| Em | G D A | D | A | (just guitar) | | Hands chip the | flint, light the | fire, skin the | kill |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Feet move the tribe track the herd with a will |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Human-kind | struggles, on the | edge of histo | ry |
| Em | G D B7 | D | B7 | | | Time to settle | down, time to | grow, time to | breed.. |
| B7 | B7 | B7 | (skip) | | | ... | | | (skip) |
| Em | G D A | D | A | (other instruments | | Plow tills the soil, plants the seed, pray for rain |
| Em | G D A | D | A | but no drums yet) | | Scythe reaps the wheat, to the mill, to grind the grain |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Towns.. and.. cities spread to empire over - night |
| Em | G D B7 | D | B7 | | | Hands keep building as we chant the ancient rite... |
| B7 | B7 | B7 | (skip) | | | ... | | | (skip) |
| Em | G D A | D | A | (drums kick in) | | Coal heats the steam, push the piston, turns the wheel |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Cogs spin the wool, drives the horses made of steel |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Lightning harnessed does our will and lights the dark |
| Em | G D B7 | D | B7 | | | Keep rising higher, set our goal, hit the mark... |
| B7 | B7 | B7 | (skip) | | | ... | | | (skip) |
| Em | G D A | D | A | (violin solo) |
| Em | G D A | D | A |
| Em | Em | Em | Em |
| Em | D | Em | Em | | | | Crawl.. out.. of... the mud. |
| Em | A | Em | Em | | | | On... go... ing... but slow. |
| G | D | Em | Em | | | For the | path... | that is | easy |
| G | D | B7 | B7 | | | Ain't the | one... that... | makes us | grow |
| B7 | B7 | (skip) | (skip) | | | | | (skip) | (skip) |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Light push the sails, read the data, cities glow |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Hands type the keys, tap the screen, out we go! |
| Em | G D A | D | A | | | Our voices carry round the world and into space |
| Em | G D B7 | D | B7 | | | Send us out to colonize another place. |
| B7 | B7 | B7 | (skip) | (quieter) | | | | | (skip) |
| E | G D A | D | A | (note: major chords) | | Hands, make the tools, light fire, plant the grain |
| E | G D A | D | A | | | Feet, track the herd. Build a world. Begin again... |
| A G | Am | | | | | | (transition directly into 5000 years) |