Picture courtesy of wikipedia.org

Song Picks by Natalie

Earth Song by Michael Jackson is about all of the damage that has been done to the planet and how people are too busy to even notice. Throughout the song he repeats the line:

“Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth, these weeping shores?”

I think this is him describing people ignoring the signs and chosing not to notice how the condition of the earth is deteriorating. He also talks about other global issues that people chose to ignore like war and poverty. In the middle of the song he says:

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

I think this is him referring to God sending his only son to forgive the world’s sins. He is saying that we have forgotten about this sacrifice and have chosen not to respect it by not taking care of what God has given us. At the end of the song he makes several references to nature and Christianity. He first says:

“What about nature’s worth?
(Ooh)
It’s our planet’s womb
(What about us?)
What about animals?
(What about it?)
Turned kingdoms to dust”

This is another instance of him talking about people forgetting about nature and animals and essentially destroying them. A few lines later he says:

“What about The Holy Land?
(What about it?)
Torn apart by creed?
(What about us?)”

…

“What about Abraham?
(What about us?)
What about death again?
(Ooh)”

I think that these are both examples of Michael Jackson referring to Christianity. When he says that The Holy Land has been torn apart by creed, I believe he is referring to the conflict in Israel between the Palestinians and the Israelites. He is questioning peoples faith if they are having war over and destroying The Holy Land.  In the second verse, I think that he is alluding to the Book of Genesis and the Blessing of Abraham. He is reminding people that God blessed all people of earth through Abraham and when he says “What about death again?” he is referring to the rapture or the return of Christ. Overall with the mention of Abraham and death again in this verse, I think his message is that there will be consequences if we forget the blessings that God has given us.

To read the lyrics, click here.

To listen to the song, click here.

Picture courtesy of biography.com

Song Picks by Natalie

S.O.S (Mother Nature) is a song by Will.I.Am, who is well known as the lead singer of The Black Eyed Peas. This song describes how people are destroying Mother Nature and need help to change our ways. The song says:

“We got a new terror threat, it’s called the weather
More deadlier than chemical and nuclear together
It’s hotter in the winter, even hotter in the summer
Jesus, or Buddha, somebody come and help us out”

“Lord come down and help us out
Send us an angel, help us out
SOS, help us out
Looking all around and I’m watching the world, changing
Open up your eyes, you can see things rearranging
The world is dying
And if they say it’s gonna be alright, them people are lying”

“The gas is rising up but we keep on filling up
CO2 levels got the whole planet heated up
It’s blazing in the winter, even hotter in the summer
Mohammed, Jehovah, somebody come and help us out”

I think that the song is saying humanity is too far gone and our priorities are not in the right place. Will.I.Am describes the damage people have done to the environment from cutting down rain forests, to releasing CO2, to polluting the air, but he also says:

“People don’t see the sign, watching money all the time
Get the pennies, get the dimes, get the dollars is the mindstate
Of the human race, people on the paper chase.”

I think this is him describing how the priority for people is money, not taking care of the earth. I think that is why he says “Lord come down and help us out” and why he calls to many different religious figures for help because he believes that humanity has failed.

Note: This song does contain some profanity

To read the lyrics, click here.

To listen to the song, click here.