IN MEMORY: "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson, album: History: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995)

From Wikipedia:
On the morning of June 25, 2009, Jackson reportedly collapsed at a rented home in Holmby Hills in Los Angeles. After he collapsed, Jackson's personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate him. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a 911 call at 12:21 pm (PST) and arrived nine minutes later. Jackson was reportedly not breathing and CPR was quickly performed.

Resuscitation efforts continued both en route to the UCLA Medical Center, and after arrival at approximately 1:14 pm (20:14 UTC), for a further hour. He fell into a coma and died shortly after arrival. The cause of death is as yet unknown, but he was noted to be already in cardiac arrest by the paramedics who attended him. Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 pm local time (21:26 UTC).

Los Angeles Police Department homicide and robbery division detectives attended the scene as a matter of routine in high profile death cases. The case was transferred to the Los Angeles coroner for investigation as there was no doctor in attendance to sign the death certificate. Jackson's body was transported by helicopter from UCLA to the LA Coroners offices. The autopsy is said to be scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2009.

Prior to his death, Jackson had been scheduled to perform 50 sold-out concerts to over one million people, at London's O2 arena, from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. During a publicity press conference, Jackson made suggestions of possible retirement.

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
The crying Earth the weeping shores?

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
The crying Earth the weeping shores

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

Hey, what about yesterday
(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The 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
(ooo, ooo)
It's our planet's womb
(What about us)
What about animals
(What about it)
We've 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)
We're ravaging the seas
(What about us)
What about forest trails
(ooo, ooo)
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
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about babies
(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 was us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn

We read about this beautiful song in wikipedia:

"Earth Song" is the third single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. It is a ballad that incorporates elements of blues, gospel and opera. Jackson had a long-standing history of releasing socially conscious material such as "We Are the World", "Man in the Mirror" and "Heal the World". However, "Earth Song" was the first that overtly dealt with the environment and animal welfare.

You can hear this song and video clip in youtube

IN MEMORY: Michael Jackson sings for a better world

"Man In The Mirror" by Michael Jackson (1988)

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That's Why I Want You To Know

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change)

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No
Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
(Washed-Out Dream)
They Follow The Pattern Of The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With Me
(Starting With Me!)

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Change His Ways-Ooh!)
And No Message Could've Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make That . . .
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make That . . .)
Change!

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror,
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change)
(You Gotta Get It Right, While You Got The Time)
('Cause When You Close Your Heart)
You Can't Close Your . . .Your Mind!
(Then You Close Your . . . Mind!)

With That Man In The Mirror
(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)
That Man, That Man, That Man
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Better Change!)
You Know . . .That Man
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change


A call to reject our selfish way of life and see the misery around us. It’s the only way for a better world.

You can hear this song in youtube



"Heal The World" by Michael Jackson, Album: Dangerous (1991)

There's A Place In Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways To Get There
If You Care Enough For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All My Brothers
Create A World With No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

With the same thematology as “Man in the Mirror”, Heal the world” is focused on world children’s poverty and famine. We read in wikipedia:

In a 2001 Internet chat with fans, Jackson said "Heal the World" is the song he is most proud to have created. He also created the Heal the World Foundation, a charitable organization which was designed to improve the lives of children. The organization was also meant to teach said children about how to help others. This concept of 'betterment for all' would become a centerpiece for the Dangerous World Tour. In the documentary Living with Michael Jackson, Jackson said he created the song in his "giving tree" at the Neverland Ranch.

You can hear this song in youtube

"Windsong" by John Denver, album: Windsong(1975)

The wind is the whisper of our mother the earth
The wind is the hand of our father the sky
The wind watches over our struggles and pleasures
The wind is the goddess who first learned to fly

The wind is the bearer of bad and good tidings
The weaver of darkness, the bringer of dawn
The wind gives the rain, then builds us a rainbow
The wind is the singer when sang the first song

The wind is a twister of anger and warning
The wind brings the fragrance of freshly mown hay
The wind is a racer, a wild stallion running
The sweet taste of love on a slow summers day

The wind knows the songs of the cities and canyons
The thunder of mountains, the roar of the sea
The wind is the taker and giver of mornings
The wind is the symbol of all that is free

So welcome the wind and the wisdom she offers
Follow her summons when she calls again
In your heart and your spirit let the breezes surround you
Lift up your voice then and sing with the wind

We read about this song here:

Windsong is a taken from the album of the same name and is about communing with nature, a tribute to the natural force and quality of the wind. “The wind is the symbol of all that is free”

You can hear this song in youtube

Soliradity to the fight for survival in Peruvian Amazon

Three songs by Sepultura about struggle for survival and Human Rights all over the world, dedicated to peruvian indigenous people for their fight to death to protect their land from invasive capitalism. From Palestine to Amazonian territory, the violent authority is the same, supporting destructive and predatory economical policies against local societies and natural environment







Peru is witnessing violent clashes between indigenous groups desperately trying to protect the Amazon and the government, which has pushed through legislation allowing intensive mining, logging, and large scale farming in the rainforest.

If the government and extractive industries have their way, the Peruvian rainforest and its people will suffer massive devastation, with disastrous consequences for the global climate.

Sign the urgent petition below, and support the courageous struggle of the indigenous peoples to protect the Amazon -- a prominent and well respected Latin American politician will deliver it to President Alan Garcia on our behalf.


Petition to the President of Peru, Alan Garcia:
We urge you to immediately cease the forceful suppression of indigenous protests, to suspend laws that open up the Amazon to extractive industries, and to engage in a genuine dialogue with indigenous groups to end the conflict and address their legitimate demands and rights.

sign the petition

"No Town" by Malvina Reynolds (1965)

This is no town, no town,
This is no town.

Well I don't know the people next door,
Maybe I never saw them before.
No one belongs in this old place,
A lot of houses in empty space.

This is no town, no town,
This is no town.

Town is a place where you lived and grew,
And things around there mean something to you.
But this old place means nothing to me
But a big no job misery.

This is no town, no town,
This is no town.

A town is a place that begins and ends,
You know your friends and your daddy's friends,
And the guy that runs the grocery store
Lives round the corner or right next door, but

This is no town, no town,
This is no town.

A town is a place where you belong,
Somebody cares if you're right or wrong,
Somebody cares if you live or die,
If they can't help you maybe they try, but

This is no town, no town,
This is no town.

A description of the dehumanising and alienating modern urban environment, deprived of real human relations, solidarity, care of our neighbours, control of our lives, and any social value that characterized the lost world of smaller towns and citizenship, as included in the ancient greek term of "polis". We read in wikipedia:

The first form of citizenship was based on the way people lived in the ancient Greek times, in small-scale organic communities of the polis. In those days citizenship was not seen as a public matter, separated from the private life of the individual person. The obligations of citizenship were deeply connected into one’s everyday life in the polis. To be truly human, one had to be an active citizen to the community, which Aristotle famously expressed: “To take no part in the running of the community's affairs is to be either a beast or a god!” This form of citizenship was based on obligations of citizens towards the community, rather than rights given to the citizens of the community. This was not a problem because they all had a strong affinity with the polis; their own destiny and the destiny of the community were strongly linked. Also, citizens of the polis saw obligations to the community as an opportunity to be virtuous, it was a source of honour and respect. In Athens, citizens were both ruler and ruled, important political and judicial offices were rotated and all citizens had the right to speak and vote in the political assembly.

Big cities of today are constructed and organized not to fulfill the true natural human needs and quality of life, but the needs of of market and economy for quick and effective transportation of products and robot-like clockwork and alienated workers.

You can hear a related song by Malvina "Little Boxes" in youtube

Photo was taken from www.reconnaissanceart.com

"Embrace The World" by Gojira, Album “The Link”(2003)

I sit on a rock
Cannot be touched by struggle & confusion
I reclaim my space inside my structure
Look at this point
All is about nothing, everything comes near
The remotest parts of the world

By silence
We can dissolve disruptive vibrations
I have to try
Gaïa's alive for good
Under my feet the forest
Over me the largest
It's roundness I feel
Lifelong misery
How do we get to Avalon?
There is a bridge beyond
Indestructible the earth is a temple

I cannot see what is wrong and
All gods are one

I close my eyes
I'm all around, I feel so present
Embracing it's vastness I hold
Facing the world
I become a part of it
I'm not alone anymore

I embrace the world

Meditations about the feeling of unity in Nature

You can hear some songs from this album in youtube:
Wisdom comes
Indians
Dawn