This track is from Marvin Gaye's album What's Going On. The entire album serves as a protest of black inequality which I cannot really speak on; however this track has a poignant warning for the damage we have done to our Earth which speaks to our current existential trouble of climate change.
Whoa, ah, mercy mercy me
Oh 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
Oh 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
Whoa mercy, mercy me,
Oh things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the oceans and upon our seas, fish full of mercury
Oh things ain't what they used to be, no no
Oil wasted on the oceans 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
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
Oh things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh things ain't what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
I think it's interesting that Marvin Gaye sets this almost like a pleading love song, but it's on behalf of Mother Earth and what more "she can stand". If I didn't have the lyrics in front of me, I would definitely think he was singing about a love that he had lost, not climate change, and I think that is valuable in terms of accessibility for his audience.
ReplyDeleteMuch like what Aislinn said, the song seems to resemble something entirely different if one does not pay attention to the words. Perhaps this is another means of subtle protest. Marvin Gaye incorporates harsh truths into an otherwise pleasant and recognizable texture.
ReplyDeleteI love how Marvin spreads his protest message with love and joy. For me, it serves as a compassionate reminder for the messages he's trying to get across rather than a jarring wake-up call. No matter his reasons behind this lovely vehicle for protest, it is still a beautiful song.
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