Blog Action Day
It’s Blog Action Day today, the theme this year is Climate Change and all I ask is that you think of, tell us about and listen to songs about the environment, ecology, nature, and what is to many the most pressing of global concerns. A link to the song and some prominent lyrics would be grand.
Here’s the obvious one, but it’s still the finest to my ears: Joni Mitchell’s original ‘Big Yellow Taxi’. (You may not know that the revised version of the song includes an entirely expected price increase for admission to the tree museum; it’s no longer “a dollar-and-a-half”, it now costs “an arm and a leg” just to see ‘em.)
Here are a few more, several of which have been covered by different artists:
- Beach Boys, ‘Don’t Go Near the Water’
- The Cranberries, ‘Time Is Ticking Out’
- Dream Academy, ‘Forest Fire’
- Marvin Gaye, ‘Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)’
- Tish Hinojosa, ‘Something In the Rain’
- Kraftwerk, ‘Radioactivity’
- Rush, ‘Red Tide’
- Cat Stevens, ‘Where Do the Children Play?’
- Stephen Stills, ‘Ecology Song’
- Joe Walsh, ‘Song For a Dying Planet’
A few lines from the aforementioned Joe Walsh number:
“Is anyone out there?
Does anybody listen or care anymore?
We are living on a dying planet,
We’re killing everything that’s alive,
And anyone who tries to deny it
Wears a tie and gets paid to lie.”
If all that’s not enough to keep your minds pre-occupied today, I’d also like to hear about those inspirational musicians that we’ve been talking about lately and their endorsement of environmental campaigns. What are musicians and their record labels doing to help save a dying planet, and which are doing most?
Oh, and here’s something for you all to sign. Please?
Warren Zevon – Run Straight Down
Yeah, with David Gilmour.
Greenpeace announced that it will not take long that there is no ice more at the Northpole and we can sail from the North to the South, from the West to the East…
“First the water and the wildlife go,
Pretty soon there’s not a creature stirring
Except the robots at the dynamo.”
I miss Warren Zevon.
I know I’ve posted this one before, but it matches today’s topic so perfectly.
It does and it’s a good song. Download it free here.
Thanks, Lene.
Wonderful!!!
Thx!
Hey Fed,
I presume you have seen this at the BBC.
I am just beginning to wonder myself with the past 2 summers here in Canada being cooler and wetter than normal.
Cheers, Howard
Thanks for that, Howard; I hadn’t seen it. Very interesting.
Seems to me Howard that the scientists can’t make up their minds.
How are you? Been a while since last we met up.
Let’s just keep our fingers crossed then, eh?
What disturbs me most is the blinding of facts by groups or individuals who use both climate change/global warming to gain monetary profit! I think there are scum bags are out there who would do this!. Is it a ploy, by Governments that do know the hard facts, about our imminent demise, just playing the game, keeping us Guessing? Just think Population is increasing in most Third Word countries despite the fight against Malaria and education in contraception etc. I believe they will suffer the most (or so we are told). And the rest. “We”! Just go bumbling on about said topic! Crazy situation.
I wonder why China, India and the US don’t alter their agendas? After all they live on the same planet, don’t they? And you can’t say they haven’t got some bright people in their committees, after all. They and also “we”, have been working with the well the established! NASA. Seeking out somewhere to live; other than the earth! …For Years! “Just hope I’m wrong”.
I think I will settle for being screwed by the monetary ploy. I wonder if “Old uncle Sam” thinks Gary McKinnon has fell on this general thought?
Rant over. Back to music. THIS just ’bout sums it up for me. David and Roy; Short and Sweet.
Interesting BBC article. Our coastal US area has also had one of the coolest summers in recent memory.
Thirty years ago when I was in school, the big “scare” was that we were headed for the next Ice Age. It appears the media and/or governments are constantly blowing things out of proportion (current example: Swine flu in the US… my family doctor says it’s far less serious than the seasonal flu). Perhaps the governments do this to cause panic and gain more control over the population. Also saw a documentary recently which addresses global warming from a different perspective, that IF in fact the earth is warming, that could be a GOOD thing, leading to longer growing seasons in some areas, thus increasing food production/lessening hunger.
Those who hold a Biblical world view realize that this world is only temporary anyway, and that we need to be prepared to leave it at any moment. Reading this blog gives me the impression that many of its contributors are atheist/agnostic… if that is the case, please, please take the time to consider the possibility that you could be wrong, that there is a God and a world beyond this one.
Our eternal destiny is far more urgent than climate change.
Thanks for sharing that viewpoint, Morgan.
David has to be one of the most admirable exponents with his preference for Carbon Neutral packaging, etc. going about things discreetly.
Correct me if I’m wrong but ‘Sorrow’ springs to mind as having environmental connotations.
Definitely.
“A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers,
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking.”
I was thinking of Sorrow. The best verse is this one:
“And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication
And silent replies that swirl invitation
Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea
A grim intimation of what is to be”
The Last Resort – Eagles.
How about Don Henley’s ‘Inside Job’?
“While you were sleeping,
They came and took it all away;
The lanes and the meadows,
The places where you used to play.
It was an inside job
By the well-connected,
Your little protest
Summarily rejected.”
I’ll go for The Last Resort by The Eagles.
Me too!
Petition signed F*Ed, thank you…
Another all time fav of mine…
John Denver’s glorious “Rocky Mountain High”.
“Now his life is full of wonder but his heart still knows some fear
Of a simple thing he cannot comprehend
Why they try to tear the mountains down to bring in a couple more
More people, more scars upon the land…”
Let’s not forget A Pocketful of Stones.
Thanks.
Andrew
Hi FEd!
I used to listen to a band called Megadeth. I remember one of their songs, it´s called “Countdown to Extinction”. It´s not about global warming, it´s more about animals in danger.
Here are the lyrics.
It sounds really bad on line, but here is the song.
Nice to talk to you in the chat.
And you.
“Endangered species, caged in fright,
Shot in cold blood, no chance to fight.”
Makes me think of ‘Don’t Kill the Whale’ by Yes.
Love ‘Don’t Kill the Whale’, FEd. You’ve reminded me of Jon Anderson’s 1997 solo album titled Earthmotherearth which also features a whale tribute song titled Whalewatching.
This is the album’s title song, ‘earthmotherearth’.
A wee cheery one (Nothing But) Flowers – Talking Heads.
I thought of this song, too, when FEd posted the Joni Mitchell. A city dweller’s point of view! I love David Byrne.
amanda
Greenpeace by James:
“Gonna test my bombs wherever I want
Gonna ‘poon the whale
Gonna drain the swamp
It’s money to me
Gonna f*ck with genes
I am what I am
Much more than a God
Much less than a man of industry”
Two come to my mind on this one:
“Whose Garden Was This?” by Tom Paxton and “This World Over” by XTC. They’re both on the sad side but their message is one we cannot ignore.
…what should I say? It’s not ours, it’s the environment of the forthcoming generations. I’m not very optimistic that they will enjoy it, though.
As for a song: with rather black humour, I’d suggest “Save The Whales” by Cheech and Chong…
Best regards,
Taki
10,000 Maniacs’ Campfire Song (which could also count as a duet w/ Michael Stipe) – here.
Living in Michigan as I do I can say that most Michiganders take the ecology and environment pretty seriously as we are setting on 20 to 25 per cent of the world’s fresh water supply. Living 25 minutes away from Lake Michigan is pretty humbling when I think about it as something I take for granted is hard to come by for a lot of the world.
Anyway here are a few songs about the environment that I like.
Don’t Go Near The Water – Beach Boys
Natures Way – Spirit
Supernova – Liquid Blue
Death Of Mother Nature Suite – Kansas
Earth Song – Michael Jackson
Hope everyone is well,
Hoss
A threat to the environment that comes to my mind and one that has been in the news lately is nuclear proliferation. That being said, the song that comes to my mind is Killer of Giants by Ozzy Osbourne:
Killer of giants threatens us all
Mountains of madness standing so tall
Marches of protest not stopping the war
Or the killer of giants
The killer of giants
Mother nature people state your case without its worth
Your seas run dry your sleepless eyes are turning red alert
I have read this article, so, I signed the petition. But I’m very sceptical about its effect.
Environmental songs:
- ‘Earth Song’ by Michael Jackson seems to me a very powerful one. The video, too.
- ‘Death Of Mother Nature Suite’ by Kansas:
“Once she ruled the earth with love and wisdom
But we were much too smart to live her way
With greed and lust we tried to rise above her
The ignorance of man will reach an end
‘Cause now we’re gonna die”
- ‘In The Year 2525′ by Zager and Evans. I discovered it on the blog and think it’s perfect for this topic.
- ‘La Terre Meurt’ by Charles Aznavour.
- ‘Aux Arbres Citoyens’ by Yannick Noah. Watch it here.
And notice in the title/refrain the allusion to our anthem and its revolutionary words ‘Aux Armes Citoyens’.
Ah yes, ‘In The Year 2525′. I’ve tried to forget it, but without success.
“In the year 2525,
If man is still alive,
If woman can survive,
They may find…
In the year 3535,
Ain’t gonna need to tell the truth, tell no lies.
Everything you think, do and say
Is in the pill you took today.
In the year 4545,
Ain’t gonna need your teeth, won’t need your eyes,
You won’t find a thing to chew,
Nobody’s gonna look at you.
In the year 5555,
Your arms are hanging limp at your sides,
Your legs got nothing to do,
Some machine’s doing that for you.
In the year 6565,
Ain’t gonna need no husband, won’t need no wife;
You’ll pick your son, pick your daughter too
From the bottom of a long glass tube.
In the year 7510,
If God’s a-comin’, he ought to make it by then.
Maybe he’ll look around himself and say,
‘Guess it’s time for the Judgement Day.’
In the year 8510,
God’s gonna shake his mighty head.
He’ll either say, ‘I’m pleased where man has been’
Or tear it down and start again.
In the year 9595,
I’m kinda wondering if man is gonna be alive.
He’s taken everything this old Earth can give
And he ain’t put back nothing.
Now it’s been 10,000 years,
Man has cried a billion tears
For what he never knew.
Now man’s reign is through.
But through eternal night,
The twinkling of starlight
So very far away…
Maybe it’s only yesterday…
Now, hands up who’s feeling thoroughly depressed.
TGIF.
Bon weekend.
Unfortunately the attitude is that the year 2525 is 516 years away so let’s party it up now.
It is great that an awareness is being raised up significantly but what a challenge it will be to really change behaviour and thinking.
Thanks.
Andrew
Hey FE’d
sorry to hear about Gary McKinnon. his only option now is common law.
never trust a lawyer, their first duty is to the court and they will shaft you every time with a smile on their face.
he needs to separate his ‘legal fiction’ so he can dismiss this ‘act of parliament’ by withdrawing his consent as a ‘natural man’.
he doesn’t need to go ‘freeman’, he just needs to get someone to represent him so he can keep his mouth shut and they can present his birth certificate which is the ‘MR GARY MCKINNON’ the legal fiction – it’s their system, it’s their rules, play them by it.
it’s his only option or he will spend the rest of his life in a 6′ x 4′ cell with a load of crazy yanks – no offence to all the crazy yanks out there.
oh dare I mention the outstanding:
Chain of Life
Breathe
by shhh, you know who
and not forgetting: Give Birth To A Smile – one of the best Pink Floyd songs ever, period.
some of the first songs to challenge climate destruction??? I don’t know, I was only 5 in 1972.
andy.
It’s WAY too late for action now… Debate it all you like… The earth doesn’t care what we think… No escape, no bargaining, no deals… Harsh reality… Action and reaction… Thank “them” for it…
Before the Deluge – Jackson Browne
Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each others heart for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge
Here is an appropriate website for this topic.
Thanks.
Andrew
Climate change is a subject that really is starting to trouble me.
I’m not a scientist, which is clear if you have ever chatted to me (catnav anyone?), so I don’t really stand much of a chance of understanding all the goings on, suffice to say, hot = bad.
What I absolutely fail to understand, is the complete lack of action (or perceived action) from our government, let’s forget the rest of the world, they have their own problems.
Why is it that I sit here as a voter, I can watch the news or read the blogs out there, and hear every single day about how climate change is going to do xyx in xxx years and that if we don’t act now etc., etc., I get it – ‘I’ get it. I can see that what is needed is less pollution, more green technology.
So why don’t we just f*cking do it? As a government why aren’t we saying, screw the £££, this is a problem that should be tackled despite the cost? Let’s just build a bunch of green power plants, why aren’t we extracting some sort of green reward from the banks for all our hard earned tax money which is paying their bonuses?
I am rambling somewhat, but I just tire of this lack of action, especially this story about a coal power plant in Hatfield. I heard something about a two year bidding process – I mean, FFS!! I also heard that plans for full carbon capture were rejected in favour of a less green plan…
Amen, brother. Why aren’t we finding better, greener uses for bankers? Just feed the greedy wasters through a great big mincer and be done with it.
A tad harsh, perhaps?
Perhaps yes – I’m just sick of the general public getting the shit end of the stick.
Wow, reading that back it was quite a rant eh?? LOL.
The main point I was trying to get across was that action on global warming, SHOULD NOT be a commercial venture, it SHOULD NOT be something corporations get into to make some cash, I mean FFS, this is the planet were talking about, and I think, unfortunately it just about sums us up, doesn’t it?
Can we not as a world just agree that something has to be done, and forget the money for once?
These are the kinds of thing that allow the seeds of doubt to creep into my mind – is this just all bollocks? Is this a natural occurrence every so many million years?
Again playing devils advocate slightly, and looking towards some sort of Orwelien future? But who stands to gain from a climate change cover up?
Anyway one quote popped into my mind which set me off on this whole rant (that and my boiler has broken again for the third time in less than a year- doing my bit for climate change here as Ihave no heating and no hot water):
“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
- John F. Kennedy
Hello.
I don’t blog very often here and apologise if I have picked the wrong thread, but I just want to say CONGRATULATIONS
to David on his Doctorate from Anglia Uni.
How exciting. He and Polly must be thrilled.
Well done.
Love
Deni
Also… have you heard about some new stamps coming out that’ll have Pink Floyd, Division Bell on them? I got wind of that ‘cos I collect first day covers, and the Royal Mail are doing a series called Iconic Albums and the Division Bell fits right in there.
Would have liked stamps of the DSOTM, wouldn’t you?
Love
Denise xx
That line in “The Last Resort”.
“They call it paradise I don’t know why
You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.”
The video for “Earth Song” by the late MJ probable cost a tree or two to make, but it’s got a strong message.
Jethro Tull’s “Farm On a Freeway”:
“They’re busy building airports on the south side
Silicon chip factory on the east
And the big road’s pushing through along the Valley floor
Hot machine pouring six lanes at the very least
Now they gave me compensation
That’s not what I’m chasing. I was a rich man before yesterday
Now all I left is a broken-down pickup truck
Looks like my farm is a freeway”
Midnight Oil’s “River Runs Red”
“So you cut all the tall trees down
You poisoned the sky and the sea
You’ve taken what’s good from the ground
But you left precious little for me”
We should all do what we can to save our planet, we need it.
Props for “Farm On The Freeway”… a great song.
I like
“Clear Blue Skies” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
…and what do you think about the idea of a German brewery:
For every sold crate of beer they save a square meter rain forest. Drinking beer for the rain forest?
Sounds good. I’m in.
*This* beer is awful though, so it will be hard earned, FEd.
Taki
Taki, you could be right about that, I´m not a beer expert.
But for the rain forest you should be ready to make a sacrifice
I’ve always loved Adrian Belew’s Men In Helicopters. There’s a dodgy live version that I didn’t want to link to so check out the studio version thats on the “Young Lions” CD.
Thanks for that, Bill. What wonderfully bleak lyrics.
“Wouldn’t it be odd
If there really was a God
And he looked down on Earth
And saw what we’ve done to her?
Wouldn’t it be just
If he pulled the plug on us,
And took away the sun?”
Hello FEd and everyone.
My holiday was great. I came back home two days ago, more tired than before leaving, but very happy.
It’s unfair that holidays have always to pass so quickly, isn’t it?
I’m so sorry I couldn’t write here on BAD, but I signed the petition right now.
Here is Depeche Mode’s “The Landscape is Changing”.
“The landscape is changing
The landscape is crying
Thousands of acres of forest are dying
Carbon copies from the hills above the forest line
Acid streams are flowing ill across the countryside
‘Cause I don’t care if you’re going nowhere
Just take good care of the world
I don’t care if you’re going nowhere
Just take good care of the world
Now we’re re-arranging
There’s no use denying
Mountains and valleys
Can’t you hear them sighing
Evolution, the solution or the certainty
Can you imagine this intrusion of their privacy
Token gestures
Some semblance of intelligence
Can we be blamed for the security of ignorance”
Welcome back Alessandra.
Bye, Hydrea
Hi Hydrea,
I read you’ll also leave for London in November. That city is just great, I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful holiday.
If you decide to move there in the future, please, let me know, so I’ll have someone to escape with.
Oh yes! I’ll call you.
Thanks, Alessandra.
Have a nice day!
Bye, Hydrea
Even though I’ve already mentioned this song in the past, here are some verses from Within Temptation’s “Mother Earth”.
I think they give an important message, remembering that nature is much more powerful than us, so it should always be respected.
“Birds and butterflies
Rivers and mountains she creates
But you’ll never know
The next move she’ll make
You can try
But it is useless to ask why
Cannot control her
She goes her own way
She rules until the end of time
She gives and she takes
She rules until the end of time
She goes her own way.”
Take It Back anyone?
…the most environmental song from our beloved band.
Assistimos a devastação do nosso planeta,
como se fossemos meros espectadores ..
Como podem seres humanos inteligentes, não enxergar sua propria exterminação.
Cuide da Natureza ..
Cuide de nossas criançãs ..
bjÖ
Rosangela
Did you hear about this movie?
I didn’t see it, yet, but I read it should be a quite shocking documentary about dolphins in captivity.
I think I’ll watch it when I can, even though I know it will make me angry and disgusted.
Our often appalling treatment of marine mammals really disgusts me. It’s why I won’t buy Budweiser, Michelob and Rolling Rock beers (as they own the vile circus chain that is Sea World).
Shorten the lives of these great creatures by a third, but that’s OK because at least when they’re in captivity we get to see them performing cute tricks.
Or, in the case of Japan, butcher them in their thousands and then sell their mercury-contaminated meat to the people.
Either way, it’s pure, evil greed.
I didn’t know who owned Sea World, thank you for this useful information, FEd.
I’ve never seen Michelob and Rolling Rock beers, but I’ll boycott Budweiser from now on.
Do you allow me to suggest your bloggers to sign this petition?
I know it would be just another drop in an ocean, but wouldn’t it be better than nothing?
FEd,
But you do know that Anheuser-Busch was bought by the Belgium company InBev which means you would need to expand your beer boycott to include Stella Artois, Becks, Bass, Lowenbrau, Labatt, St. Pauli Girl, Leffe and many, many more.
However, don’t despair. Earlier this month, InBev announced that they are selling off their theme parks which includes three Sea Worlds and two Busch Gardens to a private equity firm Blackstone Group for $2.3 billion. So now you will need to boycott Universal Studio amusement parks and Madame Tussauds wax museums.
So have a BUD on me.
Thanks.
Andrew
Thanks for the offer, Andrew, but I’ll pass. Budweiser tastes like old dish water, anyway.
I actually don’t disagree with you but I do think it important that people keep up to date. Your original comment now has Alessandra boycotting Budweiser for the wrong reasons. Maybe you still want to boycott it because of the insane amount of money they received for the parks. Maybe you still boycott them because they made money on the venture instead of closing them down. But then you have to include all the other brands the company markets. You can’t say you boycott Bud and then drink Becks. And don’t use the argument that Becks was pre-Bud acquisition – the profits still go to the same pocket.
You want to boycott to make a statement, by all means go for it. But then keep up to date. It is possible that something a firm did at one time has changed and they have already redeemed themselves in some way yet you are still holding a grudge. That is not a fair approach and that is why boycotting many different companies is a difficult task.
Thanks.
Andrew
Everyone is a little familiar with boycott knows very well how it’s hard to know which/how many products it’s worth to avoid, because of the complex (and often not easy to know) economic process you’re talking about.
I know many people consider it useless to boycott anything for this reason, but, often, my impression is that they talk that way because they’re not enough motivated to keep up to date, as you say, and always look for more information.
That’s why I appreciated FEd’s suggestion, just because it was one more starting point in a very hard subject.
A very difficult task. I don’t know how they could ever quite redeem themselves, but it’s a fair point.
This would be an interesting discussion, actually: Where do you draw the line in your boycott? Do you shun the inspirational Lance Armstrong because he’s the face of Michelob Ultra? Hopefully not. I just try to do what I can to be a responsible consumer, although I know it can never be enough.
I notice that many Americans are boycotting Budweiser now that it’s Belgian-owned.
Another good reason to boycott Budweiser, by the way, is the corporate bullying for so many years of the Czech original, Budweiser Budvar.
Oh, and Beck’s tastes like slightly newer dish water.
That is very funny.
Thanks.
Andrew
Off topic, I recently heard the U.K. are issuing new stamps to the public including The Division Bell logo along with other artists as well.
Budweiser does taste like like diluted beer to me anyway.
I’ll stick with mine and European beers!
Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
That’s how it goes
Everybody knows…
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died
Everybody talking to their pockets
Everybody wants a box of chocolates
And a long stem rose
Everybody knows…
And everybody knows that its now or never
Everybody knows that its me or you
And everybody knows that you live forever
Ah when you’ve done a line or two
Everybody knows the deal is rotten
Old black Joe’s still pickin’ cotton
For your ribbons and bows
And everybody knows…
And everybody knows that the plague is coming
Everybody knows that its moving fast
Everybody knows that the naked man and woman
Are just a shining artefact of the past
Everybody knows the scene is dead
But there’s gonna be a meter on your bed
That will disclose
What everybody knows…
And everybody knows that you’re in trouble
Everybody knows what you’ve been through
From the bloody cross on top of Calvary
To the beach of Malibu
Everybody knows it’s coming apart
Take one last look at this sacred heart
Before it blows
And everybody knows…
Everybody knows…