[Intro - spoken / softly sung] They call it repugnant, this world Z of ours Where zillions breathe beneath ordinary stars But let me tell you of a lottery divine Where existence itself is the prize on the line [Verse 1 - World A - the privileged few] In towers of crystal, the chosen few dwell Each moment a symphony, each day rings like bells "We wouldn't trade paradise for more souls to feed" Say World A's golden few, who were blessed to proceed Their gardens are endless, their wine ever-flowing But outside their Eden, no new life is growing [Pre-Chorus] Now God sets the table for a cosmic debate Every soul that could be gets to gamble their fate [Chorus - all voices] Would you roll the dice on your very existence? Trade your humble heartbeat for a vanishing chance? The philosophers sneer from their towers of gold But we who live simply have stories untold Every life, every life, every life has its worth Not just in paradise, you are privileged by birth [Verse 2 - World Z's zillions] We wake to our labor, we sleep next to kin We break bread with friends though our soup may be thin We've buried our parents, we've cradled our young We've danced to the muzak and actually sung These hands have known calluses, these hearts have known loss But love, breath, and striving outweigh all these costs [Pre-Chorus] The lottery's spinning, the numbers are clear We'd almost all vanish were utopia here [Chorus] Would you roll the dice on your very existence? Trade your humble heartbeat for a vanishing chance? The philosophers sneer from their towers of gold But we who live simply have stories untold Every life, every life, every life has its worth Not just in paradise, you are privileged by birth [Bridge - Building intensity] Their thought experiments painted us gray Said "potatoes and muzak" exhausted our day But we've invented religions, we've written our songs We've loved through the decades, we've righted our wrongs World A only looks better when you know you're alive While the rest of us vanish so your few can thrive [Verse 3 - The Vote] So when God asks the question, our voices unite: "We choose to keep living our imperfect life" Let the A-world stay empty, those seats stay unfilled Better we all muddle through than most souls be stilled For what is utopia to those never born? What good is your Eden to the cosmos unformed? [Final Chorus - Triumphant] We won't roll the dice on our very existence Won't trade these heartbeats for your vanishing chance You can keep your derision from towers of gold Every "barely-worth-living" life deserves to be told Every life, every life, every life has its worth The repugnant conclusion? It's the gift of more birth [Outro - Soft, reflective] In the lottery of souls, every ticket's a win When the alternative's nothing... When the alternative's nothing Let the multitudes in (Let us in)
