Eyes Wide Open by Gotye Lyrics Meaning – A Dive Into Conscious Awareness and Complacency
Lyrics
With our eyes wide open, we
So this is the end of the story,
Everything we had, everything we did,
Is buried in dust,
And this dust is all that’s left of us.
But only a few ever worried.
Well the signs were clear, they had no idea.
You just get used to living in fear,
Or give up when you can’t even picture your future.
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open.
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we
(Walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we)
Yeah, we walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we
(Walk the plank with our eyes wide open.)
Some people offered up answers.
We made out like we heard, they were only words.
They didn’t add up to a change in the way we were living,
And the saddest thing is all of it could have been avoided.
But it was like to stop consuming is to stop being human,
You’ll want to make a change if you won’t.
We’re all in the same boat, staying afloat for the moment.
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we
(Walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we)
Yeah we walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we
(Walk the plank with our eyes wide open.)
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open,
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open,
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we
With our eyes wide open, we walk the plank, we walk the plank.
With our eyes wide open, we walk the plank, we walk the plank, we walk the plank.
With our eyes wide open, we walk the plank, we walk the plank.
That was the end of the story.
When Gotye released ‘Eyes Wide Open’ from his album ‘Making Mirrors’, it struck a chord with a generation ensnared between awareness and inaction. This isn’t just a song; it’s a narrative encapsulating the human condition in the face of impending disaster, enveloped in folktronica that stings as much as it soothes.
Digging into ‘Eyes Wide Open’, one uncovers layers of meaning in the deceptively simple lyrics. It is a rumination on the end of things, a commentary on societal apathy, and a clarion call for change – all wrapped in Gotye’s hauntingly melodic voice. Let’s decode the pathos and poetry that ‘Eyes Wide Open’ epitomizes.
The Apocalypse in Our Backyard: Dissecting Doomsday Imagery
Gotye paints a desolate landscape with ‘everything we had, everything we did, is buried in dust.’ The song imagines an end-times scenario not with a bang, but a whimper – the dust of what once was, the remnants of our collective inertia. It’s an apocalyptic vision starkly contrasted with the inertia reflected in ‘only a few ever worried.’
Throughout history, art has often been a mirror to society’s collapse or transformation. In ‘Eyes Wide Open’, Gotye seems to gesture towards climate change, environmental decay, and perhaps the psychological decay in recognizing the end but being too paralyzed by the comfort of routine to act against it.
A Chorus Line as a Wake-Up Call: Every Step a Choice
The line ‘We walk the plank with our eyes wide open’ is not just a memorable hook but an indictment. It’s delivered with a knowing resignation: we are aware of the consequences of our actions, yet we march towards our own destruction. The plank symbolizes a forced march towards an inevitable, tragic end – except it’s a march we choose.
By repeating this line, Gotye drills the message into our consciousness. It becomes a mantra of self-aware martyrdom but also evokes the possibility of a different choice. In acknowledging our eyes are open, Gotye insinuates that we can look, can turn back, can change course before the fall.
Confronting the Illusion of Words Without Action
In a world inundated with information and opinions, ‘Some people offered up answers. We made out like we heard, they were only words.’ Gotye critiques the veneer of concern that doesn’t translate into tangible change. He condemns the collective nod to wisdom that dissipates into the void of everyday life.
‘They didn’t add up to a change in the way we were living’ captures the essence of human resistance to change, the tendency to acknowledge yet not act, hear yet not listen – a pattern exacerbated by the modern-day barrage of 24/7 news cycles and armchair activism.
Unveiling the Song’s Hidden Meaning: Humanity’s Dependency Crisis
‘But it was like to stop consuming is to stop being human,’ Gotye sings, suggesting a broader comment on the insatiable consumer appetite that drives much of the world. In the mad dash for material satisfaction and economic growth, we often sideline the impact of our consumption on the planet and on the very essence of our humanity.
Gotye encapsulates the all-too-common belief that life quality is defined by material gain, evoking the paradox that to cease this consumption feels like an affront to our identity. This line lays bare the addiction of modern society to overconsumption and the difficulties in breaking free from such a deeply ingrained behavior.
Memorable Lines That Mirror Modern Despair
‘You’ll want to make a change if you won’t.’ Gotye calls out the contradiction of wanting change without the willingness to initiate it. This oxymoron resonates with many who feel the desire for a different path but find themselves locked in the comfort of the status quo, despite knowing its unsustainability.
As the song concludes with the repetition of ‘We walk the plank,’ it feels like a punctuation mark, a finality that hammers home the song’s plea. These memorable lines urge listeners to not only hear the message but to carry it within them and to dare to be the difference they want to see.
