Earth Song Michael Jackson Notes

Activity types: Discussion, gap fill, vocabulary.

Time: one hour.

Note: Earth Song is Michael Jacksons biggest selling single in the UK, entering the charts at Number One
in December 1995. It is a ballad* with elements of blues*, gospel* and opera*.
In the song Jackson focuses attention on world problems, and subsequently received recognition from
various animal and environmental organizations.
*ballad: simple song or poem, especially one that tells an old story
*blues: a type of slow and sad music that developed from the songs of black slaves in the southern US
*gospel: a type of Christian music that was developed by African Americans
*opera: dramatic composition with music, in which the words are sung

1. Ask students if they are interested in protecting the world we live in. Brainstorm a list of the main
environmental problems. Teach the following words through examples:
endangered animals
pollution
climate changes and global warming

deforestation
wildlife extinction
domestic and toxic waste

2. Discuss the principal world problems inflicted by man. Elicit the following words:
war
famine

violence
destruction

homelessness
disease

3. Write the following words on the board, and check students understand the vocabulary. Tell them
they are going to listen to a song, and ask them to tick the words in the order they appear in the
song. If they appear more than once, count just the first time.
world
shore
Earth
fields

whales
heavens
rain
seas

planets
nature
elephants
forest

stars
land
sunrise
animals

4. Show the video (this can be seen on the Downloadable Worksheets page of www.tuneintoenglish.com).
Ask students to guess the geographic regions shown. Note that these locations are detailed at the end of
the video, so be sure to pause it before feedback!
The video centers around the destruction and rebirth of the Earth, and was filmed on four continents,
each suffering because of man. The first location is the Amazon Rainforest, featuring natives of the
region. The second scene is a war zone in Croatia, with residents of the area. The third location is
Tanzania, showing scenes of illegal poaching and hunting. The final location is Warwick, New York,
where a forest fire was simulated in a corn field.

5. Give each student a copy of the worksheet and ask them to fill in the gaps based on their answers to
the previous activity and context.

6. Play the song again and ask students to underline all the words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and
phrases depicting the unhappy condition created by man.

7. Class discussion:
After listening to the song and watching the video, discuss the following:

What animals can you see in the video?

What are the main problems afflicting nature and the world?

What are the main problems afflicting man?

After watching the video do you think there is a solution according to Michael Jackson? And
according to you?

This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only

Activity Tune into English 2010 www.tuneintoenglish.com

Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE)

Earth Song Michael Jackson

What about _______________

What about ____________
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain...
What about killing _____________
Is there a time
What about all the things
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying _______ this weeping ________?
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
What have we done to the ____________
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering ____________
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying _______ this weeping ________?
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the _____________
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah

Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh

Hey, what about yesterday

(What about us)
What about the _____________
(What about us)
The ____________ are falling down
(What about us)
I can't even breathe
(What about us)
What about apathy
(What about us)
I need you
(What about us)

This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only

Activity Tune into English 2010 www.tuneintoenglish.com

What about natures worth

(ooo, ooo)
It's our ___________ womb
(What about us)
What about _______________
(What about it)
Turned kingdoms to dust
(What about us)
What about _______________
(What about us)
Have we lost their trust
(What about us)
What about crying ______________
(What about us)
Ravaging the ___________
(What about us)
What about ____________ trails
(ooo, ooo)
Burnt despite our pleas
(What about us)
What about the holy ____________
(What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man
(What about us)
Can't we set him free
(What about us)
What about children dying
(What about us)
Can't you hear them cry
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boys
(What about it)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
(What about us)
What about the man
(What about us)
What about the crying man
(What about us)
What about Abraham
(What was us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn
Aaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaah

Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE)

Earth Song Michael Jackson Complete

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...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the blood we've shed before
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth this weeping shore?
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
What have we done to the world
Look what we've done
What about all the peace
That you pledge your only son...
What about flowering fields
Is there a time
What about all the dreams
That you said was yours and mine...
Did you ever stop to notice
All the children dead from war
Did you ever stop to notice
This crying Earth this weeping shore
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
Aaaaaaaaah Oooooooooh
I used to dream
I used to glance beyond the stars
Now I don't know where we are
Although I know we've drifted far
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah
Aaaaaaaaah

Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh

Hey, what about yesterday

(What about us)
What about the seas
(What about us)
The heavens are falling down
(What about us)
I can't even breathe
(What about us)
What about apathy
(What about us)
I need you
(What about us)

This worksheet is to be used for educational purposes only

Activity Tune into English 2010 www.tuneintoenglish.com

What about nature's worth

(ooo, ooo)
It's our planet's womb
(What about us)
What about animals
(What about it)
Turned kingdoms to dust
(What about us)
What about elephants
(What about us)
Have we lost their trust
(What about us)
What about crying whales
(What about us)
Ravaging the seas
(What about us)
What about forest trails
(ooo, ooo)
Burnt despite our pleas
(What about us)
What about the holy land
(What about it)
Torn apart by creed
(What about us)
What about the common man
(What about us)
Can't we set him free
(What about us)
What about children dying
(What about us)
Can't you hear them cry
(What about us)
Where did we go wrong
(ooo, ooo)
Someone tell me why
(What about us)
What about baby boys
(What about it)
What about the days
(What about us)
What about all their joy
(What about us)
What about the man
(What about us)
What about the crying man
(What about us)
What about Abraham
(What was us)
What about death again
(ooo, ooo)
Do we give a damn
Aaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaah

Worksheet written by Prof. Simonetta Gatto, Casella (GE)