Picture courtesy of jackjohnsonmusic.com
Song Picks by Natalie
Ones and Zeros is song by Jack Johnson that starts out by saying,
“There’s a black hole pulling me in
I slowly bend until I see the back of my own sins
I stole my soul from myself now I wonder”
I believe that he is referring to being sucked into a state of oblivion and not even realizing what is a sin and what is not. At this point, man is no longer himself. He then says,
“In the future we’ll be laughing at who we were right now
As man plays god with the land that he plunders”
“To the one unknown no one can know nor see
That’s resistant to greed
If we listen to time after time, time can never go under”
Here I think he starts out by saying that when future generations look back, they will laugh at how man treated the land. People in the future will see how absurd it is that man tried to play God and take control of the land. I believe he is then referring to people ignoring God. He is referring to God by saying “the one unknown no one can know nor see” and that if people listen to Him, we can never go under.
He makes several other references to people being oblivious and ignoring the problems of the planet.
“Into a world of boys and girls
Are holding their handheld devices
While they’re eating and they’re sleeping
And they’re dreaming of the prices
We’ll be paying down the line
When the ice melts maybe it will turn to wine”
“And a lot of people like to have a feast
Not so many could stomach the killing”
At the end he says,
“Lot of traffic on the streets, so who’s really doing all the drilling
Keep on filling what can never be full”
I believe he is saying that people must take responsibility for our actions. We are the ones constantly wanting more and never being satisfied with what we have already been blessed with. We can never be content and that is the true problem.
To read the lyrics, click here.
To listen to the song, click here.