Good Apocalypse

[Verse 1]
Those plastic '2000' specs you wore, Mai
Caught the last orange flash of the '99 sky
The whole world was holdin' its breath for the fall
We just smelled pork on the grill, that was all
You cranked up the karaoke machine on the lawn
And we decided the future could wait until dawn.

[Chorus]
We were dancin' on the San Andreas Fault that night
With a fierce kind of joy in the string-light
Let the bad harvest rot (in 3/4 time) when the numbers went black
We weren't ever lookin' back.

[Verse 2]
The news anchor's face was a study in fear
But the uncles just shrugged and passed 'round a beer
"They worry 'bout a clock," Uncle Bay laughed out loud
"A glitch in a wire's a pretty soft cloud."
He told stories of monsoons that washed out the roads
Just another tall tale 'tween the heavy bass notes.

[Spoken-Word Interlude]
(Sound of a tinny TV news report: "...cascading failures could cripple the global infrastructure...")
(Sound of mahjong tiles clacking, a bottle opening)
(Older man's voice, warm but tired) "Hùng. They act like this is the end. For us, the end was a Tuesday."

[Chorus]
We were dancin' on the San Andreas Fault that night
With a fierce kind of joy in the string-light
Let the bad harvest rot (in 3/4 time) when the numbers went black
We weren't ever lookin' back.

[Bridge]
The sun came up yellow over the Pacific swell
The computers were fine, you could hardly tell
That anything almost happened at all
Except for your hand in mine, bracing for the fall.

[Outro]
It was a good apocalypse, Mai.
A real good apocalypse.