Green Bottle Decade
Tune: Ten Green Bottles
| Ten green bottles standing on the wall, Ten green bottles standing on the wall And if one green bottle should accidently fall There’ll be nine green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| One green bottle nearly full of oil From the world’s great caverns under sea and soil, Supplies are running out with ever rarer finds – They’re trying to fill it up with oil of different kinds. When this green bottle is empty it will fall And there’ll be nine green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| The next green bottle is filled with farmer’s gear, Harvesters and tractors for which fuel’s very dear; Rusting in the fields as they do in many lands Then farming could depend on human feet and hands. This green bottle is forecasted to fall So there’ll be eight green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| The third green bottle is full of vans and cars And aeroplanes and motor boats and ships and trips to Mars; Four by fours and limousines and diesel powered trains – What would we do without them? Without them what remains? Demand still rockets up and when the rockets fall They’ll leave seven green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| Seven green bottles on the doctor’s shelves, Our hospitals and care homes can’t supply themselves; With A & E and nurses for increasing patient care, Their resources are beleaguered, the transport won’t be there. Should this green bottle go crashing off the wall There’ll be six green bottles trying not to fall.
| |
| The next green bottle is filled with toxic waste From commerce and past-sell-by food that’s thrown and then replaced; Crush and burn and landfill sites? But there’s just more and more For built-in obsolescence is economic lore. When toxic bottles topple, leaking where they fall, They’ll leave five green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| The sixth green bottle was full of silver fish But drag-nets and factory ships have left it empty-ish And lots are thrown back lifeless which markets do not need And we’ve devastated coral reefs where many used to breed. This green bottle stands cracked and due to fall Leaving four green bottles standing on the wall.
| |
| Four green bottles, a bit like dominoes, Are trees in ancient forests which we can’t afford to lose; A source of cures for cancer and many other ills, Soaking up the carbon from our dark, satanic mills. This green bottle, the green ceiling over all, Tree by tree is chain-sawed until the last will fall.
| |
| The eighth green bottle is blowing up a storm With CO ² and methane it’s getting very warm, Like a plastic bag around us that keeps the cool air out Shrinking human habitats – it’s hard to fight a drought. This bottle will explode and shatter when it falls And there’ll be two green bottles left standing on the wall.
| |
| The ninth green bottle has a very precious load; The fertile layer of topsoil that underlies our food. With wind and flood and rising tides, no roots to hold the soil, No chemicals replace it for now there’s no more oil, This once green bottle has an ashen pall. And we’ve only one green bottle still standing on the wall.
| |
| This bottle’s meant for water, the stuff of life to drink, Humans and all growing things migrating to the brink Of the same amount of water since ever life began, Now shared unfairly, barely by the huge demands of man. A last green bottle, so vital for us all, Without it – no green bottles will be standing on the wall!
| |
| We’ve ten green bottles still standing in a row As we enter this new decade and see our children grow, Let’s plan our lives around them and save, conserve and share; And innovate – it’s not too late – to keep our bottles there. God give us strength and foresight while still we have the breath, For He told us to make choices for life instead of death.
|
Audrey Theodosia Bryant 14.1.10
| This song remains the copyright of the author. The author Audrey Bryant (bryant@christian-ecology.org.uk) and publishers (Christian Ecology Link) have given permission for the words to to be photocopied or used in individual services and classrooms, provided both are credited. |
Next: Good Gifts for All
Previous: As Climate is Warming
Comments on "Green Bottle Decade"
No comments found.Add your own comment to "Green Bottle Decade"
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Leave a Reply