Ad Astra – English Lyrics

• By: NIGHTWISH
• Album: Human. :II: Nature.

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a profound journey with Nightwish's instrumental epic, "Ad Astra." This song offers a unique opportunity to connect with English through the powerful and thought-provoking words of Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' monologue. Its cinematic orchestral composition, coupled with its deep ecological message, makes it a truly special and inspiring piece that transcends musical boundaries, inviting listeners to ponder our shared home from a cosmic perspective.

[English]

Look again at that dot.

That's here. That's home. That's us.

On it everyone you love, everyone you know,

everyone you ever heard of,

every human being who ever was,

lived out their lives.

The aggregate of our joy and suffering,

thousands of confident religions,

ideologies, and economic doctrines,

every hunter and forager, every hero and coward,

every creator and destroyer of civilization,

every king and peasant, every young couple in love,

every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer,

every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician,

every "superstar," every "supreme leader,"

every saint and sinner in the history of our species

lived there-

on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

That's here. That's home. That's us.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
aggregate /ˈæɡrɪɡət/ C1	noun - a total or combined quantity adjective - formed by adding together
joy /dʒɔɪ/ A1	noun - a feeling of great pleasure and happiness
suffering /ˈsʌfərɪŋ/ A2	noun - pain or distress
religion /rɪˈlɪdʒən/ A2	noun - a particular system of faith and worship
ideology /ˌaɪdiˈɒlədʒi/ B2	noun - a system of ideas and ideals
economic /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk/ B1	adjective - relating to economy or finances
hunter /ˈhʌntər/ A1	noun - a person who hunts animals
forager /ˈfɒrɪdʒər/ B2	noun - a person who searches for food or provisions
hero /ˈhɪəroʊ/ A1	noun - a person admired for courage or achievements
coward /ˈkaʊərd/ A2	noun - a person who lacks courage
creator /kriˈeɪtər/ B1	noun - a person who creates something
destroyer /dɪˈstrɔɪər/ A2	noun - a person or thing that destroys
civilization /ˌsɪvəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/ B1	noun - an advanced state of human society
king /kɪŋ/ A1	noun - a male ruler of a kingdom
peasant /ˈpezənt/ B1	noun - a poor farmer of low social status
explorer /ɪkˈsplɔrər/ A2	noun - a person who explores new areas
corrupt /kəˈrʌpt/ B1	adjective - dishonest or illegal behavior verb - to act dishonestly for personal gain
saint /seɪnt/ A2	noun - a person recognized for exceptional holiness
sinner /ˈsɪnər/ A2	noun - a person who commits sins
species /ˈspiːʃiːz/ B1	noun - a group of living organisms with similar characteristics

Key Grammar Structures

• Look again at that dot.

  ➔ Imperative verb

  ➔ The verb "Look" is used to give a command or instruction.

• That's here. That's home. That's us.

  ➔ Contractions

  ➔ "That's" is a common contraction of "that is", used for conciseness in everyday language.

• On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of...

  ➔ Omitted relative pronoun (object)

  ➔ The relative pronoun "whom" or "that" is omitted after "everyone" when it functions as the object of the verb ("you love").

• ...every human being who ever was...

  ➔ Relative clause with "who"

  ➔ "who ever was" modifies "every human being", providing more information about them. "who" refers to people.

• ...lived out their lives.

  ➔ Phrasal verb ("live out")

  ➔ The phrasal verb "live out" means to experience the end of one's life or to fulfill one's life. Here, it conveys the idea of completing their existence.

• The aggregate of our joy and suffering...

  ➔ Noun phrase with "of"

  ➔ "The aggregate of..." uses "of" to connect "aggregate" (the total amount) with "our joy and suffering", indicating what the aggregate is composed of.

• ...thousands of confident religions...

  ➔ Quantifier ("thousands of")

  ➔ "thousands of" is used to express a large, indefinite number of items. It emphasizes the vast quantity of religions.

• ...every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization...

  ➔ Repetitive use of "every" for emphasis/comprehensiveness

  ➔ The repeated use of "every" before each pair or group of nouns creates a strong sense of inclusiveness and emphasizes that *all* types of people are being referred to.

• ...on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

  ➔ Past participle used as an adjective/reduced relative clause

  ➔ "suspended" is a past participle acting as an adjective, describing "a mote of dust". It implies "which was suspended".

• ...lived there-

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The verb "lived" is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action or state in the past. It refers to the entire existence of all the mentioned individuals.