"Some of that hard dubstep and brostep coming from America, is capturing the imagination," singer Matt Bellamy adds. "The moshpit has moved from guitars and gone towards the laptop, so with that song we're trying to see if we can challenge the laptop. We created something that was dubsteppy but we wanted to see if we could do it with real instruments. We wanted to ask, 'Can rock bands compete with what these guys are doing?'"
The 2nd Law: Unsustainable
Muse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Proceed in such a way that the availability
Of the remaining energy decreases
In all energy exchanges, if no energy
Enters or leaves an isolated system
The entropy of that system increases
Energy continuously flows from being
Concentrated to becoming dispersed
New energy cannot be created and high grade
Energy is being destroyed
An economy based on endless growth is un-
(Unsustainable)
The fundamental laws of thermodynamics will
Place fixed limits on technological innovation
And human advancement
In an isolated system, the entropy
Can only increase
A species set on endless growth is un-
(Unsustainable)
The opening lines of Muse's song The 2nd Law: Unsustainable can be interpreted as a reference to the second law of thermodynamics: a scientific principle that states that in any isolated system, energy will always flow from a state of higher concentration to a state of lower concentration - a process known as entropy. The song goes on to suggest that our current socioeconomic model - which relies on the endless consumption of natural resources to sustain economic growth - is fundamentally at odds with this foundational principle. As the energy input into our economy dwindles, our ability to create new wealth and resources becomes increasingly limited. This is a process that is slow, but inevitable, and may eventually lead to societal collapse unless we can find a way to transition to a more sustainable model.
The lyrics of The 2nd Law: Unsustainable are a stark and sobering reminder of the urgent need for action on climate change, and the need to transition to a more sustainable economic model. The song is a powerful statement on the interconnectedness of the natural world, and the fact that we cannot continue to exploit our environment indefinitely without suffering the consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
All natural and technological processes
Every process in nature and technology
Proceed in such a way that the availability
Happen in a manner where the resource
Of the remaining energy decreases
Of the energy that is left decreases
In all energy exchanges, if no energy
Whenever energy is exchanged, if there is no
Enters or leaves an isolated system
Input or output from an isolated system
The entropy of that system increases
The amount of disorder in that system increases
Energy continuously flows from being
Energy always moves from a concentrated state
Concentrated to becoming dispersed
To becoming more spread out and less useful
Spread out, wasted and useless
Spread out, lost and not recoverable
New energy cannot be created and high grade
New high-quality energy cannot be produced
Energy is being destroyed
Energy is being degraded and will eventually disappear
An economy based on endless growth is un-
A system of constant growth is not
(Unsustainable)
Sustainable in the long term
The fundamental laws of thermodynamics will
The basic rules of energy will always
Place fixed limits on technological innovation
Limit how much technology can advance
And human advancement
As well as how much humans can improve
In an isolated system, the entropy
When dealing with a closed system, the amount of disorder
Can only increase
Will only increase over time
A species set on endless growth is un-
A species that aims for infinite growth is also
(Unsustainable)
Unsustainable in the end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Matthew James Bellamy
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cakeless Coder
KajurinP haha had almost the same thing happen to me! I'm still in school, and my science teacher is like "has anyone heard of the second law of thermodynamics?"
everyone who listens to muse puts hand up, with a combined laugh in relisation that we have been prepared
teacher: "so, outline it for us (thinks we have no clue)"
us: the 2nd law of thermodynamics is basically that the entropy of a system can only increase"
teacher: "yeah, that's about it (annoyed that we knew)"
mind you, we still do basic stuff, no fancy specialised physics here (although I wish we did)
ChordHouse
I started hating this song, now is one of my favorites, music and lyrics ( the msg of the song is so truth and reflects a lot about or current system and way of life ) are so powerful, they nailed it with this song!!
Alvaro DCN
+Ivan González Same do I
PeepsILoveEllie
+Ivan González so truth such truth much truth
jakesnjake
+AweMire yawn, this song sucks
Kristin S
That last line "you're unsustainable" is FANTASTIC. Because it's easy to sit back and say "OOH humanity is so bad" but this line tells you that YOU are also part of the problem. And then the music cuts off and you are left with this lingering unsettling feeling. This song is ridiculously underrated.
Mezzanine
Kristin S fucking insightful, not forced at all nor unintentionally hilarious. Absolutely.
Myotic Tesseract
And then it leads into Isolated System.
Think
Mirrored by the fantastic intro. Musically brilliant.
r g
When is that line?
King Dave
this song is with 8 mil clicks way too overrated because it sounds shit. A good song is supposed to sound well. The message is good though.