Monday 21 October 2013

They wanna pave paradise... update on protest song


For a while now there have been protest songs.

Music is a powerful medium with which to get a message across.

A beautiful aerial shot of Brookfield Plantation - showing the large area of trees in all their glory - had been posted on Facebook with the comment 'as the song goes, you don't know what you've got til it's gone'.

As I lay awake early the next morning, the lyrics of Joni Mitchell's song were going round in my head.

I then had an idea - as the Gretton Music Festival was such a success this summer, why don't we ask local musicians to do a cover version of 'Big Yellow Taxi', changing some of the lyrics to fit the Brookfield cause, and put it on YouTube?

So, as I sat at my computer early one Sunday morning, I suggested the idea on Facebook, not sure if anyone would agree.

The feedback was instant and positive, which was encouraging.

But sadly the first plan to use a local band didn't quite work because they didn't have a female vocalist.

So when a friend told me about a lady keen to set up a singing group, I asked her if it was possible for them to perform the protest song.

Thankfully, she said yes straight away.  I'm thinking it's going to be something along the lines of Gareth Malone and his choirs, taking people like me, who probably haven't sung since school, and making us sound good!

Rehearsals start soon, and when we're ready it will be filmed and posted on YouTube for (hopefully) the world to hear. 

The message about the campaign to save Brookfield Plantation is literally spreading far and wide!

Remember "You don't know what you've got till it's gone,
They paved paradise..."

 

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