In 1971, Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" album included the song "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology Song)whose lyrics were not only heart-wrenching then and now, but also prophetic. The What's Going On album not only dealt with the environment, but humanity, racism, hunger, hate, corruption, the political climate, etc. As I listened to Marvin's lyrics in my mind's eye, I was blown away because the words are more alive today than they were in 1971. Why? Because the same "mistakes" or intentional behaviors that were exercised then are being perpetratated now - boldly and without conscious. The BP oil disaster, lacklaster response, the Judge's ruling against the six-month moratorium, Bobby Jindal, Haley Barbour, and others remind us of that truth.
In my heart and spirit I wondered which environmental disaster may have been the one that pushed Marvin over the edge, and motivated him to write about its affects and offenses. Something recent and so offensive must have occured to cause Marvin to belt out in song from his heart the profound lyrics articulated below. So I went researching for the oil spills that occurred in and around 1971 and prior, and found the following:
Greenpoint, Brooklyn oil spill
United States, Newtown Creek, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York
1940s – 1950s
African Queen oil spill
United States, Ocean City, Maryland
December 30, 1958
Torrey Canyon
England, Isles of Scilly
March 18, 1967
1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
United States, Santa Barbara, California
January 28, 1969
Othello
Sweden, Trälhavet Bay
March 20, 1970
Arizona Standard / Oregon Standard collision
United States, San Francisco Bay
January 17, 1971
Perhaps it was the oil spill in the San Francisco Bay on January 17, 1971 that did it for Marvin. http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/...
Or, after realizing that there had just been an oil spill in Santa Barbara on January 28, 1969, Marvin just couldn't take it. http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/...
Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology Song)
Woo ah, mercy mercy me
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows from the north and south and east
Woo mercy, mercy me, mercy father
Ah things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas, fish full of mercury
Ah oh mercy, mercy me
Ah 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
Ah things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na na...
My sweet Lord... No
My Lord... My sweet Lord
Thank you, Marvin Gaye, for such a tragically beautiful song, and for seeing over 30 years ago what so many still do not see today. Indeed, what's going on?
For more on what is going on around the world with respect to oil spill ecology, please read Anene Ejikeme's June 4, 2010 op-ed in the New York times entitled "The Oil Spills We Don't Hear About". A link to that article is http://www.nytimes.com/...
Marvin, nothing has changed for the better.
http://elibrary.unm.edu/...