I wanted to write a longer post about this song as I felt sharing it on https://mastodon.world/@OWGF and saying “this is great,” didn’t really capture how much I love it and why. Fixer Upper by Grace Petrie is to me the ultimate #SolarPunk anthem and the anthem for this blog too.

https://genius.com/Grace-petrie-fixer-upper-lyrics

At its heart the song sees the (human) world as something that’s broken but still essentially good and worth fixing. It beautifully straddles the line between acknowledging the deep crises we are in but also the potential for getting out it. For decades I had hoped that once things got bad, we would all collectively see the problem and take action. The floods, the wildfires and the mass extinctions would spur us all into global action.

“When I was young and still naive
I thought that it was guaranteed
That things would change for better, Not for worse”

But this has not been the case and in many ways it’s been the complete opposite. The worse things get the harder the Planet Wreckers are working to stop us taking action. Dislocating us from reality, throwing out endless distractions and atomising dissent. And as a result moving us towards extremism, violence, conflict and even more environmental destruction.

“It feels just like we’re going ninety in reverse
As misinformation thrives
We are fighting for our lives”

Over the last few years the solutions have become more and more obvious to me. We need collective action. The idea that reducing our individual carbon footprint, or recycling more, is going to “fix“ climate and biodiversity crises’ is a myth, spread by the big polluters. Yes we should do what we can, on an individual level, but we also must do more collectively.

“So don’t mourn we will organise
Stronger when we unionise”

For anyone who is aware of what is going on with all these crises we face, there is a significant emotional toll which Grace beautifully encapsulates in a number of lines. It good to know we are not alone, feeling like this.

“The sorrow shining in your eyes
I’m keeping at bay”

“We are fighting for our lives
Just to make sure when the smoke clears there’ll be anything left
The road ahead feels bleak and jaded
All my future hopes are faded
I’m sinking, overthinking, overdrinking and bereft”

When I think about what a Solar Punk future might be like, Fixer Upper is exactly it. It’s not about us building a new world and new cities with giant skyscrapers covered in trees. It’s about “fixing up” what we have now. It’s about retrofitting. It’s about reusing, recycling, repurposing and re-imagining the world and the stuff we have today, into a completely sustainable system. Into a circular economy.

“So grab a spade, yeah grab a hammer
Plant some seeds and raise a banner”

“Dragging half the contents of a salvage yard”

“We will build something better from the parts”

Most of all I love the hope, the empathy and the rallying cry in this song. It really blows me away. We need to turn that emotional toll into hope, into action. And that’s what this song is doing for me.

“The saplings laid by other folks
We will turn into mighty oaks
The battle scars, the broken parts
Of dreams who outlasted those hearts
Oh everything you dream is possible It’s waiting to be made”

“And maybe I’m delusional but I think you are beautiful”

You can buy the song on brand camp, or the whole album.
https://gracepetrie.bandcamp.com/track/fixer-upper

Of course I have!