Earth Song

THE STORY BEHIND ' Earth Song '

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This is the magnum opus of the HIStory album. It is Michael Jackson's best-selling single in the UK and stands as perhaps the most epic, operatic, and devastating environmental anthem ever recorded.

 

Most songs take a few weeks to write. "Earth Song" took seven years. Michael began writing the track under the working title "What About Us" in 1988, during the Bad era. He worked on it in hotels in Vienna, Switzerland, and Austria. It was originally intended for the Dangerous album, but Michael pulled it at the last minute because he felt the climax wasn't "big" enough yet.

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He wanted to create a song that wasn't just a pop track, but a "lamentation", a biblical cry for help. He wanted it to sound like the earth itself was singing. He kept refining the orchestration, the choir arrangements, and the vocal delivery until 1995, when he finally felt it was ready for HIStory.

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The "Bolero" Effect Unlike most pop songs that follow a verse-chorus structure, "Earth Song" is built like a classical crescendo. It has no bridge. Instead, it relies on a technique similar to Ravel’s Bolero.

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• The Beginning: It starts in silence, with the sounds of the rainforest, birds chirping, insects buzzing. Michael’s voice enters softly, almost weeping: "What about sunrise? What about rain?"

• The Build: Slowly, the instrumentation grows. A bassline enters, then drums, then a gospel choir.

• The Climax: By the end of the song, the structure breaks down completely. The lyrics disappear, replaced by Michael screaming in raw, guttural agony while the choir chants "What about us?" relentlessly. The key changes, the drums thunder, and Michael’s ad-libs become primal screams. It is widely considered one of the greatest vocal performances of his career, showcasing his ability to project pure pain.

 

The music video, directed by fine-art photographer Nick Brandt, is one of the most expensive and visually stunning environmental films ever made. Filmed on four continents, it depicts the destruction of the planet:

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1. The Amazon Rainforest: Showing slash-and-burn deforestation (filmed in a real destroyed forest).

2. Croatia: Showing the aftermath of war (filmed in Karlovac with real war refugees).

3. Tanzania: Showing the illegal poaching of elephants (using archival footage and safe recreations).

4. New York: Showing a simulated forest fire.

 

The video’s concept is unique: it features a "Reverse Time" effect. In the climax, Michael drops to his knees and digs his hands into the dirt. As the wind picks up, time begins to rewind. The trees fly back into the ground, the dead elephant stands up and its tusks reattach, the soldiers' bullets fly back into their guns, and the dead come back to life. It is a powerful wish-fulfillment fantasy, a plea to undo the damage humanity has done.

 

"Earth Song" is forever linked to a controversial incident at the 1996 BRIT Awards in London. Michael performed the song live, dressed in white tattered clothes. During the climax, he stood on a crane high above the stage while children and actors dressed as rabbis surrounded him, looking up in adoration.

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Jarvis Cocker, the lead singer of the Britpop band Pulp, was in the audience. He felt the performance was pompous and that Michael was portraying himself as a "Christ-like figure" healing the sick. In a drunken protest, Cocker jumped onto the stage, bent over, and pretended to moon the audience (waggling his rear end) before running around and being chased off by security. The incident made global headlines. Michael was hurt by the disruption, stating he was simply trying to convey a message of universal love, not divinity. However, the controversy cemented the song's status in British pop culture history.

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The "This Is It" Final Rehearsal "Earth Song" holds a tragic significance: it was the last song Michael Jackson ever performed. On June 24, 2009, the night before he died, Michael was rehearsing for his This Is It residency at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The final song on the setlist that night was "Earth Song."

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Footage from the This Is It documentary shows him performing it with full energy, smiling and engaging with his team. He finished the song, hugged his dancers, and left the stage. Hours later, he passed away. The song meant to save the world became his final goodbye.

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While critics in the US initially dismissed the song as melodrama, it was embraced globally as a masterpiece. It reached #1 in the UK and stayed there for six weeks, becoming the Christmas Number One of 1995. It remains his best-selling single in Britain, outselling even "Billie Jean."

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The song’s message is arguably more relevant today than it was in 1995. With the rise of climate change awareness, "Earth Song" has become an anthem for environmental activists. It moved beyond pop music to become a genuine hymn for the planet.