The Greater Good

The Greater Good
Written by Tommy Shaw, Will Evankovich, Lawrence Gowan
Lead Vocals by Lawrence Gowan and Tommy Shaw

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First Officer (Lawrence Gowan):
You could lay down, in this hole you dug
Just fade away into the red sand
But we all know, it's not who you are
You've come too far to be stranded on this star

But we're not here to take a prize
You know, just open up your eyes
The things that got us here have little weight

Perhaps a chance to be a man
You dream to be, you know you can
Come on, suit up and we won't let you fail

For the greater good
For the greater good
For the greater good
For the greater good

Locomotive (Tommy Shaw):
I hear what you're saying
You know that I do
But this is so much bigger than anyone imagined -
Can't you see?

First Officer:
But you are not here on your own
We've got your back, we'll make it home
We're wide awake, there's so much to be done

Locomotive:
If you believe then I will too
And if the pieces come unglued
They'll know we gave it everything we had

For the greater good
For the greater good
For the greater good
For the greater good

[First Officer:
One day this place may be our grave
But if we die, by the gods, we'll be saved
(We will be saved, we will be saved)
We'll be saved
(We will be saved, we will be saved)

For the greater good

First Officer:
We need you back with us
For the greater good

Locomotive:
I believe, I believe
For the greater good

First Officer:
'Cause you know you're strong enough
For the greater good

Locomotive:
Yeah, everything's gonna be alright

Interpretation:

After aborting the landing, Locomotive makes it back to the Khedive. After receiving the captain's report, the first officer offers words of encouragement.

You could lay down, in this hole you dug
Just fade away into the red sand
But we all know, it's not who you are
You've come too far to be stranded on this star

Everyone calls the captain "Locomotive" because of his drive to accomplish his goals against all odds. The landing may have been rough, perhaps enough to leave a small crater, but it would be out of character for this intrepid explorer to just lay down and give up.

But we're not here to take a prize
You know, just open up your eyes
The things that got us here have little weight

This mission has a purpose bigger than just claiming to be the first to set foot on Mars. The lander may be big and heavy, and it may be difficult to get back into orbit, but in the overall scheme of things, it is relatively small and light.

Perhaps a chance to be a man
You dream to be, you know you can
Come on, suit up and we won't let you fail

Perhaps this is a chance to finally be satisfied with reaching a dream. With the help of your team/friends, you can do this!

For the greater good

The Mission is about humanity achieving something lasting for the betterment of all.

One day this place may be our grave
But if we die, by the gods, we'll be saved

Even if we die here, it will be worth it. We may not be saved as individuals, but we will have accomplished saving humanity.

We need you back with us (I believe! I believe!)
'Cause you know you're strong enough (Yeah, everything's gonna be alright!)

To accomplish the mission, we need you.  We believe in you. Believe in yourself.