“Earth Song” remains one of Michael Jackson‘s most powerful stances. The singer didn’t pull any punches when it came to this rousing anthem. Check out the meaning behind this Jackson staple, below.
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Behind the Meaning
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?
“Earth Song” is far from Jackson’s only socially conscious effort, but it is one of his most powerful. As one could glean from the title, Jackson mourns the destruction of planet earth, which in his eyes, was more evident than ever.
In the opening of the song, Jackson sets the scene by asking the listeners a series of questions. He references the natural beauty of the world and then, very quickly, chalks humans up as the only thing standing between the end of that beauty. What about all the things that you said was yours and mine, he sings.
“I remember writing Earth Song when I was in Austria, in a hotel,” Jackson once said of this song. “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.
And with the ecological unbalance going on, and a lot of the problems in the environment, I think earth feels the pain, and she has wounds, and it’s about some of the joys of the planet as well,” Jackson continued.
What have we done to the world?
Look what we’ve done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son?
The accompanying music video helps to drive home Jackson’s qualms even more. The powerful visual shows scenes of war, poaching, deforestation, and more detrimental things to the natural world. It’s a sweeping and damning statement to everyone who watches.
Revisit the music video for “Earth Song,” below.
(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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