An Earth anthem is a celebratory song or a musical composition that eulogizes, extols or exalts planet Earth.
History edit
Songs composed for the United Nations edit
Voices for Today edit
Voices for Today is a song composed by Benjamin Britten in 1965 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations. The lyrics are based on Virgil’s fourth Eclogue.[1][2][3]
Hymn to the United Nations edit
On the request of then United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, a Hymn to the United Nations was performed on the occasion of its 26th anniversary, on October 24, 1971, by Pablo Casals, the lyrics to which were penned by the poet W. H. Auden.[4][5]
Songs about Earth edit
There are a number of songs or a musical composition that eulogizes, extols or exalts the planet Earth. One is "World Anthem" by the Mindshare Institute and Foundation.[6] Other songs on the same theme include "Earth Anthem" by The Turtles (later covered by Dan Fogelberg[7]), "Mother Earth (Natural Anthem)" by Neil Young, "Earth Song" by Michael Jackson,[8] "Earth Hour Anthem" by Andrew Huang and "Earth Anthem" by Abhay Kumar.[9][10]The "Earth Day Anthem" lyrics by William Wallace (and sometimes the original lyrics by Barbara George) are widely sung to the tune of "Ode to Joy" by Ludwig van Beethoven to celebrate Earth Day.[11][12][13] Another song about earth is "Earth" by Lil Dicky.
Call for an official Earth anthem edit
The call for an official Earth Anthem was made by the Permanent Delegation of India in Paris to UNESCO in January 2014.[14]
