Turn the Tide
Isulan, Philippines
2020, Senior, Performing Arts
VERSE ONE:
yo
(what’s up?)
oh boy, are we in trouble right now.
don’t you know?
(no, i don’t.)
well, then, just hear me out –
there’s our oceans,
cover 3 quarters of earth’s surface,
life-supporting, give resources,
drive the weather
(hold your horses)
earth’s largest carbon storage,
helps in mediating climate,
heat absorption
(what’s the problem?)
what you ask is pretty loaded, listen:
PRE-CHORUS:
too much carbon emissions from humans
along with pollution have altered our climate,
affecting our oceans: their chemical format.
this natural force that adjusts our climate
through currents is threatened at current.
our glaciers, they melt and more problems
resurface. it’s urgent that –
CHORUS:
we,
we need to do our part:
to reduce, reuse.
restart our habits.
lessen carbon footprints.
for a start,
conserve everything we got,
do what we can,
and let’s be smart.
turn the tide by doing more,
more than we did before.
HOOK:
(more than we did before)
(do more than we did before)
(do more than we did before)
(ad lib)
VERSE TWO/ PRE-CHORUS:
so..
(i don’t know what to say or do.
i mean, so many things that we do
increase carbon emissions,
like burning all those fossil fuels.
our devices, our industries, cars,
look they all play a part.
it’s alarming, they’re harming
by trapping this heat in the sky and the sea.
we can see coral bleaching,
and species are threatened,
our reefs, and the heat melts the ice caps,
they’re breaching.
water levels exceeding the norms,
and the weather keeps bleeding,
keeps killing, displacing.
there’s millions in danger
of leaving coz people can’t see.
but i see.
yes, you see.
oh, we see that
we need to take action
to spark chain reactions
coz change is an action.)
CHORUS:
do your part:
to reduce, reuse.
restart our habits.
lessen carbon footprints.
for a start,
conserve everything we got,
do what we can,
and let’s be smart.
turn the tide by doing more,
more than we did before.
HOOK:
(more than we did before)
(do more than we did before)
(do more than we did before)
Reflection
Being witnesses - this set the whole thing off. Seeing people working towards this remarkable goal of raising awareness of ocean issues opened our eyes to the bigger scene beyond three high schoolers just making a song in their houses during the quarantine. Although it is surreal to think at times, we are all capable of taking humble yet decisive steps towards saving our oceans. We need all the help we can get if we want to stop the positive feedback loop our seas are currently going through. In this spirit of compassion and camaraderie, we find hope that humanity can unite against problems of all sizes. Whether it's finally unplugging the charger of our fully-charged phones, or starting a conversation about ocean preservation with friends and family, we're doing more than we did before. If we keep this up, the tide has to turn. And turn it will.