Defend Atlantis
Flobots Lyrics

That was as far as the tide came in
The singer remembers a time when the ocean didn't come any further than where it did.

I remember the starfish and the wails of the sirens then
The singer recalls both the abundance of starfish in the sea, and the warning sirens that would sound when disasters were on the horizon.

We replaced the tridents, embraced Poseidon / And discovered ourselves living on an island
The people moved away from the tridents of their past, and began to embrace the sea god Poseidon. As they did so, they realized that they were living on an island.

We flow like water across the lost city / Chalk prophecies and washed off graffiti / In continents / Trade off for payoff / And high concepts then lost to K-Os
The people move fluidly through the ruins of the lost city, leaving behind their own markings in the form of chalk prophecies and washed-off graffiti. As they do so, they trade off their ideas and work towards their goals, but sometimes these high concepts are lost.

Many tales radiate from one nexus / Defending a dream of a new directive
Many stories come from one central point, where people are defending their dream to create a new way of life.

A call from the deep sums up a notion / The day when the people bum rushed the ocean
A message from the depths of the sea supports the idea that people will one day collectively rise up and take control of the ocean.

From the beaches they ran to meet the day after / Underneath the waves won't repeat the same chapter / Knew what they had to do
The people ran from the beaches to take action, knowing that they couldn't repeat the mistakes of the past.

That which creates life has power to take it right back / Fucking with the icecaps / We've gotta push the tide back / We can survive collapse if we don't get sidetracked / If we visualize living underwater hidden by prisms / Countries fall but people transition if one for all we live in that vision / Hundred dollar bill origami / Balloon inflation new world economy / We float on tsunami to global warming / We need structures to control what's coming / Corporate monopolies obsolete / The philosophy leaves us lost at sea / But from Marwar to Cochabamba / We are the warriors that won't get conquered / 'Cause rising tides drown all villages / Divided fighters succumb to pillage / Rescuers whatever your latitude / It's time to pioneer a new world attitude / Put local cycles first we're Global Islanders with nothing left to plunder
Life-giving forces like the icecaps can easily claim lives if we do not take steps to slow rising sea levels. By visualizing a future where people live together underwater, we can work together to transition from falling countries to rising ones. Old forms of wealth and power, like corporate monopolies, must be left behind to achieve this goal. We are like warriors fighting to avoid being conquered by the rising tides. People must act together, putting local needs first to create a new, more sustainable world order.

(Alert the law alternate nations train in the streets / Act to limit all non-transparent industries so / We must defend Atlantis / Anchor the land and never transform into seas / Assets to liquify all netted toxic indices so / We must defend Atlantis)
People must sound the alarm and force the government and businesses to take action, limiting negative practices and preserving the land to avoid being overtaken by the sea. They must liquify toxic assets and defend their way of life.

For centuries human beings have pursued the meaning of Atlantis / Central to their teaching is that it's existence answers man's essential questions / Much like the feeding of the 5,000 / Even if the facts aren't accurate the story's magic is alive
For generations, people have been fascinated by the story of Atlantis, which they believe holds answers to the big questions in life. They value the story's symbolism more than its historical accuracy.

Of utmost importance to convert the impertinent / Atlantis holds the answer to man's ills at their most pertinent / Aspersions easily dispersed when I certainly answer / The most diverse aversions when I firstly channel _
It's important to change the minds of those who don't understand the importance of Atlantis as a symbol of hope. The answers to our most pressing problems can be found by channeling the spirit of Atlantis.

Is this all that you hold / For a warriors role / The ground shakes / You claim my country not my soul / I fought I toiled, for the lost in the waves I will not tire / I die no slave / If the seas my grave / I sleep with my city / My people my oath / My shame my city is that / I cannot save my city / From waves that claim you / And curse the gods who can't explain / Who to blame / At the end of the reign / Heed me / The season passes Atlas / His keeps in the sediment / Failing monumentally / And leaving no monuments to see / Only sea to shining sea
The artist questions whether the ideas presented so far are enough to be considered a true warriors' creed. They express their love and commitment to their country, but feel unable to save it from the destructive waves that threaten them. At the end of the day, they remind us that even if people cannot save their cities or monuments from being destroyed, they must learn to adapt and move forward.

(Assess the loss as new tidal inundations surface / Amidst the legions are now thousands in starfish / We must defend Atlantis / As the land acquiesces no tears in sympathy / Address the legacy and never treat it separately / Access telepathy last as neverending transcend-ency
As new waves threaten to wipe out everything in their path, the people must assess what they stand to lose. Thousands of starfish are among the millions who stand at risk. They must take action to defend Atlantis now more than ever, while preserving the legacy of its past. Only by accessing telepathy can they hope to build a never-ending, transcendent future.

And survival hinged on an attempt by the humble / And the sirens wailed as the empire crumbled / With nothing left to plunder corporations drowned / Waves clapped like thunder and stormed the gates with sound / Forming a new nation now
The survival of the humble people depended on their collective action. As the sirens wailed and the old order crumbled, the corporations who had plundered the land were swept away by the oncoming waves. Out of this chaos, a new nation was born.

As the icecaps melted water levels rose / We raised our hands together and made the levees hold / Heals in the sand we revealed the depths below / The population of starfish exploded from the ocean / Survival we unified to focus on / And the voices were many but we spoke as one
Rising sea levels were causing chaos, but we banded together to save ourselves. We built levees and healed the land, and found that life was still teeming beneath the waves. The people came together to focus on survival, and spoke in one voice.

As the tale was retold we multiplied / And swelled across the faultlines to halt the tide / We let the altars die to keep our pulse alive / And from the barren wastelands of naked trash / We stitched together a shelter from fallen nation's flags / And chose to build a future from an ancient past
As the story of Atlantis was told and retold, the people grew in number and strength. They worked to stop the oncoming waves and keep their pulse alive. Out of the wreckage of fallen nations, they built a new shelter for themselves, choosing to draw inspiration from the past.

The crowns of thorns was worn we put the tritons down / We found new forms of anchors deep inside the ground / The world is an island now
The people discarded their old ways, choosing instead to find new solutions to the problems facing them. They found new anchors to ground themselves in the land, and they came to realize that the world is like an island, and they must work together to survive.