Post 137.
This morning, I heard the song “This Pretty Planet” on YouTube Music, and decided to print out the lyrics and figure out the chords so I can add this to the list of songs done by 5th or 6th Grade Music next quarter. I think it will likely work well as something that utilizes Orff instruments for improvisation, maybe creating movements, and eventually learn it as a part-song—with three different parts over the same chord progression. The lyrics are as follows:
This pretty planet spinning through space,
You're a garden, you're a harbor,
You're a holy place,
Golden sun going down,
Gentle blue giant spin us around.
All through the night, safe 'til the morning light.
Ecologically conscious questions could include: How does thinking of Earth as a globe spinning through space; a garden; a harbor; and a holy place inspire you to think about Earth and our relationship to it? In what ways is the earth a planet spinning through space? Scientific. From the point of an imagined indifferent observer. From the perspective of the universe. In what ways is the earth a garden? Flower gardens offer us beauty, and we aim to conserve certain places we have deemed excessively beautiful, like the Amazon, Mauna Loa, the Grand Canyon, Mount Kilimanjaro, Yellowstone, the Flaming Cliffs of the Gobi, Banff, and Victoria Falls. Equally, as a garden, Earth offers us physical sustenance—and Earth as garden can direct our attention to sustainable agricultural practices that protect waterways and sustain human life.
Harbors are beautiful places that help us, after a long journey, experience a sense of having landed. As a place of arrival, harbors increase our sense of satisfaction after long periods of sometimes anxious journeying. Holy places are also, at times, places of harbor—to mix metaphors, pilgrims travel, often on foot, ancient pathways like the Camino to arrive at a medieval cathedral, the seat of the bishop. Holy places are also places we wish to preserve as historically significant. Mount Sinai is historically significant for Jewish, Christian, and Islamic people, being where Moses received the commandments. The Wailing Wall is probably the most sacred site for Jews, being destroyed by the Roman Empire 2000 years go. Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most historic and sacred Hindu temples, perched on the banks of the Ganges River and dedicated to Shiva. And the Tiger’s Next is a sacred monastery in Buddhism build 1000 feet above a small village in the Paro Valley, Japan. Stonehenge is a prehistoric sacred site and possibly an ancient burial ground, though the religion Stonehenge exemplifies is long past.
And finally, as a holy place, the Earth can be a place for worship. For Christians, which I am and obviously know most about personally, the Earth is fallen but is God-created. Created as “very good.” As such, throughout the Middle Ages, Christians were said to study two books, the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. Today, the Franciscan tradition seems to exemplify this approach to God’s creation. But other traditions within Christianity have also offered ecological statements, as well as Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims.
The song “This Pretty Planet” can afford the ecologically sensitive music teacher many opportunities to cultivate eco-literacy.
Daniel Shevock
See also:
Music Lessons for a Living Planet, Shevock & Bates, 2025
This morning, I heard the song “This Pretty Planet” on YouTube Music, and decided to print out the lyrics and figure out the chords so I can add this to the list of songs done by 5th or 6th Grade Music next quarter. I think it will likely work well as something that utilizes Orff instruments for improvisation, maybe creating movements, and eventually learn it as a part-song—with three different parts over the same chord progression. The lyrics are as follows:
This pretty planet spinning through space,
You're a garden, you're a harbor,
You're a holy place,
Golden sun going down,
Gentle blue giant spin us around.
All through the night, safe 'til the morning light.
Ecologically conscious questions could include: How does thinking of Earth as a globe spinning through space; a garden; a harbor; and a holy place inspire you to think about Earth and our relationship to it? In what ways is the earth a planet spinning through space? Scientific. From the point of an imagined indifferent observer. From the perspective of the universe. In what ways is the earth a garden? Flower gardens offer us beauty, and we aim to conserve certain places we have deemed excessively beautiful, like the Amazon, Mauna Loa, the Grand Canyon, Mount Kilimanjaro, Yellowstone, the Flaming Cliffs of the Gobi, Banff, and Victoria Falls. Equally, as a garden, Earth offers us physical sustenance—and Earth as garden can direct our attention to sustainable agricultural practices that protect waterways and sustain human life.
Harbors are beautiful places that help us, after a long journey, experience a sense of having landed. As a place of arrival, harbors increase our sense of satisfaction after long periods of sometimes anxious journeying. Holy places are also, at times, places of harbor—to mix metaphors, pilgrims travel, often on foot, ancient pathways like the Camino to arrive at a medieval cathedral, the seat of the bishop. Holy places are also places we wish to preserve as historically significant. Mount Sinai is historically significant for Jewish, Christian, and Islamic people, being where Moses received the commandments. The Wailing Wall is probably the most sacred site for Jews, being destroyed by the Roman Empire 2000 years go. Kashi Vishwanath Temple is one of the most historic and sacred Hindu temples, perched on the banks of the Ganges River and dedicated to Shiva. And the Tiger’s Next is a sacred monastery in Buddhism build 1000 feet above a small village in the Paro Valley, Japan. Stonehenge is a prehistoric sacred site and possibly an ancient burial ground, though the religion Stonehenge exemplifies is long past.
And finally, as a holy place, the Earth can be a place for worship. For Christians, which I am and obviously know most about personally, the Earth is fallen but is God-created. Created as “very good.” As such, throughout the Middle Ages, Christians were said to study two books, the Book of Scripture and the Book of Nature. Today, the Franciscan tradition seems to exemplify this approach to God’s creation. But other traditions within Christianity have also offered ecological statements, as well as Jews, Buddhists, and Muslims.
The song “This Pretty Planet” can afford the ecologically sensitive music teacher many opportunities to cultivate eco-literacy.
Daniel Shevock
See also:
Music Lessons for a Living Planet, Shevock & Bates, 2025
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