Song of the Week - Dragonfly: An exploration of eco-fiction

“Song of the Week” lists songs that celebrate nature and/or relate a message about the environment, even metaphorically. Please note that this playlist has ended due to length. I’ll start a part 2 in 2025 and will include some of my favorites from this list. Part 2 will likely feature monthly songs instead of weekly.

2024

September 30: New Orleans Is Sinking (Killer Tank Whale version), The Tragically Hip
September 22: Burned by the Fire We Make, Adrian Belew
September 15: The Tide is Rising, Annie Patterson
September 9: Unity, Fridays for Future
September 1: Song of the Dryads, Ilúvatia
August 22: When We Feel Young, When Chai Met Toast
August 15: The Wolf Song, Vargsången
August 7: Climate Change ICJ Theme Song, Vanessa Quai—featuring Stan Antas and Shiella Wills
July 29: The Willow Maid, Erutan
July 17: A Forest, The Cure
July 10: Mami Wata, Sula Spirit
July 1: Serengeti, Tanapa Band
June 25: Ocean Song, Dinah Jane
June 17: Awit ng Kalikasan, Dani Sheila Lara
June 8: Last Lion of Albion, Neko Case
June 1: Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam
May 22: Ocean, Anuv Jain
May 15: Silent Spring, The A
May 7: Seashell, Scala & Kolacny Brothers
April 30: Wake Me Up, Avicii & Simply Three
April 23: Karma of the Butterfly Effect, Jahboy
April 15: Back to the Earth, Jason Mraz
April 8: Good Day Sunshine, The Beatles (happy total solar eclipse day!)
March 30: Mother Earth, Wuauquikuna
March 22: Look Up, Joy Oladokum
March 17: Oil Frost, Debunking Climate Doomers (with a drinking song)
March 8: Kalikasan, Majarlica
February 23: Storm, Otyken
February 14: Follow the Sun, Xavier Rudd
February 7: The Woods, Hollow Coves
January 31: Global Warming, Sasha Alex Sloan
January 25: Kentucky Sky, Logan Halstead
January 19: Alan Cooper, Climate Change
January 12: Rain, Simply Three
January 4: Children of the Sky, Imagine Dragons

2023

December 25: Winter Song, Clouds and Thorns
December 17: The Bard’s Song, In the Forest, Blind Guardian
December 10: Deer Dance, System of a Down
December 3: Coal River, Logan Halstead
November 25: Indigenous Land River Boy, DRMNGNOW
November 16: Water, Salatiel, Pharrell Williams, Beyoncé
November 9: Cool Clear Water, Nabil Tarantino
November 1: Making a Wave, Joe Jonas and Demi Lovato
October 16: Keepers of the Earth, Centuple Resource Centre & SEFAAI
October 9: Acid Rain, Lorn
October 1: Honey and the Sting, Paradise Valley
September 23: Butterflies and Hurricanes, Muse
September 16: Dark Black Coal, Logan Halstead
September 8: The Murrakupuni and climate change song
August 29: And it Rained All Night, Thom Yorke
August 20: All Star, Smash Mouth
August 10: What the Hell Are We Dying for?, Shawn Mendes
August 1: Hibiscus, Andy Bey
July 22: Goodie Mob, Soul Food
July 15: Blackened, Metallica
July 8: Joyful Action, Hila the Earth
June 30: How Far I’ll Go, Alessia Cara
June 22: Atlantic, The Weather Station
June 15: Who Loves the Sun, The Velvet Underground
June 7: S.O.S (Mother Nature), Will I Am
May 30: Only the Ocean, Jack Johnson
May 22: The Truth Comes Out, Corb Lund
May 15: The Last Day on Earth, Kate Miller-Heidke
May 9: Ri Na Cruinne, Clannad
May 2: Ode to a Butterfly, Nickel Creek
April 24: Come to My Garden, Minnie Ripperton
April 19: Dry Well Blues, Charley Patton
April 12: Kyoto Now, Bad Religion
April 5: Earth Song, Halalisa Singers
March 30: Winter’s Eve, Kishi Bashi
March 22: Stolen Fruit, Tank and the Bangas
March 14: Virile, Moses Sumney
March 7: Date with the Rain, Eddie Kendricks
February 28: Washed Away, Kelela
February 22: Tree Song, Carl Swan
February 15: Ocean is Calling, Felipe Baldomir
February 8: A Day in the Life of a Tree, Beach Boys
February 1: 10,000 Miles, Nabzarella Dare (theme song of Fly Away Home, about a girl letting geese free)
January 25: Flint, Aisha Fukushima
January 17: Nature Lives Here, Protectors of the Wood
January 9: Scale Down, Appalachian Rising
January 1: 20Twenties: Eve of Destruction, Daily Maverick with Anneli Kamfer

2022

December 25: Nibi Water Song, Turtle Lodge
December 16: Rein of Error, Dead Cross
December 7: Rocky Mountain High, John Denver
November 28: Catastrophe, Matador
November 14: Washabalal’umhlaba, Black Umfolosi
November 7: Titanic Risen, Weyes Blood
October 30: Over Ice, Fake Fruit (part of The Eleventh Hour Songs for Climate Justice)
October 22: Premung Jae, Alena Murang
October 15: The Landscape is Changing, Depeche Mode
October 7: All We Really Have Is Now, Antonique Smith
September 30: Nada, Lida Pimienta
September 23: World in Danger, Frankie Morland (for Finn on his 1st birthday)
September 15: Sedna (trailer), Urban Ink
September 7: Jalapeños, Kitten Pyramid
August 29: Whose Garden was this?, Tom Paxton
August 22: Heal this Land, Tina Malia
August 15: Here Comes the Sun, Antonique Smith
August 9: Hope, John Frusciante (as referenced in the novel Back to the Garden)
August 2: Just Like the Seed, Aurora
July 29: Take It All Back, Xiuhtezcatl
July 12: The World to Come, Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane
July 5: Wildflower, Aditi Veena
June 27: Jangal, Soumik Datta
June 20: Green as Ever, Aubrey Haddard
June 12: Black Smoke, Emily Wurramara
June 5: Sky Was Blue, Reverend Bones
May 26: We Are the Youth, Jack River
May 16: Divine Tides, Ricky Kej & Steward Copeland
May 8: Creek, Hiroshi Yoshimura
April 29: Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, Big Thief
April 22: Earth Day!: Oak, Spell Songs
April 12: The Lark in the Morning, songs from Landworkers Alliance
April 5: Dharti Ma – A Tribute to Earth, Jayashri and Kaushiki Chakraborty, Hansraj Hans, Shankar Mahadevan, Mahesh Kale, Abhishek Raghuram, Shweta Mohan, MD Pallavi, Abhay Jodhpurkar, and more.
March 31: Life on Earth, Hurray for the Riff Raff
March 22: Isolation, John Lennon (his son Sean says the song reminds him of climate change)
March 15: Contradiction of Wants, P+E
March 8: A Moonlight Night, Gimnazija Kranj Symphony Orchestra and Choir
February 28: Like a Hurricane (Neil Young cover) by Nils Lofgren
February 22: Find the Cost of Freedom by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
February 15: Cactus Tree by Joni Mitchell
February 9: Be the Rain by Neil Young
February 2: Nature by India.Arie
January 25: 100 Years of Subterranean Blues, Rags Parkland & Beaux Weathers
January 17: Pollution, Tom Lehrer
January 9: We Live Again, Beck
January 2: A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall, Bob Dylan

2021

December 25: Second movement of La Mer (The Sea) and Jeux de vagues (“Play of the Waves”), Claude Debussy
December 15: Art Melody, Bayir Nooma
December 8: Trouble in the Water, Common, Malik Yusef, Kumasi ft. Aaron Fresh, Choklate, Laci Kay
November 30: We Are Not Alone, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
November 22: Oceans Rising, Soumik Datta
November 15: Amazonia, Gojira
November 2: River Don’t Care, Gord Downie (still miss him!, rip Oct 17, 2017))
October 25: River, Leon Bridges
October 16: What World Will Be Left Us, The Women in the Kitchen (Naised Köögis), the Estonian National Opera Boys’ Choir, the Estonian TV Girls’ Choir, and the Pärnu City Orchestra
October 8: Vanishing, Circuit des Yeux
October 1: Better Now, The Weather Station
September 23: Alert Level, Ministry
September 15: Soul Clap, WTF
September 8: Wildfire, Soumik Datta
August 31: The Next Curse, Slothrust/Lzzy Hale
August 25: This Cannot Wait (Until Tomorrow), Jon Stancer
August 17: Solar Power, Lorde
August 9: Small Tree, The Strange Valentines
August 1: Johnny Flynn and Robert Macfarlane, Ten Degrees of Strange
July 22: Maple Sap, River Whyless (another song in Sweet Tooth)
July 15: Dirty Paws, Of Monsters and Men (in Sweet Tooth)
July 9: Big Yellow Taxi, Pomplamoose (third beautiful version of the song in this list!)
July 1: Eyes Wide Open, Gotye
June 22: Mama Tierra, Macaco
June 17: Mother Earth, Karliene
June 10: Ready to Fall, Rise Against
June 2: Mother Earth, various artists
May 25: Plant the Trees, Save the Earth
May 18: 7Teen, Aza Nabuko
May 10: The Air I Breathe, The O’Jays
May 1: Boombox Warfare, Xiuhtezcatl
April 23: Send it On, Disney’s Friends for Change
April 16: Rowan Tree (in honor of planting one this spring), Jim Reid
April 8: Colors, Black Pumas
March 17: Bury Me Not (The Dying Cowboy), David Huckfelt
March 9: The Ocean, Led Zeppelin
February 27: Nyengo Isasinthe (Malawi Scotland Partnership), Joe Kellz
February 18: Free from Gravity, Django Django
February 2: Hope, Arlo Parks
January 25: The Greatest, Lana del Rey
January 17: Down to the Hollow, Chopped Liver (A Canadian band doing some bluegrass picking…I am in heaven. But they’re Canadian, so they didn’t call it a holler!)
January 8: Intruder, Gary Numan
January 1: 4 Degrees, Anohni

2020

December 25: Snow is Falling on the Mountain, Chilly Gonzales
December 14: And Then There Was Fire, The Suitcase Junket
December 5: As Old As I, Dispatch
November 27: Essa Rua É Minha, Kaê Guajajara
November 18: Wardens of the Sea, Æolian
November 7: Climate Change, GAWVI
October 27: Maa Rewa, Indian Ocean
October 16: Shine, Joni Mitchell (it’s my birthday, and I’m feeling unfettered and alive and want to recognize one of my favorite singers)
October 10: Orca’s Reprise, Jayda
October 3: Running with the Wolves, Aurora
September25: Jaago, Ricky Kej
September 17: Parade, Sylvan Esso
September 10: A New Dawn, Ricky Kej
September 3: Dear Future Generations, Sorry: Prince Ea
August 25: Cold Water, Cold Cut
August 18: House Is on Fire, Carmen Modjito
August 10: She Showed Me Love, Neil Young
August 1: When You Gonna Learn?, Jamiroquai
July 22: Thrill on the Wind, Songs 4 Nature
July 14: March March, The Chicks
July 7: Global Warming, Pitbull ft. Sensato
June 30: Ek soch hai jaagi, Kailash Kehr
June 23: Stand Up: Cynthia Erivo
June 8: Glory (from Selma), Common, John Legend (because there is no climate justice without racial justice and this is beautiful)
May 26: All the Good Girls Go to Hell, Billie Eilish
May 16: Don’t Go Near the Water, Beach Boys
May 8: Up from the Skies, Jimi Hendrix cover by Vibratory
April 27: Blackbird (Beatles), Emma Stevens singing in Mi’kmaq
April 20: #Notes of Forestry, Motohiko Hamas (39 minutes, not on actual playlist)
April 13: The Fire, Arielle Martinez Cohen
April 6: Our Home is Burning, Aimee Wilford
March 29: African Skies, Stephen J. Anderson
March 22: Hindi Song on Nature, Hum Yahin Jiyenge by Susmita Das | BJEM School
March 15: Sing the Water Song, see the site for credits and click here for the music
March 8: Fire & Fury, Overcoats
February 27: Broken – Xiuhtezcat
February 16: Sam Lee – The Moon Shines Bright, Elizabeth Fraser and Bernard Butler
February 7: If the World Was Ending, Julia Michaels and JP Saxe
January 29: The Moons Lament, Cindy D’lequez Sage
January 22: Turning the Tide, Luke Wallace
January 16, Westerman, Blue Comanche
January 7, Maybe, Autons

2019

December 28: Shiny Trees, EmbersFlurry, KarmaV, Jayce Allan
December 19: The Fading, Joan Shelley
December 8: Love in the Time of Coral Reefs, Ruth Mundy
December 1: Ashes of the Modern World, Apocalyptica
November 25: Winners & Losers, Luke Lalonde
November 17: Save Our Land, Seventh African Development Forum
November 10: What Nature Gives…Nature Takes Away, Membranes
November 3: Drain you Dry, Broken Ocean
October 26: Walkabout theme, John Barry
October 17: an untitled song about climate change, Eliza Howells
October 10: Speak Out, Rising Appalachia & Ani DiFranco
October 3: Dragonfly, Ziggy Marley (thanks to author John Popielaski for suggesting this should be our theme song!)
September 26: Young People Marching (dedicated to Greta Thunberg), Raffi
September 17: Laps Around the Sun, Ziggy Alberts
September 5: SOS from the Kids, Sing Out Saints
August 26: Runner, Foals
August 19: Climate Change Rap, Mike Likes Science
August 11: The Lie, Trapdoor Social
August 2: Where We Going To Go, Ellis Music
July 25: The 1975, Greta Thunberg and The 1975
July 13: Black Snow, Pussy Riot
July 4: Burden in My Hand, Soundgarden
June 27: The Lost Words–Selkie Boy, Karine Polwart
June 17: We Are Walking On, Puja Maewal
June 10: Bloodletting, Spencer Radcliffe & Everyone Else
May 30: Don’t Drink the Water, Justin Townes
May 22: Nefertiti XXI, Inanna
May 12: Lodestar, Sarah Harmer
May 1: Jaybird, Johnsmith
April 22: Earth, Lil Dicky
April 15: The Winds of Winter, Ramin Djawadi
April 2: Wasteland, Baby!, Hozier
March 24: Pass it On Down, Alabama
March 19: Peia “Machi”, Four Great Winds
March 7: You Can Count on Trees, Scoil na gCailini
February 26: Resilient, Rising Appalachia
February 21: The Village Green Preservation Society, The Kinks
February 6: Cascadia, Said the Whale
January 28: Samalilani, Zambian Music for Earth
January 21: The Militant Ecologist, Marc Ribot
January 14, The Lark Ascending, Vaughan Williams
January 1: Paradise, John Prine

2018

December 20: River, Sarah McLachlan
December 14: Mayfly, Dolly Varden
December 6: Hajimemashite, Umphrey’s McGee
November 30: Nightmare, Carmanah
November 12: Tree of Life, Audiomachine
November 4: Rise: From One Island to Another, 350 Indonesia
October 25: The Keeper’s Lament, Songhive
October 10: Ithu Namma Bhoomi, Raindropss
September 28: One World, Portsmouth Music Hub
September 19: Antarctica Suite for Guitar and Orchestra- Mvt III, Penguin Ballet, Nigel Westlake
September 11: Make a Little Wave, Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas
September 2: Morning Dew, Grateful Dead
August 22: Land of the Silver Birch, Michael Mitchell
August 9: The Cave, Mumford & Sons
July 31: One Song, Ricky Kej
July 23: The Maze, Manchester Orchestra
July 17: Feels like Summer, Childish Gambino
July 9: Canvas Bags, Tim Minchin
June 26: Blue Spotted Tail, Fleet Foxes
June 18: Raye Zaragoza: Fight for Your Life
June 11: Radioactive, Imagine Dragons
June 3: Walk Away, Xavier Rudd
May 21: Last Few Days, The Motels
May 11: The Dreams we Dream, Protectors of the Wood
May 7: The Shadows, Sandel
April 27: Mother’s Cry: Poetry Video on Climate Change, Lisa Russell — featuring Savon Bartley
April 13: Vaanam, Revaa
April 4: Oxygène, Jean Michel Jarre
March 26: No More Walks in the Wood, Eagles
March 20: How Far I’ll Go, Auli’i Cravalho
March 12: Global Warming, Tamil
February 23: Helplessly Hoping, Crosby, Stills & Nash (part of the Annihilation soundtrack, it has taken on new meaning to me!)
February 15: The End of All Rivers, Bruce Cockburn
February 5: I Say Save Orang-ans, James Broughton (shout-out to Monkey World!)
January 26: The Earth Song, Nick Kello
January 19: Nature Boy, Aurora
January 9: Crocus, Julie Beman (thanks, Julie!)
January 2: Idioteque: Radiohead

2017

December 31: Cliffs of Dover: Eric Johnson
December 15: Snow, Kokin Gumi
December 7: The Gate, Björk
November 22: La flor de los Apus, Shin Sasakubo
November 17: Climate Change Song, Thanh Bui
November 9: Late for the Sky, Jackson Brown
November 3: Monkey Gone to Heaven, Pixies
October 27: Rivermouth, Rising Appalachia
October 18: Looking for a Place to Happen: Tragically Hip (in memory of Gord Downie, may he rest in peace)
October 10: The Memory of Trees: Enya
September 29: 40 Years in the Wilderness: Bruce Cockburn
September 21: You Can’t Control It: Jack Johnson
September 14: Amazi ni meza: Gerard Shyaka and Jean de Dieu Iryamukuru
September 7: Water Song: Amata
August 30: Big Yellow Taxi: Counting Crows
August 22: When the Day is Done: Nick Drake
August 10: The Children (of the Forest): Ramin Djawadi (season 4, episode 10–Game of Thrones)
August 1: Don’t Tell the Taxman at the Peace River: Luke Wallace
July 24: Send Me on My Way: Rusted Root
July 18: Tell Me How Long, Kristen Bell/Chasing Coral
July 6: The Wren and the Salt Air, Jenny Sturgeon
June 28: Motherland, Natalie Merchant
June 23: The Eagle and the Hawk, John Denver
June 14: There Is only Us, Semisonic
May 30: Changing the World, Alysha Brilla
May 18: Hands All Over, Soundgarden (Rest in Peace, Chris Cornell; this was also our song of the week February 10, 2015)
May 10: The Lonely Cry of Space and Time: Anna Coogan
April 27: Earth Intruders: Bjork
April 21: Wake Up to Reality, Alicia Grant
April 10: Born Free, John Barry
March 28: Ancient Sea, Elephant Revival
March 17: Change is Coming, Skyclad
March 8: Voices from the Top of the Mountain, Adam Torres
February 27: Change the Earth, Gaia’s Eye
February 17: One Fine Day, Sting
February 6: While Glaciers Weep, Inspired by George Harrison (from climatechangesongs.com)
February 1: My Pledge, Neil Young
January 25: The Woman’s March Song, Ann Hampton Callaway (in honor of the Woman’s Marches around the world January 21, 2017)
January 17: Songbird, Lonely Heartstring Band
January14: Ahead by a Century, The Tragically Hip
January 9: One Tree Hill, U2

2016

December 30: The Chemical Worker’s Song, Great Big Sea
December 14: Sing to the Mountain, Elephant Revival
December 7: B4 It’s too Late, Christopher Martin
November 28: Manta Ray, J. Ralph & Anohni
November 11: Gangaji, Malhaar
November 6: Veni Vidi Vici, Baba Brinkman
October 27: Wilderness, Cody Simpson
October 17: Masters of War, Bob Dylan
October 7: When You Look at the World, JP Taylor
September 29: Pure Spirits of the Forest, Avatar Soundtrack 03 (James Horner)
September 22: Stolen Child, Loreena McKennitt
September 6: Still Want You, Brandon Flowers
August 24: The Shadows, Sandel
August 16: Box of Rain, Grateful Dead
August 8: King of Birds, Karine Polwart
August 2: Into the Wild, Eddie Vedder
July 28: The Numbers, Radiohead
July 20: The Escape, Wilderness of Manitoba
July 13: 4 Degrees, Anohni
July 7: Tuolumne, Eddie Vedder
June 30: Cobalt Blues, Timer and the Dime Museum
June 6: La Rympei, Lamphang Syiemlieh
May 31: Dirty Water, The Standells
May 24: Save the Planet, The Tragically Hip (upon learning about Gord Downie’s terminal brain cancer)
May 19: Love and Only Love, Neil Young
May 11: Un-American Gothic, Chris Velan
May 2: New World Water, Mos Def
April 27: Farewell to Tarwathie, Judy Collins
April 20: Global Warming, Gojira
April 7: Road Trippin’, Red Hot Chili Peppers
April 2: Uwa Yemba Africa, Jordan Sinkala & Kendrix Kafula from ‘Impi Band’ Maureen Lilanda . Cactus Agony . Lulu Haangala & Mikki
March 27: Somewhere Only We Go, Keane
March 22: We Are the People: Empire of the Sun
March 14: Lakota, Joni Mitchell
March 4: This Land is Your Land, Bernie Sanders @ Super Tuesday
February 26: Water, Hélène Grimaud (trailer for new Water album)
February 17: Society, Eddie Vedder (set to “Defend Our Climate” rally photos)
February 9: Calypso, John Denver
February 4: Save the Bays, K.B.
January 29: Rhythms Del Mundo, Pharrel Williams
January 18: A Song for Jane Goodall, Lori Henriques
January 11: Time Will Fall, David Bowie
January 3: Official Love Song To The Earth (again, but this song rocks): Various

2015

December 18: Nine Treasures: Sonsii
December10: Teresa Doyle: Let’s Ban the Frackin’ Fool
December 2: J. Ralph and Sia: One Candle (see the documentary “Racing Extinction”)
November 25: Jenn Wanderer: Go Outside (more than a song!)
November 17: Hobbit Soundtrack EVM: The Misty Mountains Cold
November 9: J. Ralph and Sia, One Candle
November 3: Neil Young, Who’s Gonna Stand Up?
October 28: Te Vaka, Sei Ma Le Losa
October 15: Kids Learning Tube, Animal Songs for Kids
October 8: Ta’Kaiya Blaney, Shallow Waters (I saw her sing this at a Kinder Morgan protest a few years ago, beautiful and talented!)
September 21: Featuring vocal performances by Paul McCartney, Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Fergie, Colbie Caillat, Natasha Bedingfield, Sean Paul, Leona Lewis, Johnny Rzeznik, Krewella, Angelique Kidjo, Nicole Scherzinger, Kelsea Ballerini, Christina Grimmmie, Victoria Justice, Q’orianka Kilcher (this song is so lovely, I will keep it up for two weeks), Love Song to the Earth
September 15: Tony Turner (writer), Harperman
September 8: Celestial Elf, The World Has Got a Problem
September 2: Billy Bragg, The Price of Oil
August 26: TSO Photography, The Mountain
August 10: The Dubliners: The Last of the Great Whales
August 3: Eddie Vedder, Society
July 28: Dan Berggren, Song of the Wilderness
July 18: Pretenders, My City Was Gone (thanks for skipping last week with us; we were entertaining guests and vacationing!)
July 6: Alice De Micel, Listen to the Rhythm of the Ocean
June 29: Stephen Sills, Ecology Song
June 22: James Taylor, Wild Mountain Thyme
June 16: Pete Seeger, Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
June 12: Neil Young: Wolf Moon
June 3: John Luther Adams: Become Ocean
May 29: Bad Religion: Crisis Time
May 19: Magnolia Mountain, The Hand of Man
May 16: Indigo Girls, Watershed
May 10: Vaagai Sooda Vaa, Sengasulakara
April 27: Marvin Gaye, Mercy Mercy Me
April 21: Courtney Barnett, Kim’s Caravan
April 15: Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Black Moon
April 7: Neil Young, Mother Earth (live)
March 30: Talking Heads, (Nothing but) Flowers
March 23: Julian Lennon, Saltwater
March 16: Crosby, Stills and Nash, To the Last Whale
March 9: Jack Johnson, Recycling Song
March 1: REM, Cuyahoga
February 22: Joshua Hyslop, Living and Dying (new favorite running song)
February 16: Lou Reed, Last Great American Whale
February 10: Soundgarden, Hands All Over
February 2: Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi