This song and video were giant hits in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and as a single outsold Billie Jean and Thriller, among others in the UK. It was nearly ignored in the United States.
Released in 1996, this music was ahead of its time in many ways for the popular music world. And Michael Jackson, early in his career, had stated that he only took on songs if he felt the value of their feeling or message. We have to believe this song fit his approach as well. Perhaps we can remember the positive, the beautiful in his legacy, and let the other problems fade somewhat into distant memory; let's remember the inspiration. See the video
Comment by: DawoodMamedoff (Dawood Mamedoff) (Aug-20-2009)
P Diddy had very precisely described the genius of Michael Jackson: "He showed that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life. He made me believe in magic."
Check other notable tributes paid to Michael Jackson by peers:
Comment by: edwinq (Edwin Q) (Jul-17-2009)
No only this video shows that we need to look deeper in people, it also shows that we, the United States of America, need to wake up and show more respect for people, for artists, and for our planet. what a great song and how sad to know that it is true. RIP Michael
Comment by: City Worker (Jun-28-2009)
Loved Michael Jackson's "Earth Song" musical video except for the strong religious overtones. I don't remember ever hearing this song before.
Comment by: GreenHomeBldg (Kelly Hart) (Jun-27-2009) Web site
Wow! I hadn't seen this before, and was immensely impressed with the message and the passion. I didn't know Michael Jackson had it in him.
Comment by: Oemissions (Jun-27-2009) Web site
Thank you for this. It is timely with the US vote on the Climate Bill. Thank you Michael, I appreciate the passion in this video. I went to the Tube and enjoyed the version with the lyrics printed on the screen. This Earth Song should be playing on every radio and TV station.
Hopefully the production of the video didn't do too much damage. I read that 'liberal' Hollywood is responsible for huge carbon emissions, with its love of explosions and car chases and flights to exotic locations.
This is hardly the first environmental song (Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi" came out in 1970; The Young Idea's "Tar and Cement" was 1967; there must be earlier ones too) but the message is good and it was received by a lot of people.
Could the fact that this was a hit in Europe and a flop in the USA explain why, 13 years later, America lags behind in awareness and action on climate change? Did Michael Jackson kick-start Kyoto and Europe's cap and trade scheme?! Thank you Michael!
My lifelong pursuit, since age 18, has been to live more fully and find wisdom. This has involved studies with Zen masters, Tai Chi masters, and great psychotherapists while achieving my license as a gestalt therapist and psychoanalyst.
Along the way, I became aware of how the planet is under great stress due to the driven nature of human activity on this planet.
I believe that the advancement of human well-being will reduce societies addictive behaviors, and will thus also help preserve the environment and perhaps slow down the effects of global warming and other major threats to the health of human societies.
Fossil Fuel
PT
GreenHomeBldg (Kelly Hart)
Wavehunter (William Coffin)
