From the recording TIMESCAPE
04 BITTER (3:44)
The Portraits' first foray into environmental issues was not supposed to sound quite as judgemental about the abuse of the planet as it ended up. "We" is the operative word in the choruses, which accepts blame on behalf of the songwriters as much as anyone, as we are all cogs in the workings of our world. The slant that Bitter takes is to question whether our treatment of the environment could be seen in a wider global context - if you believe that "What Goes Around Comes Around" (that damned Mr Timberlake released his version just after Bitter was written) does exist, then mightn't our collective disrespect for our Earth be balanced by the horrors it throws back at us? The duo's own favourite part of this song is the counterpoint of two overdubbed vocal groups towards the end.
Lyrics
When all these things of natural beauty turn against us
When the oceans all resent us
And rise to attack
When the sunshine at the hearth of youth’s aroma
Returns as melanoma
I can’t help feeling
What goes around comes around
Our skies are bitter
A hate to last the rest of time
These are old wounds that the heavens avenge
We choke the very life out of the air
These scars run deep
And we’ll never be friends
Till we end our greed
It all seems to lead nowhere
Man lets the sweetest fruit
Ferment and turn to poison
He knows that it destroys him
But he wants it all the more
What goes around comes around
Our skies are bitter
Could it be time to make amends?
These are old wounds that the heavens avenge
We choke the very life out of the air
These scars run deep
And we’ll never be friends
Till we end our greed
It all seems to lead nowhere
Now I’ve a stake in the future
But you, angry earth, you’re just too hurt to watch over my child
Please, for my daughter
Accept all our remorse for our wrongs
May we now be reconciled?
These are old wounds (But our excess…)
That the heavens avenge (…is the design fault…)
We choke the very life out of the air (…of our race)
These scars run deep (Our human greed…)
And we’ll never be friends (…harms the things…)
Till we end our greed (…we need the most)
It all seems to lead nowhere