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A Gift for Your EarthDay


In celebration of this Earth Day, Droo and I are releasing '2020,' A song that got its start from lyrics written in 1979. In fact, the song was called '1979' when written by my dad, Doug Midgley. I heard it for the first time years after he had passed away and felt so moved by the words and topical relevance that I decided to write a follow-up of sorts. I call it, '2020.'

As I wrote my response, what surprised me most was just how many of the concerns expressed by my dad about the state of the world in 1979 still remain major pain points today. His sentiments are so valid today that I went so far as to incorporate a full verse from his song into mine! Here are the original 1979 lyrics for your enjoyment today and everyday because, hey, EVERY day is Earth Day!

1979

By: Doug Midgley

Everybody's talkin' 'bout

The things that they had

Just ain't the same

Since the money went bad

I got a $20 bill

And it ain't worth a dime

I'd bend down to pick that dollar up

But it ain't worth my time

Some people say we're still the greatest

Power in the world

But what are those people gonna say

When our oil has been burned

I've got a '57 Chevy

Was fuel injected, now it's blown

Spent a lot of cash and six long years

I wish I could have known

That a buck ain't worth a gallon

And there are few things that are worse

My Chevy runs on premium

And there ain't no high test left on Earth

When I was a child

I would sit and wonder where

The gas would go when Dad filled up

I didn't know it turned to air

Seems that burning fuel's like feeding birds

It turns to waste then goes somewhere

Shit hits the ground to decompose

Exhaust lingers in our air

And we breathe it in our lungs so deep

And we laugh like it's not there

Trading our lives for mobility

When we can't afford the fare

The cancer rate has jumped so high

And we blame it on the cans

That robbed us of our ozone

It's no longer in our hands

If the food we eat ain't processed

It's been injected or it's canned

But I still say, "Hostess make the best fruit pies

This side of McDonald's land"

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