Watch: Michael Jackson’s Earth Song Music Video

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by Michael dEstries June 26, 2009
Categories: Music
Tags: .

jackson_earthHave you ever heard of Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song”? We keep mentioning it here on the site, but chances are there are a few of you that have no idea what we’re talking about. That’s because the single was never released in the United States — even though it remained Jackson’s best-selling hit in the UK, beating out even “Thriller” or “Beat It”.

In a time when talk of environmental issues is the norm, Jackson was well ahead of the game with this release in 1996. Topics covered include drought, over-fishing, deforestation, pollution and war. The beautiful video — in which the King of Pop is shot in various scenes from around the world — probably carried a massive carbon footprint; but back then climate change and CO2 were in their infancy. As Treehugger notes, global warming isn’t even covered amidst the other themes.

“…For me, this is Earth’s Song,” Jackson said at the time, “Because I think nature is trying so hard to compensate for man’s mismanagement of the Earth. And with the ecological unbalance going on, and a lot of the problems in the environment, I think earth feels the pain, and she has wounds, and it’s about some of the joys of the planet as well.” Have a look below:

About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

View all posts by Michael dEstries →
  • Luke

    I’ve never heard this song before, amazing! His influence around the world is so large (just look at some global to his death http://www.newsy.com/videos/we_are_the_world) it’s too bad this song wasn’t released in more places. Also interesting to see that global warming was not on the radar then.

  • Whoever…

    Actually this is my favourite song of his.

    And the video is awesome!! Truly inspiring!
    It still gives me goosebumps after all this time…

    “the single was never released in the United States”

    No way…! Really? Well, then people over there don’t know what they missed!

    I believe Michael Jackson was way ahead of his time (like so many others) – with all the good and bad that comes with it… too bad he couldn’t cope with all the pressure of this cruel world :(

  • http://www.ecosh.net Nora Jones

    It probably wasn’t released in the US because it would have opened people’s eyes to the tragic and potentially irreversible consequences of our greedy over-consumerist society.

  • http://exercisecompassion.com Greg Straight Edge

    I remember when this came out and it received little air time. Prince’s vegan song “Kingdom” is even more obscure!

  • http://www.andersbekekenblog.nl Erik van Erne, Milieunet Foundation

    Yep, it’s great. I’ll remeber Michale Jackson for that song.

    http://tinyurl.com/owv8pu

  • lucy

    I adore this song. The video made me cry. Its so real. Mankind is ruining earth!

  • Caroline

    Oh my…OH…My…!!! This is incredible. What an inspirational piece. He was a true artist and I think he really had some insight with this one. I will be tweeting this. Thank you….smilinggreenmom

  • Jan

    http://current.com/items/90285926_michael-jackson-earth-song.htm

    What a coincidence. I posted this to Current yesterday morning. I know this song well. The most powerful and beautiful of Michael Jackson. Of course it wasn’t released here in the US. People on the whole wouldn’t have cared anyway.

  • taylor n.

    beautiful song. my favorite.

  • Jasmine

    Which MJ fan has not seen this video?

  • Dusty

    You say you keep mentioning this song, but I have never seen it mentioned on Ecorazzi before.

  • Hannelore

    His best song.

  • David Tennien

    Saw this video in the US many years ago..Michael Jackson was a pariah due to the child molestation charges in the US at the time of the release. I bought this CD and it is my favorite MJ song ever. Brings me to tears even now some 10 years later when I hear it or see the video again.

  • Pierre

    wow. i think i may have seen this when it was released, but then forgot.

  • Birgitte Simonsen

    If only I could have achieved my Dream sooner. So I could have met you and told you myself that I love you.
    Your piedestal was so high…who could reach you?
    I would have hugged you and tried to express what I feel.
    Now is the time to do our Dream…don’t wait any longer.
    Does anyone see my point?

  • http://youtube pat

    I WAS NOT A MICHAEL JACKSON FAN TILL I WATCHED EARTH SONG. BEAUTIFUL AND AMAZING. THE ONLY ONE I PLAY. HE WILL BE MISSED BY HIS FANS ALL OVER THE WORLD.

  • http://ecorazzi brenda

    this is the most powerful song ever. to get the message across, it should be played all the time now , and i think as there is such an outpouring of grief, people will relate more now and make that change just for him, i think his death was meant to bring awareness to people to make that change now. i will.

  • Liz

    wow this video is Amazing and it trully explains what has happened and continues to happen to the world.

  • http://google BBarclay

    MJ was a legend beyond all our time because
    no one understood his kind of love his was
    a giving love and we don’t understand this
    we have not made it that far yet. A love
    that is not hidden no matter what the
    circumstances. A pure soul that only comes
    from God himself.Rest in peace MJ you will
    be dearly missed.

    bb

  • Dani

    I have lived in the U.S. my whole life and distinctly remember live video. I was fourteen at the time and loved the HIStory album. I’m not sure whether the song got any radio play, but it most definitely was played on MTV and/or VH1.

  • Tracey

    I love this song, it STILL gives me chills. MJ was well ahead of his time, he knew the score before the lot of us. Love you MJ, they can’t hurt you now. RIP King of Pop x

  • AZ_Sun

    I received this e-mail regarding Michael Jackson from Karen Bishop who writes energy alerts for What’s Up With Planet Earth.

    She writes:

    “When substantial shifts occur, it can create the departure of souls who have been carrying significant amounts of higher level energy. When Steve Irwin died, he left the energy of wildlife and wilderness conservancy behind. He had embodied this energy within himself to a massive degree, so by departing, he then allowed this energy to be dissipated to many others on the planet, thus creating a more widely spread purpose and higher energy for the planet as a whole.

    Dana Reeve created the same effect when she departed. She embodied angelic energy, and thus, when she departed, we were then given the opportunity as a whole to now embody this energy ourselves.

    When souls depart who carry significant amounts of energy, their sudden absence can be greatly felt, and what they leave behind creates a ripple effect as it migrates and dissipates out for the entire planet to embrace and now embody in a more evenly distributed way.

    Michael Jackson, perhaps the most talented performer of all time, embodied a massive amount of higher level energy. He was extremely connected to a higher level and to “the other side.” He was unmistakably a bridge; bringing this higher level energy into form and then giving it out to the masses. Remembering oh so well what the “other side” was like, he, like others, found it extremely difficult to exist within and understand the strange and many times darker energies that were on the planet while he was here.

    So then, he embodied massive amounts of energy relating to the other side and bringing it here. In this way, he suddenly departed precisely around the time we experienced the solstice of June 21, because it was now time to dissipate that energy to the planet. He has now given us this energy to embody ourselves. He no longer needed to hold so much of it himself, as the shift of the solstice created this new connection for the planet to now experience on its own.”

    Even though I LOVE Earth Song, I have to say my all-time favorite Michael Jackson song is Man in the Mirror. The lyrics for this song go:
    “If You Wanna Make The
    World A Better Place
    Take A Look At Yourself And
    Then Make A Change”

    I certainly wish that this energy of change he embodied to make the world of a better place does indeed dissipate to everyone on the planet. :-)

  • http://purplegirl@copper.net mckayla newcom

    I LOVE MICHAEL JACKSON!!! I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM FOR THAT SONG

  • http://michaeljacksonearthsong jade cowellxxxx

    i love michael jackson wooo he is great and also KATIE JO LOVES HIM U SHE THINKS U ARE FIR IT WOULD BE GREAT IF U WERE STILL HEAR SHE SAID
    AND I AGREE THE KING OF POP IS ROCKING THE SKY RIGHT NO
    WOOOOOOO GO MICHAEL GO MICHAEL GO

  • http://michaeljacksonearthsong jade cowellxxxx

    king of pop u rock i wish u were hear

  • llc727

    Someone said MJ reach his highest point in early 90′s, with this song, we know it is not true…

  • marie

    this song is perfection and the video is very powerful

  • Gorkem

    It’s the best video i have ever watched, the best song i have ever listened.. What a big shock that video did not released in the US.. I think it had a reason.. People if u still did not watch the video of “Earth Song” please watch it and make people watch.. It’s awesome.. We must share the video on Facebook..

  • Pingback: Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ Features Rainforest Destruction « ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip

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