A couple of years ago I posted a Gotye song during a theme week on future one-hit wonders. I predicted that his ‘Somebody That I Used to Know‘ will stand the test of time but he’ll otherwise be forgotten.
Madison jumped to his defense on that post, calling him one of her favorite artists and calling out the song ‘Eyes Wide Open’ as worthy of hit status. She called it “a painfully relevant song” and said “It’ll never become a hit because people don’t like to think about our flaws as a humanity.”
Well, Madison is sticking to her guns, naming ‘Eyes Wide Open’ as one of her Top 25 songs of all time.
This track is set in the future, when generations to come are living on a planet destroyed by our current irresponsibility and indifference. The real tragedy, Gotye suggests, is that we know what we’re doing to the world but don’t have the will to change. That’s so much worse than being caught unaware.
“We walk the plank with our eyes wide open,” he repeats, a compelling metaphor for a population resigned to its own demise.
I like this song a lot. It reminds me very much of early Peter Gabriel, another artsy rocker who turned his concerns about geopolitics into memorable music.
With our eyes wide open, we—
With our eyes wide open, we—
[Verse 1]
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
And only a few ever worried
While the signs were clear, they had no idea
You just get used to livin’ in fear
Or give up, when you can’t even picture your future
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open
[Chorus]
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—)
[Verse 2]
And some people offered up answers
We made out we 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’ve been avoided
But it was like to stop consuming, to stop being human
And why’d I make a change if you won’t
We’re all in the same, boat, stayin’ afloat for the moment
[Chorus]
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—
(We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we—)
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we—
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we—
We walk the plank with our eyes wide open, we—
[Outro]
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
With our eyes wide open
And that is the end of the story
Meet Me In Montauk 
Yay 🙂 I love Gotye, I wish he would make more music. I think a new album may be incoming. But until then I’ll repeat some pretty wonderful songs from him including this one 🔥
Well, so far, Clay’s prediction seems to be accurate, but I hope for Maddie’s sake, Gotye makes new music, even if he never has another commercial hit.
Perhaps this should be the theme song of the upcoming impeachment trial? I see the Gabriel comparison.
Good song for the Republican Party