Environmental Anxiety (song)

* Album
* Live

**"Environmental Anxiety"** (stylized with a full stop at the end) is the eleventh track to RAYE's debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues released on February 3, 2023, independently and distributed by Human Re Sources.

On October 16, 2023, the live version of this song was released as the ninth track on RAYE's live album, My 21st Century Symphony., performed with The Heritage Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall on September 26, 2023.

## Background

On the Spotify storyline she explained:

“*Probably my weirdest, and most chaotic song on the album. Feeling so powerless to any real change or influence on the state of the climate crisis or selected world leaders. Recycling once a week doesn’t quite remove the anxiety I feel about the future of our planet and some of the terrible humans in charge. I’m a musician, I guess I wanted to get it off my chest and put it into a song.*”
―via Spotify Storyline

## Lyrics

How did you ever think

How did you ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

You poison the waterfalls

Set fire to our rivers of hope

The end of us all

Well, it was always bound to happen

To happen

Come on, kids, it's time to vote

Boris Johnson's sniffing coke

All the children are depressed

Not the future we had hoped

Little girls aren't safe at home

She's scrolling up and down her phone

She hates her life, she hates herself

And she's 12 years old

These socials apps are now our gods

Since dopamine from likes and shares

Then we find peace from drugs and sex and prescription anxiety meds

Sweep the truth under the rug

Feed us plastic GMO crops

We don't need self motivation

Robots will take all our jobs

How did we ever think

How did we ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

We poisoned the waterfalls

And set fires to our rivers of hope

We're all gonna die, what do we do before it happens?

It happens

You turn a blind eye when the drunk man falls

Did you ever think why is the drunk man drunk?

A system failed, two kids in jail

And the rich get rich and the rest get sunk

Classist, sexist, racist, ableist, fascist, ageist, homophobic

Country leaders fucked our futures and they think we haven't noticed

Forests burning, oil spills, melting ice and methane gas

Toxic waste and plastic fish, we're digging holes to hide our trash

Unity reeks in all our songs but we drew borders across our lands

A thousand years we been at war

When the planet is dead we will all hold hands

How did we ever think

How did we ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

We poisoned the waterfalls

And set fires to our rivers of hope

We're all gonna die, what do we do before it happens?

It happens

Attention citizens

Please evacuate the country in an orderly fashion

And leave behind any personal belongings, um, that you don't need, ha ha

### Live at Royal Albert Hall recording

*Yeah, I can go for it right now, yeah*

*It's also weird as fuck*

How did you ever think?

How did you ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

You poison the waterfalls

Set fire to our rivers of hope

The end of us all, well, it was always bound to happen

To happen, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Two, three, uh, yeah

Come on, kids, it's time to vote

Boris Johnson's sniffing coke

All the children are depressed

Not the future we had hoped

Little girls aren't safe at home

(She scrolling up and down hеr phone)

She hates hеr life, she hates herself

And she's twelve years old

These social apps are now our gods

Since dopamine from likes and shares

Then we find peace from drugs and sex

And prescription (Anxiety meds)

Sweep the truth under the rug

Feed us plastic, GMO crops

We don't need self-motivation

Robots will take all our jobs

How did we ever think?

How did we ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

We poisoned the waterfalls

And set fires to our rivers of hope

We're all gonna die, what do we do before it happens?

You turn a blind eye when the drunk man falls

Did you ever think why is the drunk man drunk?

A system failed, two kids in jail

And the rich get rich, and the rest get sunk

Classist, sexist, racist, ableist

Fascists, ageist, homophobic

Country leaders fucked our futures

(And they think we haven't noticed)

Forest burning, oil spills

Melting ice and methane gas

Toxic waste and plastic fish

We're digging holes (To hide our trash)

Unity reeks in all our songs

But we drew borders across our lands

A thousand years we been at war

When the planet is dead (We will all hold hands)

How did we ever think?

How did we ever think it wasn't bound to happen?

We poisoned the waterfalls

And set fires to our rivers of hope

We're all gonna die, what do we do before it happens?

What do we do? What do we do? What do we do?

What do we do before it happens? Hey! Hey!

No, we need a little better, a little better, a little better

Hey! What do we do? What do we do? Yeah

Mmh, mmh, uh

Attention citizens

Please evacuate the country in an orderly fashion

And leave behind any personal belongings

Um, that you don't need

*Thank you*