13071 Songs for the movement
Every successful movement goes forth with music. During the Civil Rights era, “We shall overcome” was the anthem. About the protest songs of his era, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King said, “They invigorate the movement in a most significant way. These freedom songs serve to give unity to a movement.”
The permaculture movement needs songs. We need songs to keep up our spirits and teach our principles. Traditionally, protest and teaching songs put new words to old tunes that everyone knew. This enabled the songs to spread quickly.
In that tradition, here is a beginning collection of permaculture songs. Send others and we’ll tell everyone!
Local Food Carol
Tune: Deck the halls with boughs of holly
(1) Tis the season for the feastin',
All our local foods are good to eat!
Taste nutrition can't be beaten,
All our local foods are good to eat!
Nurturing the land and people,
Farm and city joining hands.
Tis the season for the feastin',
All our local foods are good to eat!
(2) Care for people and creation,
All our local foods are good to eat!
Hope throughout the bioregion,
All our local foods are good to eat!
From our farms onto our tables,
we will bless the way we eat!
Care for people and creation,
All our local foods are good to eat!
(3) Healing nature with earth's beauty,
All our local foods are good to eat!
Wisdom, joy fulfilling duty,
All our local foods are good to eat!
Eating with the changing seasons,
Chasing the CAFOs from our land!
Healing nature with earth's beauty,
All our local foods are good to eat!
(4) Social justice, sustainability,
All our local foods are good to eat!
Economic viability,
All our local foods are good to eat!
These our values, govern always,
They will take us forward far!
Three in number the core values,
All our local foods are good to eat!
You can substitute the name of your area for “all our local foods”. For example, in Oklahoma we sing this “Oklahoma foods are good to eat!”
The Autumn Carol
Tune: O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree)
(1) O Autumn season, golden bright!
We hail the harvest welcome sight!
The air is crisp, the moon shines long,
It's time to raise our voice in song
The squash and pumpkins, taters sweet,
Peppers, greens, and nuts we greet.
O autumn season, golden bright!
We hail the harvest welcome sight!
(2) The heat of summer is now past,
We wait the time of winter's blast.
The children are in school today,
The farmers work to reap the hay.
Peach preserves and apple butter,
Set our hearts to be aflutter.
O autumn season, golden bright!
We hail the harvest welcome sight!
(3) There is no kinder time of year,
Than Autumn bright without a fear,
The peaceful times upon the land,
Bring hope and health, a time so grand.
So raise a glass of Autumn cheer,
A cider strong, a mug of beer.
O autumn season, golden bright!
We hail the harvest welcome sight!
The Get Ready for Winter Song
Tune: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
OH! We better not wait,
it's time to make plans,
Compost, mulch, put away the fans,
Winter time is coming to town!
Squash and turnips and carrot plants,
Season extension for the cabbage transplants,
Winter time is coming to town!
Let's insulate the attic!
Insulate the floors!
Insulate the walls so deep,
and don't forget the doors!
So! Make your list, and check it twice,
Solarize, weatherize,
don't roll the dice,
Winter time is coming to town!
Get Ready for Spring Song
Tune: Jingle Bells
Chorus:
Plant the garden, plant the garden,
Spring is on its way!
Seeds and bulbs and
mulch and worms,
It's time to plant today!
Plant the garden,
Plant the garden,
Spring is on its way!
Seeds and bulbs and
mulch and worms,
It's time to plant today!
(1) Winter is soon past,
Spring is on its way,
Fruit trees bloom at last,
Brightening up the day.
The garden will not wait,
The clock is ticking fast,
Delay will bring an awful fate,
For seed time will be past!
Chorus
(2) Planting is such fun,
Potatoes, leeks, and peas,
Growing in the sun.
Tantalize the bees!
Spinach in the light,
Carrots in the ground,
Chard and beets with all their might
Will make our song resound!
Chorus
(3) Trust in worms and bees,
Abandon noxious brews.
Compost and its teas,
Earth do not abuse.
Organic is the way,
To care for all the land,
So raise your hoe, do not betray.
It's time to make a stand.
Chorus
A Permaculture Camp Song
Tune: Oh My Daughter Clementine
Come my friends now,
hear the story,
of the permaculturists.
Habitations, love and justice, and peace for all the earth.
Three in number are the ethics,
of the permaculturists,
care for people, care for planets,
and have a care for all the future.
Four in number, are the disciplines,
of the permaculturists,
Observe all, trust yourself, respect for nature, holistic vision.
Ten we count now for the principles,
of the permaculturists,
these the pathways to design
for peace and harmony.
Stack the functions, be redundant,
with appropriate scale design,
work with edges and diversity,
keep the law of gifts in mind.
Do only what is necessary,
everything will work both ways,
Irrelevant is nothing,
and all energies follow patterns.
Oh the strategies and the tools
of the permaculturists,
are gentle and loving,
full of beauty, wisdom, and power.
Accept all feedback,
spiral the herbs, and
biology rules the day.
All things cycle,
and the problem
often will tell us of solution.