Earth anthem

An Earth anthem is a celebratory song or a musical composition that eulogizes, extols or exalts the planet Earth.

The Blue Marble, the Earth seen from Apollo 17

History

On the request of then United Nations Secretary-General, U Thant, a Hymn to the United Nations was performed on the occasion of its 26th anniversary, on October 24, 1971, by Pablo Casals, the lyrics to which were penned by the poet W.H. Auden.[1][2] Thant first approached Casals, who was a personal friend, looking to create a hymn to peace and hoping for the song to be based on the preamble of the Charter of the United Nations. Thant later commissioned Auden to write the poem after Casals requested one to set to music. Auden completed his work in three days time. The finished work, scored for chorus and orchestra, takes approximately seven minutes to play. However, there were never any plans to adopt the song the organization's official anthem.[3][4]

Songs about Earth

There are a number of songs or a musical composition that eulogizes, extols or exalts the planet Earth. One is "World Anthem" by the Mindshare Institute and Foundation.[5] Other songs on the same theme include "Earth Anthem" by The Turtles (later covered by Dan Fogelberg,[6]) "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" by Neil Young, "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson,[7] "Earth Hour Anthem" by Andrew Huang and "Earth Anthem" by Abhay Kumar.[8][9] The "Earth Day Anthem" lyrics by William Wallace (and sometimes the original lyrics by Barbara George) are widely sung to the tune of "Ode to Joy" by Ludwig van Beethoven to celebrate Earth Day.[10][11][12]

Call for an official Earth anthem

The call for an official Earth Anthem was made by the Permanent Delegation of India in Paris to UNESCO in January 2014.[13]

Quotes

We find that the idea of having an Earth Anthem is a creative and inspiring thought which would contribute to bringing the world together.

— UNESCO[14]

Vedas – the first book of universal knowledge and wisdom says, 'Bhumi Mata Putroaham' – which means 'Earth is my mother, I am her son'. This is one of the essences of ancient Indian philosophy. Every effort to protect and respect mother earth is an effort to protect ourselves and our generations to come. The Earth Anthem is a beautiful effort in this direction.

— Kailash Satyarthi[15]

... a global consciousness has certainly begun to emerge. To tap into this nascent consciousness and give it form and focus, we need to establish a common language and common icons. In time, then, emerging generations of global citizens would come to rally around these, in realizing their debt to and in paying tribute to the planet that sustains us all. What better icon, then, than our planet itself, and what more universal language than music! ... an Earth Anthem shared and sung by all the peoples of the world.

— Dr. Shashi Tharoor [16]

See also

References
  1. "United Nations". nationalanthems.info. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  2. "Voices : An anthem for the Earth". The-kathmandu-post. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  3. "Does the UN have a hymn or national anthem?". October 2000.
  4. Raymont, Henry (1971-08-26). "Auden and Casals Writing 'Hymn' to Peace for U.N. (Published 1971)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  5. "A Soothing Anthem For Everybody". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  6. "Dan Fogelberg - Earth Anthem Lyrics - SongMeanings". SongMeanings. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  7. "STAR Magazine: Hottest Celeb website :: Breaking News :: Michael Jackson's Earth Song is top BRITs performance". Archived from the original on 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  8. "Nepal-Africa film festival opens with 'Earth Anthem'". Business-standard.com. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  9. "The Himalayan Times : Inspiring Earth Anthem - Detail News : Nepal News Portal". Thehimalayantimes. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  10. Evans, Sophie (April 22, 2016). "What is Earth Day 2016? Everything you need to know about the environmental event". Mirror. Archived from the original on 2016-09-03.
  11. "Earth Day 2016: What it's all about and why it's extremely important". First Post. Apr 22, 2016.
  12. Saldana, Janel (Apr 22, 2016). "Earth Day 2016: Why Do We Celebrate Being Green? Find Out How The Holiday Originated". Latin Times.
  13. "UNESCO finds Indian poet-diplomat's idea of an Earth Anthem inspiring". Business Standard. February 27, 2014.
  14. Times of India, 28 February 2014
  15. Deccan Chronicle, 16 June 2017
  16. Dr. Shashi Tharoor Official You Tube Channel, 18 Oct 2017
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.