The Atom Songtext

von Ani Difranco

The glory of the atom
Begs a reverent word
The primary design
Of the whole universe
Yes, let us sing its praises
Let us bow our heads in prayer
At the magnificent consciousness
Incarnate there

The smallest unit of matter
With its orbiting electrons
Echoing off the solar system
Like a hawk in the hills at dawn
The smallest unit of matter
Uniting bird and rock and tree
And you and me

Oh holy is the atom
The truly intelligent design
To which all of evolution
Is graciously aligned
The one single structure
To which everything distills
The air
The wood smoke there
And the hills

Leave me here surrounded
By everything that's real
Far outside the boundaries
Of the digitized ordeal
Leave me here awake
Leave me here to heal

Human beings are a cross
Between monkeys and ants
You can see us from your spaceship
Melting the polar ice caps
With our arrogance
Summon a congress of angels
Dressed in riot gear
We got ourselves a serious situation
Down here

I have this great great uncle
Who worked on the atomic bomb
He got a nobel prize in physics
And a place in this song
And i bet there were no windows
And no women in the room
When they applied themselves
To the pure science of
Boom

Yes, messing with the atom
Is the highest form of blasphemy
Whether you are making weapons
Or simple electricity
Someone fashion me a pulpit
I have been called to engage
With the maniacal heretics
Of the nuclear age!

Let the religious get religion
Let consumers get a clue
Let scientists get perspective
Let activists get their due
Let industry get a conscience
Let the earth inherit the meek
Let the divinity of nature speak

The glory of the atom
Begs a reverent word
The primary design
Of the whole universe
Yes, let us sing its praises
Let us bow our heads in prayer
At the magnificent consciousness
Incarnate there