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What Ya Gonna Do? (4:37)

What ya gonna do when the oil is gone, brother?
What ya gonna do when the oil is gone, man?
What ya gonna do when the oil is gone?
Gonna junk my car and learn to farm,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when you can't drive, sister?
What ya gonna do when you can't drive, ma’am?
What ya gonna do when you can't drive?
Gonna try to find a way to stay alive,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when you can't buy food, brother?...
Gonna learn what grows in the neighborhood,
O brother, sister of mine.

What you gonna do with your SUV, sister?...
Gonna trade it for a jar of potato seeds,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when the mall is dark, brother?...
Gonna plant soy beans where I used to park,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when the bus is late, sister?...
Gonna cross my legs and meditate,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when the TV's down, brother?...
Gonna have a conversation with the folks in town,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do with Dad's .22, sister?...
Gonna bury it deep with the bullets, too,
O brother, sister of mine.

What ya gonna do when the President lies, brother?...
Gonna vote him out and can that jive,
O brother, sister of mine.

Global warming did us in, sister...
Well I used to walk, now I’ve got to swim,
O brother, sister of mine.

© Rev. Heng Sure 2006 All Rights Reserved
Music: Traditional, arr. Rev. Heng Sure
Lyrics: Rev. Heng Sure

It seems clear that our economy’s dependence on fossil fuel has put society on a collision course with cataclysmic changes that will occur when oil is too expensive or simply no longer available. What are we going to do when we can’t buy food at the supermarket because there is no fuel for the trucks that bring the groceries? Some authors and thinkers suggest we may need to return to local subsistence farming and turn our parking lots into truck gardens.