more transnational manipulation It's all bad magic and gangrene politics Hormone disruptors and carcinogenetics Greed twists eternal in the human breast But the market has no brain It doesn't love it's not God All it knows is the price of lunch
A bleak picture of corrupt market forces, environmental decline, and ignorance of the consequences of wider global politics.

Here I sit Staring at my own shadow Feeling my blood move Trying not to have a drink Trying to find somewhere to put the rage I'm carrying Bad pressure coming down Tears - what we really traffic in ride the ribbon of shadow Never feel the light falling all around Never feel the light falling all around You've never seen everything
Amidst the frustrations and evils of modern society, the artist is attempting to maintain control of his emotions and seeks a way to process the burden of anger he carries every day.