Music and lyrics by Ed and Carol Nicodemi
©2017 Ed and Carol Nicodemi
This song is a wake up call-to-action to preserve our environment. The song was initially used by Ed and myself in our music teaching, and now we include it in our performances. Because we live in NYC, the song's city ambiance cries out to the people for awareness. Often, our polluted and diminishing natural resources are ignored. Overlooked. This cannot go on, for the future of our children and their children.
Let a Flower Grow
Lookin' out upon the city streets
On the railroad ridin' by
Hear the sounds of steam drills rumblin'
Feel the hot sun burning bright
See the smoke clouds rising
Makes the day look grey
Trees stand tall with branches dead
And the people live that way.
Let a flower grow
Let a river flow
Let the breezes blow
Mr, don't you know
What's goin' wrong.
And the sidewalks lined with cars
Burnt and abandoned
Fenders smashed and tailights broken
How long can this go on?
See the old backyards with clotheslines torn
Rubbish and old bedsprings
Alleyways filled with tin cans smashed
And weeds grow in between.
Let a flower grow
Let a river flow
Let the breezes blow
Mr, don't you know
What's goin' wrong.
Guitar instrumental...
Repeat Verse 1 and
Chorus 2X
(C) Ed and Carol Nicodemi
(646)354-8219/ 347-705-3760
To start up a discussion, or introduce a song, there's nothing better than a visual aid. I used large photographs or posters depicting garbage in alleyways, broken and abandoned cars, photos of dead trees, smog. I asked the children to talk about what they saw, as I gathered them around me on the rug. I asked questions like "Does this look like the kind of place you want to live? Why not?" Their answers sparked the beginning of the teaching of this song.
After I modeled it, I had the children join me in singing the chorus, and we repeated it several times. I asked them if they thought flowers could grow in the pictures I had shown them. "What do you think the air smells like in this picture?," I would ask. We talked about ways they could make a change, both in the mindset of themselves, their friends, their family. (i.e. picking up garbage, recycling, only using water when they really need it, not wasting it.)
For homework, or lesson extension, I had them each choose a grownup to talk to about saving the environment, and come up with 3 ways they could help with this problem. The older children could write a skit, and act it out. The younger children could make up a little dialogue as well, verbally, and pretend to tell each other how to take care of the water, or trees, or throw out garbage. The children could also draw 'before and after' pictures and write about them. (i.e.A tree dead and withered and then a tree in full bloom.) Another 'before' picture could be a backyard filled with junk, and 'after,' a house with a clean and grassy backyard. They could write a poem or song about it. They could express how this song makes them feel. The song would then be sung again, with lyrics always in view for reading reinforcement. A perfect song for Earth Day or ANY day.
CMN's Environmental Songbook is a compilation of songs that promote respect and responsibility for the environment. You'll find these songs inspiring, fun and educational not just for children, but for the musicians, teachers and other adults who sing with them.
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