Nick Soma - Sink or Swim

An environmental song about a polar bear, and the effects of climate change on him. "The girl/boy" is a reference to La Niña and El Niño.

With the summer season
The girl is gone, the boy returns
He doesn't know the reason
The glaciers melt, the sun, it burns
The place that he grew up in
Is now submerged beyond the sea
And soon there will be nothing
To hold onto, no place to be

And now it's either sink or swim
He carries on, he won't give in
But with no pack ice to be found
Before too long, he will have drowned

Ever shorter winters
Always hungry, scarcer prey
Digging through the splinters
He's come to hate the light of day
The times, they are a-changin'
The boy returns, the girl is gone
His hopes and dreams are fading
One by one

For now, it's either sink or swim
He stays afloat, he won't give in
But with no ice floe to be found
Before too long, he will have drowned

Spring is spelling doom
And when summer's over
He's just glad to have survived
Fall will bring release
But winter's power
Seems to shrink each year now
How much longer can he stay alive?

For now it's either sink or swim
He's trying hard not to give in
But he can't beat the turning tide
Before too long, he will have died