by Kaitie Ty Warren, © 2025
Support: Patreon.com/KaitieTy
website: KaitieTyWarren.com
Teaching page made 1/2025
Lyrics:
Worlds end, all the time
It’s “worlds as we know them” and I’m
So glad I spent this one with you
Now life will carry me and
Where I end up I’ll see how
Much of my life is still you.
(counter) It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel, I feel…
In early January 2025, during the big southern California fires that destroyed several of Kaitie’s family members’ homes and in the days before the scariest inauguration in recent US history, Kaitie posted this song on Patreon, with this explanation (the story is also told in the ASL of the accompanying video).
The story:
When I was in high school, during Y2K, our teacher said “everyone’s worried about the end of the world. But worlds end all the time. Anytime something important to you changes, that’s the world as you know it ending. It’s ’the world as we know it,’ you know? Like the REM song, ‘it’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.’”
Certainly some worlds are ending now; it’s hard not to think about it. I’m sending thanks back in time to Mr. Puck for reframing the end of the world in such a less-scary way. We’ve been through so many worlds already.
This song came through WHILE I was writing the For Our Homes song. Like my brain took a break, received this, and then went back to writing For Our Homes.
I notice it has a fun, dancey uptempo quality and am reminded of – and think it is drawing on the wisdom of – many of the community songs I’ve sung from South Africa, Zimbabwe, and West Africa which have uptempo, rhythmic musicality and heartbreaking content.
My heart was certainly breaking as this song came through. It also inspired me to dance.
Love to you all.