For the column - Backpages Revisited
Article 10 - 11/16/2021
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Title: Songs for the Earth
Facebook Title: Make every day of yours an Earth Day.
Keywords: Earth Day; Earth Song; Environment friendly; Planet conservation; Climate Change.
Word Count:950+
Summary: Will humanity's journey on earth end in the 21st Century? Let us hear from Artists who warned us about the dangers and suggest a way for the future.
Songs for the Earth - Various Artists.
Can this world save our only home?
Last week we had one more Conference of Parties (COP) meeting under the auspices of UN Framework of Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) where two hundred world leaders met and after multiple discussions agreed on the Glasgow Climate pact to contain temperature rise to 1.5 Deg C. The biggest challenge is now for the nations, particularly the developed ones, to Walk the Talk. The transition from old to new will involve sacrifice and pain - reduce fossil fuels, save forests and changes in transportation etc. The onus also lies on civil society, youngsters to ensure that everyone stays on track else it will be curtains for future human generations within this century.
Artists as the voice of the voiceless
Across human history Artists, Musicians have created, composed for the powerful, the elite folks. But they have also acted as the conscience keepers of society and used their skill for the voiceless, faceless masses.
We have tough time ahead and to inspire us all I recommend a playlist of songs by artists who saw the damage we have been inflicting on the natural world and implored us to change our ways before it is too late.
The Reality - We are on the edge.
Let us start with the King - "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson. A song about what sort of world do we want for the future generations has always moved to me to tears - the first time, every time. The melody, the chorus, and the poetry - just top notch... And the haunting video for this song would surely make even the most hardened human think "what about them - the innocent, the faultless ones?"
Next, I would recommend "Where do the children play" by Cat Stevens. In all our hurry to secure the financial well-being of our children, in our concrete jungles and our online lives - Stevens wonders do we think about "where will our children play, what (air) will they breathe and what (water) will they drink?"
I first heard this song in one of the annual Grammy award compilations "The Road to Hell (Part II)" by Chris Rea. A Rock ballad where Rea paints a gloomy picture of polluted rivers & violent streets which could be any ghetto where might be the only right.
Some sarcasm next - in "Imelda" Mark Knopfler sings about Imelda Marcos, wife of former Philippines Dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was infamous for her obscene shopping in Europe, USA when her country folk struggled for bare necessities. He brings out the dangers of uninhibited consumerism which the so called rich may be able to afford but our planet cannot support any more.
The Pretenders in "My City was Gone" capture the nostalgia most of us would have felt when we visited a town or city from our childhood which has inevitably become developed and all the quaint shops, houses, streets, grounds are all replaced by parking lots, shopping complexes. Chrissie Hynde portrays the hurt, dismay, anger very well.
More Sarcasm coming up in "Ship of Fools"- The Doors. This song reminds me of Dr Neil DeGrasse Tyson's response when asked about the plans to settle humans to Mars which was like - "We can't take care of this planet, so we just quit and run to repeat the same process in another planet?" And who will be able to afford the trip - all seven billion of us or just the 0.1%?
Let us end this section with Pink Floyd "Take it Back" where Gilmour warns us about how we may be reaching the end of our journey - Earth may become inhospitable ("she can take it back") for human life.
There is hope, don't give up.
In "Earth Day Every Day," John Denver appeals to "Celebrate Earth day Every day"- Let us celebrate mornings, evenings with nature, with our children. Let us teach them the joys of being in natural surroundings. Inspite of our busy schedule can we do one action every day for Earth - join local communities in fighting deforestation, air/water pollution or atleast practice proper waste disposal at home?
Sting is a poet par excellence and, in the song, "One Fine Day" he weaves the past, the present and asks us what future we want? Is it really progress if the northern polar ice completely melts, and we can drill for Oil or ships can travel faster between Asia & Northern Europe? What about the sea level rise and its impact on world-wide climate? We only hope that our "Dear Leaders" have some foresight.
Next up is "The Last Resort" by Eagles. This is a behemoth of a Rock ballad which covers huge ground - literally from US coast to coast & the centuries since Europeans landed. What was considered Eden/ New world then it is an environmental time bomb today. They sing - "You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye." It makes you wonder - There are the religious amongst us who are waiting for Paradise (Heaven, Jannat, Vaikuntham) - what makes them sure that history won't repeat itself there? They conclude with "Cause there is no more new frontier, we got to make it here. We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds, in the name of destiny, in the name of God"
Let us end with "My Dirty stream" by Peter Seeger. It is an inspirational song about the journey of an activist who saw the polluted Hudson River and decided to act. Seeger bought a big boat and sailed on the Hudson, bringing people back to the river and making it a part of their daily life again. This ensured that people took note of industries polluting their river, cities dumping their sewage in their river. The politicians had to act and over time the Hudson recovered.
We all need to champion for our rivers, our forests, our lakes. Development and a healthy environment shouldn't be mutually exclusive. It is not going to be easy but then that is life, right.
Useful Links: -
1. Know, Explore -
a. COP26 -
ii. https://unfccc.int/conference/glasgow-climate-change-conference-october-november-2021
b. Inter Government Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
ii. https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm/
c. TED - https://countdown.ted.com/
d. Rainforest Alliance- https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/everyday-actions/6-claims-made-by-climate-change-skeptics-and-how-to-respond/
2. Act, Join -
a. https://unhabitat.org/waste-wise-good-practices
b. https://extinctionrebellion.uk/
c. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/
d. https://www.theminimalists.com/minimalism/
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