This is my modern day protest song of sorts. I always thought I was quite clued up about environmental issues, but I really had no idea how bad pollution has really gotten. I was lucky enough in my early adult life to visit and volunteer at some wonderful conversation projects all over the world, where I learned about the impact of people on the natural world. Placements and education in Ecuador, the Galápagos Islands, Madagascar, the Daintree rainforest, the Great Barrier Reef and Sri Lanka opened my eyes. The Galapagos and Madagascar in particular are places of incredible biodiversity where the impact of the imbalance humankind can bring can be so apparent. The magic of snorkelling with penguins and seals or being eye to eye with sifaka lemurs is something I’ll never forget. However what I’ve come to learn is that these places are test tubes and Petrol dishes for the rest of the world. What is happening there is just condensed and magnified, because of the rarity of their ecosystems. I tried to make changes in my everyday life where I could.
But.. I really had no idea about the extent of the problems. Not just here in the UK but all over the world…I feel like it was David Attenborough that brought this discussion to the public consciousness, with the amazing documentaries he’s made on conservation issues. Maybe I just missed it, but it seems no one was talking about it with any urgency before that.
It certainly made me realise that what I was doing was not enough, and it’s been on my mind more and more.
It’s not long before what’s on my mind becomes a song. As I’ve said before, am the intended recipient of the messages in my songs as much as anybody is – I’m motivating myself to make changes. As well as singing about it, I’m looking at ways in which we can reduce plastic use in our lives, reduce the use of caustic chemicals, use biodegradable kitchen and bathroom products, and have more vegan meals. Conservation of our fragile natural world is always something that I’ve felt strongly about, but now so more than ever.
As the song starts, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it’s about a parent and child, but it’s me wondering ..
If the natural world had a voice, what might she say? We’ve let her down. She could be forgiven for being a disappointed parent figure. Everything we needed to evolve to what we are was provided by the natural world. I wondered about the planet’s view of the human race, and what we’ve done to her in such a short amount of time.
But.. I still wanted this song to be fun to sing. Balancing my desire for my music to have a positive message, with my fear and anger over this topic has been tough. I hope to compensate further for that through my performance, as I don’t believe nagging works. I was to inspire people to try a few changes, not make them feel awful. Undeniably, there is anger in this lyric; this really is aimed at the arrogance of those in power who refuse to do enough, or have a hidden agenda. This lyric is the personification of characteristics of the human race, rather than aimed at ordinary individuals, who, by-and-large, I believe are good people. It was my intention to make this a positive message that will educate but not preach, empower but not scaremonger, motivate but not browbeat people, but it has been hard. I’ve started and abandoned many songs on this topic because I’ve found it a real challenge to strike the right tone. I’m not sure I’ve been wholly successful, but since you’re here, I can tell you, those were my intentions. Failure, or partial success, is part of the human condition I think.
Education is an amazing thing, and there are so many simple things individuals can do every day to help. But we just don’t know about them.
Look After Me is a plea. It’s going to take all of us to come together over this, and I’m willing that to happen.
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