GreenTech Geek: Songs to Save Us

Well-written and memorably performed songs have the power to change us, motivate us, and perhaps even cause us to think about things in the world in a brand new way. In the 1700s and 1800s, slaves in the United States used music to preserve their heritage and get through treacherous times. In the 1960s, folk singers used songs to voice frustrations of the anti-war and civil rights generations.

These days, some artists have taken on an even broader subject with their music -- saving the Earth itself.

Here is a collection of four very special songs with strong views about how we think about the Earth, what we have done to the Earth, what some are doing to save the Earth, and the unthinkable future that awaits us if we let things get out of control.

First up is 'Da Da Dam' by Paradise Oscar, a young singer from Finland who was his country's entry in last spring's Eurovision Song Contest (sort of an American Idol for the entire European continent). Oscar spins a musical fairy tale that cleverly pokes fun at those who deny our Earth is in danger. My favorite verse from this song:

I’m going out in the world to save our planet
And I ain’t comin back until she’s saved
I’ll walk my way to see the King and parliament
If they don’t help I’ll do it by myself

Next is 'Earth Song' by the legendary Michael Jackson. You can see the video and my other choices after the jump.

Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song' was released overseas (but never in the U.S.) after Michael's star had faded under the weight of child molestation accusations. By then, many had tuned out the King of Pop and therefore never got to experience this song's frightening message about humankind's wanton destruction of the natural environment. In the song, Michael seems to challenge God Himself for creating such a careless species. In fact, the whole song is a series of blunt questions to God, like:

Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, this weeping shore?

Michael's passion and anger are so strong in the song's final passages that it's hard to make out his lyrics clearly, but they are worth reading: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/earthsong.html

Joan Baez, a veteran protest singer who rose to national fame in the 1960s, is still going strong. Her song, 'Warriors of the Sun,' is a powerful ode to those who fight to protect the environment for the benefit of future generations. I've never found a good video of the song, (so here are the lyrics), but if you pick up a copy of Joan's album, 'Speaking of Dreams,' you can hear it on that. My favorite verse:

We're killing everything on dry land
Why don't we just let the fishes be?
Some of us are Greenpeace Warriors of the Sea

Finally, leave it to Roger Waters and Pink Floyd to paint a hellacious picture of what could become of our world if, as the song puts it, "the rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in, gives way ..."

'Two Suns in the Sunset' remains, for me, one of the most nightmarish songs ever written, capturing all the horror experienced by those of us who came of age during the Cold War, with a nuclear Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.

Until next Monday ...

Do you have a favorite song about protecting the environment or saving the Earth? I invite you to share it (lyrics, video, MP3, whatever) with your fellow Tea with Lemon readers. Let us know by using the comments feature of this post. Along with the songs above, your selection might just help save us after all.

Posted in: environment,GreenTech Geek,Joan Baez,Michael Jackson,music,Pink Floyd,technology