I'm trying to put together a list of songs on the topic of environmental destruction, particular the environmental consequences of coal mining (I'm having trouble finding those), and am hoping all you Kossacks can help me out by making suggestions. Any genre is okay as long as the song meets the thematic requirements.
Please add song titles and any videos and lyrics you might have in the comments. Thanks for your help.
Below the fold you'll find a sampling of the sort of things I'm looking for. And please, be nice to each other. Share things that you like rather than criticising other people's tastes. It'll be more fun that way.
John Prine Paradise
When I was a child my family would travel
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my memories are worn.
Chorus:
And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away
Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill.
Repeat Chorus:
Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man.
Repeat Chorus:
When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I am.
Repeat Chorus:
Marvin Gaye Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology Song)
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Where did all the blue sky go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north,and south, and east
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Oil wasted on the oceans
and upon our seas
[ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/7dGY ]
Fish full of mercury
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
No, no
Radiation under ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who
live nearby are dying
Oh, mercy mercy me
Oh, things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from
man can she stand?
My sweet Lord
My sweet Lord
My sweet Lord
Emerson, Lake and Palmer Black Moon
Everyday I see a new cloud coming
There's one more hole in space
Everytime I walk across the street
I feel the gas blowing in my face
We never learn even deserts burn
And all politicians lie
They won't do nothin'
'Till we reach high noon
Black Moon
Ain't nobody gonna walk on water
When it falls like acid rain
Nobody gonna fake you out
Every poison stains
We're all stuck here
Right in the middle
We never call the tune
They won't do nothin'
'Till we reach high noon
Black Moon
In the night see the red sky burning
There's fire on the mountain
Oil slicks on the sea
Black Moon is rising
How long will it be
Just take a look around the world
The future never waits
We're skating on the thin ice
And we're in the hands of fate
What we need's a little re-direction
To find our blue lagoon
You know it wouldn't come
A moment to soon
Black Moon's
Ghostly images die
Laurie Lewis The Woodthrush's Song
Unfortunately I don't have any video for this song, which is incredibly beautiful. You can listen here butsound quality is low.
I walked down the hall where the woods used to stand
concrete at my feet brick walls at every hand
and over my head steel girders so strong
where i first felt the spell of the wood thrush's song
now the wood thrush has vanished
seeking the place that's not feel the crush of man's embrace
the steep woods are gone now and oh how i long to again feel
the spell of the wood thrush's song
over my head just a few years ago the poplars leaves shivered
when the breezes did blow now the deep hum of engines
drowns the soft sigh of the wind in the leaves of the few
trees near by
now the wood thrush has vanished
seeking the place that's not feel the crush of man's embrace
the steep woods are gone now and oh how i long to again feel
the spell of the wood thrush's song
man is the inventor the builder the sage the writer and
the seeker of truth by the page but all of his knowledge can
never explain the deep mystery of the wood thrush's refrain
now the wood thrush has vanished
seeking the place that's not feel the crush of man's embrace
the steep woods are gone now and oh how i long to again feel
the spell of the wood thrush's song
John Cougar Mellencamp Rain on the Scarecrow
Scarecrow on a wooden cross; blackbird in the barn;
Four-hundred empty acres that used to be my farm.
I grew up like my daddy did, my grandpa cleared this land;
When I was five I walked the fence while grandpa held my hand.
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
This land fed a nation, this land made me proud;
And, son, I'm just sorry there's no legacy for you now . . .
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.
The crops we grew last summer weren't enough to pay the loans;
Couldn't buy the seed to plant this spring and the Farmers Bank foreclosed.
Called my old friend Schepman up to auction off the land;
He said John it's just my job and I hope you understand.
Hey, calling it your job, ol' hoss, sure don't make it right,
But if you want me to I'll say a prayer for your soul tonight.
And grandma's on the front porch swing with a Bible in her hand;
Sometimes I hear her singing "Take me to the Promised Land."
When you take away a man's dignity, he can't work his fields and cows . . .
There'll be blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.
Well there's ninety-seven crosses planted in the courthouse yard—
Ninety-seven families who lost ninety-seven farms.
I think about my grandpa and my neighbors and my name,
And some nights I feel like dyin', like that scarecrow in the rain.
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
This land fed a nation, this land made me proud;
And, son, I'm just sorry they're just memories for you now . . .
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.
Steve Forbert Good Planets Are Hard to Find Video quality isn't very good, but love the lyrics. You can download the song for free here.
Good planets are hard to find,
Temp'rate zones and tropic climes,
True currents in thriving seas,
Winds blowin' through breathing trees,
Strong ozone and safe sunshine,
Good planets are hard to find.
Good planets are in demand,
Clean beaches and sparkling sand,
Land masses with room to spare,
Jet streams and perfect air,
High forests and low wetlands,
Good planets are in demand.
And the mind don't know
If the heart can't see;
Let the blind man go
To his destiny...
Good planets are rare indeed,
Rain fallin' on crops and seed,
Big rivers and good topsoil,
Fuel sources from cane to oil,
Green gardens of all we need,
Good planets are rare indeed.
And the mind don't know
If the heart can't see;
Let the blind man go
To his destiny...
Good planets are scarce and few,
Earthworms and caribou,
Strong food chains and tasty meals,
Textiles and plants that heal,
Iron mountains and skies of blue,
Good planets are scarce and few.
Thanks again!
Blogging for the future at Climaticide Chronicles