I think it’s safe to say that optimism is in short supply these days. Politically, socially, ecologically, there is a darkness that has hung over us for a while now – even before the onset of this whole global pandemic situation, which certainly hasn’t helped things. But if you cast your gaze out far enough, it can be possible to imagine a better world. Sparkbird’s Stephan Nance wrote this song in response to a call for songs about hopeful climate futures, and they wisely chose not to envision a scenario where humanity actually gets its shit together and is able to fend off the worst impacts of climate change while maintaining our bloated, capitalism-fueled standard of living. Instead, “Metropolis of Eden” brings us to some sort of after time. We don’t know exactly when, or what happened, but the cities are in ruin, the buildings have all turned green . . . and a city in ruin is also a city in bloom. We’ve let go of so much of what we all thought was important, and are now free to do the things we like. Things are, at least for the folks in this song, better than they used to be.
Of course this is fanciful. Of course it elides the pain, suffering, and death that will come with a warming climate and the end of so many of our standards of living, as artifical and unsustainable as they are. But Stephan isn’t trying to sum up an entire post-apocalyptic world here; they’re merely choosing one angle, one moment, and painting a musical and lyrical portrait (a lush, gorgeously orchestrated one, by the way). The subtext, as it always is (at least for me) when the subject of the future comes up is it will get worse. But Stephan wants us to remember that still, for those who are left, some things will be better. That’s certainly not a reason to surrender to climate apocalypse, but it is an important reminder that, whatever happens, cities will blooom, people will still find joy.