At The Speed Of Life
Wang Chung Lyrics

A man lives in the city
There is a man who resides in the city

Surrounded by machines
He is amidst various machines and technology

They take away his pity
The machines make him feel less empathetic

And give him what he dreams
However, they do provide him with his desired outcomes

A stream of information
He receives constant updates and data

On a green letter screen
This information is displayed on a screen with green letters

Makes him feel in touch with the world
This information makes him feel more connected to the world

And sure of what it means
He is certain of the meaning behind the information

At the speed of light you're in endless night
Moving at the speed of light feels like a never-ending night

At the speed of sound you don't see the ground
Traveling at the speed of sound makes it difficult to observe the ground

And in your sports car with the windows down
Even in a fast sports car with open windows

And the radio on and you don't stop talking
When the radio's playing and you're constantly talking

Thanks, I'll keep walking
The singer prefers to walk instead of doing all of these things

I'm doing things in my own way
He prefers to do things in his own unique manner

Well I'm doing things as I please
He is doing things based on his own desires and preferences

And then everything else goes it's own way
Everything else happens in its own way, even if it deviates from what he wants

A man lives in the city
There's another man living in the city

Distracted by the news
He's distracted by the constant influx of news

From sitting down with the ones he loves
The news distracts him from spending time with loved ones

Or taking time to choose
He doesn't take the time to decide what he truly wants

And what of conversation?
He doesn't converse as much due to the constant news updates

And what is left when he dies?
When he passes away, what will be left of him?

Is there a diary of an honest man
He wonders if he will leave behind an honest record of his life

To stand against the lies?
This diary would serve as a counter to the constant lies

I'm doing things for their own sake
The singer is doing things solely for their own purpose

A picture on a screen won't do
He doesn't want to just see a picture on a screen

I need to feel and touch it too
He wants to physically connect with what he's doing

I'm doing things for their own sake
He reiterates that everything he's doing is for his own reasons

I gotta find that essential, deep emotion
He's searching for a deep and profound emotional experience

Get unhooked from this low commotion
He wants to detach himself from the chaos and noise around him

And do what I feel
He wants to focus on and do what he truly feels

This is the speed of life
The speed at which we live our lives