SURVIVAL REVIVAL
EARTHY SONGS Vol. 2
Lyrics to ALL 21 Songs
all songs © KEN LONNQUIST 1987
1. Survival Revival
Written for my musical The Travels Of Babar
Talkin' 'bout survival - yeah, survival
Gonna have a survival reval
Where everyone alive'll
Swear upon arrival as the walk in through the door
​
I'm gonna stand up - for the clear, blue water
I'm gonna stand up - 'cause I dan't live without her
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
For survival
I'm gonna stand up - for the sunshine shinin'
I'm gonna stand up - 'cause it's yours and mine, and
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
​
For survival - yeah, survival
Gonna have a survival reval
Where everyone alive'll
Swear upon arrival as the walk in through the door
​
I'm gonna stand up - for the land I live in
I'm gonna stand up - for all this good Earth's given
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
For survival
​
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna love my neighbor
I'm gonna stand up - and do this world a favor
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
​
For survival - yeah, survival
Gonna have a survival reval
Where everyone alive'll
Swear upon arrival as the walk in through the door
​
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
I'm gonna stand up - I'm gonna stand up
For survival!
​
2. Bullhead
(Music & Lyrics by Farrell Boyce)
​
I'm a big ol' Bullhead - I live in the bay
It's warm and it's muddy and I like it that way
I got warts on my belly, a hole in my fin...
I can't help the big mess I'm in!
I been around so long, I'm a household pet!
I been hooked six times, caught in a net!
And the people that caught me all said, "No way!
Throw that ugly fish right back in the bay!
He's got a pimple on his dimple and he's loaded with crud!
Lord knows what that poor fish finds in the mud!
If you fried him he'd light up like a Christmas Tree -
oozing with lead and PCB - whew-eee!"
​
Well, the folks on the bank, they started to think
And they looked around for the source of the stink.
They sampled in the sewers and they chased that scum
And soon found out where it come from!
And the folks on the bank all said, "No way!
We can't let those factories pollute our bay!
They're poopin' and goon' at every joint!
If we don't get 'em stopped, there'll be no point!
It's time we made a lot more fuss,
'Cause those factories are P.U.-in' us
(If you know what I mean!)
​
Well, the air got cleaner. The water got thinner.
There were hardly any phenols in my dinner!
And everything seemed to be okay
'Til I took another look around my bay
And what I saw sure made me sore!
There were styrofoam cups all over the shore!
Bottles on the bottom - some of
'em smashed!
A poor fish like me could get his belly gashed!
So I rose on one fin and I yelled, "No way!
You keep your trash right out of my bay!"
Some say, "Charity starts at home."
Well, garbage, too. Don't let it roam!
Some poem!
​
3. Dioxin Blues
There's dioxin in the river - you read about it every day
It fills up with dioxin and the fish all die away!
Well, I'm a little worried... yes, I'm a little blue
'Cause I think I've got dioxin! yes, I think I've got some, too@
I got these spastic, drastic, semi-elastic
Dioxin Blues!
​
There's dioxin in my notebook. Dioxin on my pen.
Dioxin in my locker. Dioxin on my split ends!
No wonder I'm so goofy! No wonder they laugh at me!
It's just this old dioxin that's put a curse on me
And give me these spastic, drastic, semi-elastic
Dioxin Blues!
​
My parents say I'm crazy. My teachers think I'm nuts.
They say, "It's not dioxin that made you such a klutz!"
They tell me I was born this way, but I disagree
I think it's that dioxin that's got a hold of me,
And give me these spastic, drastic, semi-elastic
Dioxin Blues!
​
I tried to get a girlfriend - the girls all laughed at me.
If it wasn't for this dioxin I'd probably have two or three!
I'd be captain of the football team! A star in basketball!
I'd probably even be the King at the Junior-Senior Ball
'Stead of havin' these spastic, drastic, semi-elastic
Dioxin Blues!
​
Hey, Mom! Mom! Look in the mirror!
What's wrong, Sonny?
My nose! I think it's falling off!
Oh? Well, here's a band-id. Slap it back on. It's time for school!
But Mom! I can't go to school lookin' like this! I 've got the blues!
What kind of blues, son?
The spastic, drastic, semi-elastic
Dioxin Blues!
​
4. Garbage
Music & Lyrics by Bill Steele
Mr. Schilling calls the waiter, orders steak and baked potatoes
He leaves the bone and gristle and he never eats the skin.
The busboy comes and takes it - with a cough contaminates it -
And he puts it in a can with coffee grounds and sardine tins.
And then a truck comes by on Friday and it carts it all away
And a thousand trucks just like it are converging on the bay
With garbage! Garbage!
We're filling up the seas withgarbage! Garbage!
Garbage! Garbage!
What will we do when there's no place left to put
All the garbage?
​
Mister Schilling starts his Cadillac and winds it down the freeway track
Leaving all his neighbors in a hydrocarbon haze
He's joined by lots of smaller cars sending gasses to the stars
there to form a smelly cloud that hangs for thirty days
And the Sun looks down upon it with an ultraviolet tongue
And it turns to smog and settles down and ends up in our lungs, as
As garbage! Garbage!
We're filling up the sky with garbage! Garbage!
Garbage! Garbage!
What will we do when there's no place left to put
All the garbage?
​
Now, getting home and taking off his shoes he settles with the evening news
While the kids do homework with the TV in one ear
As Batman saves the universe, all their grades are getting worse
'Cause they can't remember who the heck was Paul revere!
and there's a story in the paper about the Mayor's middle name
And he gets it read in time to watch the Wheel Of Fortune game. It's
With garbage! Garbage!
We're filling up our minds with garbage! Garbage!
Garbage! Garbage!
What will we do when there's nothing left to read, nothing left to need, and nothing left to watch, and nothing left to touch, and nothing left to walk upon, and nothing left to talk upon, nothing left to see, and nothing left to be... but garbage?
​
​
​
​
5. Green & Blue
Under the stars up above you​
There's a world so green and blue
Sun & rain, rivers & trees
A world that's made for you & me
​
And it's green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
​
Under the stars the ocean lies
Rainbows sparkle in the skies
Fish & burst, sky & sea
A world that's made for you & nme
​
And it's green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
Green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
Blue & green! Green & Blue!
Made for me, made for you!
​
Under the stars inn jungles deep
Under cover creatures creep
They sing the same song differently
This world was made for you & me
​
And it's green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
​
Under the stars voices call
From land & see, the great & small
they sing the same as you & me
This world was made for creatures living free
​
And it's green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
Green & blue, blue & green
Made for you, made for me!
Blue & green! Green & Blue!
Made for me, made for you!
​
​
​
6. A Place In The Choir
Words & Music by Bill Staines - used by permission.
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wires
And some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they got now
Listen to the bass, it's the one on the bottom
Where the bullfrog croaks and the hippopotamus
Moans and groans with a big t'do
And the old cow just goes moo
​
The dogs and the cats they take up the middle
While the honeybee hums and the cricket fiddles
The donkey brays and the pony neighs
And the old coyote howls
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wires
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
Listen to the top where the little birds sing
On the melodies with the high notes ringing
The hoot owl hollers over everything
And the jaybird disagrees
Singin' in the night time, singing in the day
The little duck quacks, then he's on his way
The 'possum ain't got much to say
And the porcupine talks to himself
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wires
And some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they got now
It's a simple song of living sung everywhere
By the ox and the fox and the grizzly gear
The grumpy alligator the the hawk above
The sly raccoon and the turtle dove
​
All God's critters got a place in the choir
Some sing low, some sing higher
Some sing out loud on the telephone wires
Some just clap their hands, or paws, or anything they've got now
​
​
​
7. Cowpie Serenade
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz The cow’s out takin’ a whiz
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz Sayin’, “Brother! What a relief it is!”
And all day the sound Of cowpies hittin’ the ground
Goes oozin’ down below to the H2O ‘til it looks suspiciously brown!
Cows all over this state got to de-constipate
When they lift the fflodd-gate they unleash all of them stored nitrates
When they drop on the land they ooze right into the sand
And the cow sonstipation nitrate situation has got way out of hand
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz The cow’s out takin’ a whiz
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz Sayin’, “Brother! What a relief it is!”
And all day the sound Of cowpies hittin’ the ground
Goes oozin’ down below to the H2O ‘til it looks suspiciously brown!
When they plop in the creek those cowpies do more than reek
All the nitrates build up ‘til it ain’t just water that’s fillin’ your cup
When your faucet is on you’d best remember this song
‘Cause the cow-constipation nitrate situation has gone on far too long!
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz The cow’s out takin’ a whiz
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz Sayin’, “Brother! What a relief it is!”
And all day the sound Of cowpies hittin’ the ground
Goes oozin’ down below to the H2O ‘til it looks suspiciously brown!
8. Heaven's Energy
Written with 4th Graders at Cato-Meridian Elementary, Cato, NY
I’d like to welcome everyone
To meet, when all is said and done
Humanity’s best friend: the Sun
It’s heaven’s energy
‘Cause it comes from up above
A shining warm miracle of
The ages. Always there’s enough…
And refills are for free
​
Sun shine down on me - safe and warm and free
Heaven's, heaven's energy!
No installation is required
The whole world is divinely wired
Solar Power is inspired
It’s heaven’s energy
A billion lifetime’s worth supply
Eternal power in the sky
Drink until your cup runs dry
Refills are for free
​
Sun shine down on me - safe and warm and free
Heaven's, heaven's energy!
No big risks, no safety factors
Like with nuclear reactors
Have no fear of big disasters
Heaven’s energy
Costs no money, costs no rent
It’s controlled by no government
They can’t tax what’s heaven-sent
And refills are for free
​
Sun shine down on me - safe and warm and free
Heaven's, heaven's energy!
Order now and don’t delay
Although the Sun will always stay
We might not, if we turn away
From heaven’s energy
Though other fuels may all run out
With Solar Power there’s no doubt
That’s what this whole song’s about
Refills are for free
​
Sun shine down on me - safe and warm and free
Heaven's, heaven's energy!
​
9. Inside Howard's Head
Written for the Milwaukee Public Museum’s "Butterfly" installation, featuring a puppet video in which a Caterpillar is serenaded by four admiring Beetles!
I run the local factory
I'm a busy guy, you see
I've got to balance all the books
By rook or hook or even crook
​
The world of major industry
Is not a pleasant place to be
It's tough enough to make a buck
But then you've got to dodge and duck
​
The regulations that they pass
For bleeding hearts who love the grass
And worry about the eco-chain,
China syndromes and acid rain
​
They yell at me accuingly:
"You use the world abusingly!"
Well, what am I supposed to do
About the byprodufts we spew?
​
Into the rivers and the air
Around the factory everywhere?
I've got to use the cheapest way
Or we'd go in the red someday
​
The stockholders would waste this town
Rather than let profits go down
The only green they want to see
Is in their wallets, not the trees
​
Or fields or forests, no, it's these
We kill to make the factories
That poison so we can produce
The things for which life has no use!
​
​
10. Talkin' Stoughton Toxic Water Blues
Written with 7th Graders from Cato-Meridian Middle School, Cato, N.Y.
As I was walking' down Highway "A"
I met a man along the way
It was hot, and gettin' hotter
So I asked him where I might find some waterl
He sai, "Drinkin' water?"
I said, "Yeah, I'm thirsty - do ya mind?"
He said, "Son, what are ya tryin' to do - kill yourself?!?"
He told me the town of Stoughton
In toxic waste it was a-floatin'
The water there glowed at night
From the chemicals in an old dump site.
And then the old man smiled.
I noticed he didn't have any teeth.
So I asked him why, and he said it was from too much brushin'!
I said, "Too much brushin'?
Brushin's supposed to be good for your teeth!"
He said, "Not when you brushwith that water!"
​
"They got acetone, butyl-acetate,
Tetra-hydro-furan - sure tastes great!
Tetra-chloro-thylene, xylene, too!
And vinyl chloride - it's good for you...
If you wanna die early, that is!"
​
He said property values are goin' down
And folks are moving' right out of town
they can't drink water to quench their thrist
And things are goin' from bad to worse
There's even a rumor that some folks in Stoughton have been installing' new sinks
Instead of runnin' water they've got running' cocalcola
Some of 'em even got runnin' beer!
It's not bad if you're thirsty,
But did you ever try brushin' your teeth with toothpaste and beer?
Ever try takin' a shower in coca-cola? It's sticky!
​
There's cancer on the people's skin
From the toxic waste that they drank in
When chemicals from that old dump site
Spoiled the waters clear and bright.
"Yep," the old man said. "That's just about the size of the situation here.
Oh.. by the way, son... are you still thirsty?"
​
I said, "No!"
But if you'd like to visit Stoughton town
By all means, come on down!
There's just one thing that oughta be known:
If you want drinking' water... bring your own!
​
​
​
​
11. NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)
​
If someone wants to take your land
And build a four-lane highway
Before the thing gets out of hand
You could stand up and say:
No! No! No, I won't let you - in my back yard!
No! No! No, no sir - not in my back yard!
If someone dumps some toxic waste
Into your lake, Ker-splat!
You couldn't swim there anymore...
What would you say to that?
No! No! No, I won't let you - in my back yard!
No! No! No, no sir - not in my back yard!
​
What would you say if chemicals
Were dumped in your city park?
You wouldn't need no more streetlights
'Cause you'd all glow in the dark!
No! No! No, I won't let you - in my back yard!
No! No! No, no sir - not in my back yard!
​
And if someone built a shopping mall
Cutting down all your trees
Bringing concrete and urban sprawl
What would your answer be?
No! No! No, I won't let you - in my back yard!
No! No! No, no sir - not in my back yard!
Always remember it's your right
To live and to have a choice
if things aren't how they ought to be
you can stand up and raise your voice
And tell 'em:
No! No! No, I won't let you - in my back yard!
No! No! No, no sir - not in my back yard!
'
​
​
​
12. Sun Is On The Rise
At the world's rim - a touch of light​
The Sun is on th4 rise!
Lifting the stars out of the night
The Sun is on th4 rise!
Song fills the early morning sky
The Sun is on th4 rise!
Mist on the river whispers by
The Sun is on th4 rise!
​
Sing to the morning
Sing to the day
Sing to the sunlight
Burning the shadows away
​
​
​
​
13. IHear What I Hear
​
Oh, the pine trees are cracking, whispering and sighing
The birds are all singing and winging and crying
The raindrops are tapping and rapping and flying
And I say:
Life is a web of many threads
Woven together, living and dead
So please be careful, for if a tear starts
This web of creation may all come apart
​
Oh, the rabbits are running, darting and dashing
The thunder is rolling and booming and crashing
The wolves are all growling, yelping and gnashing
And they say:
Life is a web of many threads
Woven together, living and dead
So please be careful, for if a tear starts
This web of creation may all come apart
​
Oh, the seeds are all bursting, sprouting and growing
The geese are coming, calling and going
The winds re rushing, hissing and blowing
And they say:
Life is a web of many threads
Woven together, living and dead
So please be careful, for if a tear starts
This web of creation may all come apart
​
Oh the Sun is shining, sizzling, and burning
The river is gurgling, flowing and churning
the fish are all jumping, splashing and turning
And Ithey say:
Life is a web of many threads
Woven together, living and dead
So please be careful, for if a tear starts
This web of creation may all come apart
​
​
​
​
​
14. I Am An Animal
Written for tmy musical adaptation of "Beauty And The Beast"
​
I am an animal
No one can understand
I am more beast than man…
I know I am
Kin to the wolf with white fangs flashing
Kin to the fox that sniffs and hides
Prowling, circling, tearing, gnashing
I am the beast that lurks inside
I am an animal
Dog-faced, with snout and claws
You turn away because…
I give you pause
To think of the beast you fear within you
Think of the thirst for meat you hide
Ready to snarl and kill and savage
I am the beast that lurks inside
Standing upright won’t tame me
Clothing cannot civilize
Underneath I am still the same me
Look, if you dare, into my eyes
I am an animal
But at least I know it’s so
At least my surface shows
what lies below
Under your ribs, a wild heart beating
Under your words, a howl denied
Tortured and caged
and coiled and ready
I am the beast that lurks inside
I am the beast that lurks inside
​
​
​
​
​
15. Need
​
Travel down any highway
Travel down any road you choose
Take a forgotten byway
See just how much you've got to lose
There are voices calling
Hear the voices calling you:
"You need me, and I need you!"
​
Leave the city behind you
Leave your mind like an open door
And a feeling will find you
It's like nothing you've known before
You're a part of the seasons
Hear the seasons calling you:
"You need me, and I need you!"
​
Every tree in a forest
Every fish in a cold, wet stream
Every bird in a blue sky
Every creature below that dreams
Is a thread in the web of
All the living, and calling you:
"You need me, and I need you!"
​
People like to think they own this world, you know
People like to think it, yes... but no, no, no...
​
They say nobody's an island
They say nobody can live alone
This is your land and my land
But it's every creature's home
So we've got to remember
If we're hoping to make it through
"You need me, and I need you!"
​
​
​
​
16. Ode To Big Blue
Words & Music by Gordon Lightfoot. Used by permission.
The oceans of the world were the home of Big Blue
He was the greatest monster that the world ever knew
And the place that he loved best
Was the waters to the west
Around the blue Pacific he did roam
Big Blue moved alone for a mighty blue was he
And the battles of the whales was an awesome sight to see
And he took them one by one and he drove them all away
In the mating of the day he was the king
Big Blue had fifty wives and he sired forty sons
Though most of them feel victim to the cruel harpoon guns
Ah but he was too much wise to get caught by the gunners' eyes
And so he lived at sea a hundred years
His mouth was as large as a tunnel so they say
His hide was thick as leather and his eyes quick and small
And his back was all scarred by the times he got away
And he knew the smell of whalers did Big Blue
Big Blue passed away to his natural decay
Beside the Arctic Circle as he travelled up that way
And there never was a man who was born with a gunner's hand
Who ever took a pan to Big Blue
Now the gray whale has run and the sperm is almost done
The finbacks and the Greenland rights have all passed and gone
They've been taken by the men for the money they could spend
And the killing never ends, it just goes on
The oceans of the earth were the home of Big Blue
He was the greatest monster that the world ever knew
And the place that he loved best was the waters to the west
Around the blue Pacific he did roam
17. Whale Song
Words & Music by Phil Grimes
Oh the Blue Whale's the biggest of all the Earth's mammals
And he lives where the water's like ice
The Sperm Whale lives way down by the Equator
And thinks the warm water is nice
​
Oh, where in the world are the whales?
Where do they wander, way under the waves?
What would you answer if someone wondered:
Where in the world are the whales?
​
Now, the Right Whale lives in the northern Pcific
From Alaska on down to Japan
And there Grey Whale sswim down by south California
And they stay close to land if they can
​
Oh, where in the world are the whales?
Where do they wander, way under the waves?
What would you answer if someone wondered:
Where in the world are the whales?
​
The Humpback Whales swim near Hawaii
And feed on small krill and kelp
And the Killer Whale swims in the Puget Sound waters
When they see him, the people yell: "Help!"
​
Oh, where in the world are the whales?
Where do they wander, way under the waves?
What would you answer if someone wondered:
Where in the world are the whales?
​
​
18. Many Long Years Ago (The Dodo Song)
​
​Oh, whatever happened to the Dodo?
Where'd the Dodo go?
Whatever happened to the Dodo?
Does anybody know?
Well, we pushed the Dodo right to the brink -
Down the drain of the global sink!
That's what happened to the Dodo
many long years, many long years, many long years ago!
​
Whatever happened to the Passenger Pigeon?
Where'd the Passenger Pigeon go?
Whatever happened to the Passenger Pigeon?
Does anybody know?
Well, we pushed the Passenger Pigeon to the brink -
Down the drain of the global sink!
That's what happened to the Passenger Pigeon
many long years, many long years, many long years ago!
​
SPOKEN:
You know, someday - in not too long a time,
if we're not more careful with the world we live in -
it could be that all the people on the planet
are gonna become extinct, too!
And I think when that day comes, that's the day
the Aliens are gonna arrive from outer space!
They'll come down, whizzing out of the sky in their spaceships,
And they'll be like E.T. was in the movies...
except E.T. was always looking around for plants.
These Aliens are gonna be looking around for old bones and fossils
to see what used to live around here.
And underneath all the rocks and dirt they're gonna uncover a few people!
They're gonna uncover these people and step back and say,
"Woh! What are these things?!?!"
They'll have never seen anything like people before!
They'll take a closer loo, and they'll get up the courage
to reach into one of our pockets -
and out of our pockets they'll pull a note... a note that reads:
"Hi! We used to be people!"
And the Aliens will look at each other and sing:
​
Whatever happened to the People?
Where'd the People go?
Whatever happened to the People?
Does anybody know?
Well, they pushed each other right to the brink -
Down the drain of the global sink!
That's what happened to the People
Many long years, many long years, many long years ago!
Oh, it was many long years, many long years, many long years ago!
​
​
​
19. I Am The One
I used to wish someone else would do
What must be done to pull us through
The world needs help, and it's asking, "Who?"
And I know I am the one.
​
I know the forests far away
Disappear a little more each day
I know there's something someone should say
And I know I am the one
​
I am the one, I am the one
I am the one, I am the one
​
I used to wish that someone else
Would do these things, and not myself
I hoped the Earth wouldn't need my help
But I know I am the one
​
Ice melts in the Arctic Range
Seas are rising, the weather's strange
I know somebody must make a change
And I know I am the one
​
I am the one, I am the one
I am the one, I am the one
​
​
20. Celebration!
Written with students from V.L. Murray Elementary, Charlottesville, Va.
Celebra-tia-tion! We can share the morning Sun!
There's enough for everyone in celebra-ti-on!
Celebra-tia-tion! Now a new day has begun!
Let us lift our hearts as one in celebra-ti-on!
​
Oh-ooo-oh! Let us live toghter, as we've always done
Oh-ooo-oh! Children of the river - w are really one!
​
Long before we knew it's name, to the shore our chikldrenb came
Now today we do the same in
All of us depend on her - strong and blue and deep and pure
When we thirst she brings the cure in celebra-ti-on!
​
We are one! Let us live toghter, as we've always done
We are one! children of the river - w are really one!
​
Give the river what the river gives
As it goes along it's way
And as surely as the river lives
We will live to celebra-a--a-ate!
​
Take a deep drink from her spring
Lift your voices high and sing
Let the jungle rumble and ring in celebra-ti-on!
Gift of water, gift of life
Cuts the jungle like a knife
Lift the forest drum and fife in celebra-ti-on!
​
Oh-ooo-oh! Let us live toghter, as we've always done
Oh-ooo-oh! Children of the river - w are really one!
​
Celebra-tia-tion! We can share the morning Sun!
There's enough for everyone in celebra-ti-on!
Celebra-tia-tion! Now a new day has begun!
Let us lift our hearts as one in celebra-ti-on!
Celebra-ti-on! Celebra-ti-on!
​
​
​
21. Once
​
Once it was a singing river... once it was, once it was...
In this good land, golden woodland
But swiftly as the river ran, there was no escaping Man
​
​
Once it was a a sweet life-giver... once it was, once it was...
In this good land, golden woodland
But swiftly as the river ran, there was no escaping Man
​
Once the future was forever... once it was, once it was...
In this good land, golden woodland
But swiftly as the river ran, there was no escaping Man
​
Come on back, you singing river... come on back, come on back...
To this good land, golden woodland
And I'll protect you if I can from the foolishness of Man
​
​