Music can powerfully convey messages about the environment and inspire change. In addition to expressing the evocative (beautiful, spiritual, mysterious and generally awesome) qualities of the natural world, music can raise awareness of issues like climate change, deforestation, and pollution.
Listen to the music by clicking on the images below.
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Charles Lloyd - Forest Flower (Sunrise & Sunset)
"I've always felt a deep connection to the rhythms of nature,” Charles Lloyd says. “The sound of the wind in the trees, the ebb and flow of the ocean, the rustling of leaves... all of these things find their way into my music in one way or another" (from an interview with Jazz Times, 2016
Burning Spear - Resting Place
Winston Rodney, better known as Burning Spear, is a Jamaican reggae musician and singer-songwriter. In “Resting Place” (1975), he sings about the effects of air pollution and the importance of trees. Tree trunk and roots figure in the icon on his group’s T-shirts.
Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me
Marvin Gaye wrote “Mercy, Mercy Me” as a sorrowful requiem about humanity’s detrimental effects on the environment. It was part of Gaye’s critically acclaimed studio album, “What’s going on” which was released in 1971.
“Goo is what it do,” this gardener r(h)apsodically says
It's time to get back to our roots and start growing our own food. Follow me on my journey to living off the land.
Lyla June Johnston
Lyla June Johnson can beatbox with the best of ‘em while channeling the spirit of the land and unifying people.
A Key Part
“I happened to start writing ‘A Key Part’ on Earth Day 2022 with no particular message in mind. Melody fragments came first, then instrumental parts. Gradually words evolved,” replied ECOllective contributing writer Cliff Hocker when we inquired about his music.
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Mos Def - "New World Water" (1999)
Mos Def's song "New World Water" highlights the issues (plural) of water toxicity, scarcity and the need to conserve water resources. He also critiques the bottled water industry, corporate greed and irresponsibility in general and their negative impact on the environment. In May 2023, shortly after we posted Mos Def’s rapped critique on water policy, the Supreme Court severely limited the EPA’s ability to protect the nation’s wetlands. The Court has undone protections that have safeguarded our waters for over 50 years.