Song Lyric Sunday 7th November

Jim Adams is our host for Song Lyric Sunday and our theme this week is Past, Present Future.
There have been some excellent choices this week. This song holds a lot of meaning , well to me, and even if you didn’t like the guy in the end, his music was phenomenal.

Some readers may find the video distressing, I know I did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAi3VTSdTxU

All details below courtesy AZLyrics.com

From the album: “HIStory – Past, Present And Future – Book 1” (1995)

Michael Jackson explained the main inspiration for this song by saying, “I remember writing ‘Earth Song’ when I was in Austria, in a hotel. And I was feeling so much pain and so much suffering of the plight of the Planet Earth. And for me, this is Earth’s Song, because I think nature is trying so hard to compensate for man’s mismanagement of the Earth.”

After previous socially-conscious Michael Jackson’s songs such as “We Are the World”, “Man in the Mirror” and “Heal the World”, “Earth Song” was the first that dealt with the environment and animal welfare.

Andrae Crouch’s Choir was featured on this song when they and Michael Jackson chant the anthemic call-and-response finale.

The music video for this track was filmed in four geographic regions (Americas, Europe and Africa): the first location was the Amazon Rainforest; the second scene was a war zone in Karlovac, Croatia; the third location was Tanzania; the final location was in Warwick, New York.

“Earth Song” is Michael Jackson’s biggest hit in the UK. It was the nation’s number-one Christmas single in 1995.

This was the last song ever performed by Michael Jackson because he died on the 25th of June 2009, just hours after rehearsing it in preparation for the This Is It tour.

 

“Earth Song”

What about sunrise?
What about rain?
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain?

What about killing fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we’ve shed before?
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, this weeping shore?

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

What have we done to the world?
Look what we’ve done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son?

What about flowering fields?
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine?

Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war?
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, this weeping shore?

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don’t know where we are
Although I know we’ve drifted far

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

Hey, what about yesterday?
(What about us?)
What about the seas?
(What about us?)
Heavens are falling down
(What about us?)
I can’t even breathe
(What about us?)

What about apathy?
(What about us?)
I need you
(What about us?)
What about nature’s worth?
(Ooh, ooh)
It’s our planet’s womb
(What about us?)

What about animals?
(What about it?)
Turned kingdoms to dust?
(What about us?)
What about elephants?
(What about us?)
Have we lost their trust?
(What about us?)

What about crying whales
(What about us?)
Ravaging the seas?
(What about us?)
What about forest trails
(Ooh, ooh)
Burnt despite our pleas?
(What about us?)

What about the holy land
(What about it?)
Torn apart by creed?
(What about us?)
What about the common man?
(What about us?)
Can’t we set him free?
(What about us?)

What about children dying?
(What about us?)
Can’t you hear them cry?
(What about us?)
Where did we go wrong?
(Ooh, ooh)
Someone tell me why
(What about us?)

What about baby boy?
(What about it?)
What about the days?
(What about us?)
What about all their joy?
(What about us?)
What about the man?
(What about us?)

What about the crying man?
(What about us?)
What about Abraham?
(What about us?)
What about death again?
(Ooh, ooh)
Do we give a damn!

Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh

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