Program Note

​​I led a poetry-writing workshop with the South Shore Children’s Chorus during their Fall 2018 Retreat, in which each child wrote a poem about the Earth.  Afterward, I took fragments of each child’s poem and assembled one single, bilingual poem.  Sometimes I excerpted only two or three remarkable words from a poem, while other times I borrowed up to a full sentence or two.  I was struck by the clarity of the children’s observations, as well as their imaginative metaphors and thoughtful reflections.  In some cases, the children’s poems challenged me to see the world from a different perspective.  This poem was written by the youngest living generation, expressing their immense wonder for the Earth and deep concern for its well-being.  I hope the musical piece we created together helps you see the Earth’s beauty and fragility more clearly, through the eyes of our children, as a reflection of Earth’s children.

Related Activities

Singers performing The Earth! La Terre! have the opportunity to reflect on humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth.  A school unit could easily incorporate this musical piece into studies of Earth Sciences.  Students could even try their own hand at Earth-inspired poems. The Earth! La Terre! correlates with the following National Standards for Music Education:

8.  Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts.

9.  Understanding music in relation to history and culture.

Lyrics

The Earth! La Terre!
The wind! The sun!  
The sky! The clouds!
The rain! The snow!
The Earth! La Terre! 
We are her children.
She is our beginning
The Earth! La Terre!
It resonates.

La Terre est
un mouton mauve et mgnon
une petite planet verte,
une belle feuille rouge
une mere magique
La Terre est
bleue, verte, blanche, brune, rouge, jaune
Briller dans la magnifique Voie Lactée.

Listen.
Listen to the music of the earth.
Remember how the earth was made,
Remember how you were born,
Remember your first breath.
Remember the sound of the crisp, fading breeze,
Clouds overhead pouring life to the ground.
Stars in the sky, dancing colors around.
That was her. She was always there.
Her that we call Earth. Mother Earth.

La Terre! The Earth!
Le vent! Le soleil!
Le ciel! Les nuages!
La pluie! La neige!
La Terre! The Earth!
Ça résonne.
Nous sommes ses enfants.
Elle est notre commencement.

The Earth is
a white, beautiful blissful butterfly,
a green twisted tropical tree,
a brown buffalo, a red furry fox, a white bouncing bunny
The Earth is
blue, green, white, brown, red, yellow
Shining in the gorgeous Milky Way.

La Terre! The Earth!
Le vent! The Sun!
The sky! Les nuages!
The rain! La neige!
The Earth! La Terre!
She is our beginning.
We might be her end.
The Earth! La Terre!
It resonates.
Shining in the gorgeous Milky Way.
Mother Earth.
La Terre est ma vis et mon destin
et ma jois de vivre.
The Earth! La Terre!