By Saul Myhre, Alliance Intern from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities
“Oh oh, oh mercy, mercy me, Oh, things ain’t what they used to be, no,” serenades iconic American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye atop a jovial RNB track. Despite an upbeat and optimistic feel, Mercy Mercy Me regales a melancholy message about what Gaye fears the earth’s future could be. “Radiation underground and in the sky (Please have mercy, ah, help us, Father) Animals and birds who live nearby are dying,” was quite a bold message to release to a 1971 American society in which the truth of global warming had not yet been popularized.
“What about this overcrowded land, How much more abuse from man can she stand,” outlines a sense of eco-anxiety many can relate to today in which human dominance over nature is seeping into the health of our ecosystems. “Mercy Mercy Me” goes to show art has always been front-and-center in broadcasting the sustainability movement and the importance of bringing people together under a common message. Marvin Gaye is a pioneer in sustainable art and he continues to inspire to this day.
Mercy Mercy Me lyrics by Marvin Gaye
Woah, ah, mercy, mercy meAh, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)Where did all the blue skies go?Poison is the wind that blowsFrom the north and south and east
Woah mercy, mercy me, yeahAh, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seasFish full of mercury
Oh Jesus, yeah, mercy, mercy me, ahAh, things ain’t what they used to be (ain’t what they used to be)Radiation underground and in the skyAnimals and birds who live nearby are dying
Hey, mercy, mercy me, ohHey, things ain’t what they used to beWhat about this overcrowded land?How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na, na, naOh, oh, oh, oh, ohHey, ooh, woo