Cruel Optimism, Empty Horizon

classical, egyptian swing · 4:01

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Berardi tells us futures lost their way
The collective dreams we had yesterday
Semiocapital rewired our minds
Left acceleration, hope behind
No more utopias to believe
Just endless present we can't leave

[Chorus]
Future's gone, future's gone
Lost dimension we depend upon
Cruel optimism holds us tight
Promises that aren't quite right
Precarious lives, insecurity's song
The future's gone, the future's gone

[Verse 2]
Berlant shows us how we still attach
To good life fantasies that never match
Clusters of promises wearing us down
Optimism cruel, spinning around
We know it's broken but we can't let go
This fantasy is all we know

[Chorus]
Future's gone, future's gone
Lost dimension we depend upon
Cruel optimism holds us tight
Promises that aren't quite right
Precarious lives, insecurity's song
The future's gone, the future's gone

[Verse 3]
Lorey maps the government of fear
Precarity's the norm that keeps us here
Not exception but the rule they made
Insecurity's how control is played
Flexibility masks our powerless state
Normalization seals our fate

[Bridge]
After the future what remains?
Semiocapitalist chains
Impotence spreads through every soul
While capital maintains control
But futurability might still rise
If we can see through their disguise

[Chorus]
Future's gone, future's gone
Lost dimension we depend upon
Cruel optimism holds us tight
Promises that aren't quite right
Precarious lives, insecurity's song
The future's gone, the future's gone

[Outro]
From collective dreams to individual strain
The future's loss, our present pain
But in the cracks, possibility waits
Beyond these manufactured fates

← **Scrolling Through The Ruins Of Tomorrow** | **Broken Ladder, Burning Clock** →