Playlist for the Planet

I just entered David Suzuki's Playlist for the Planet contest to find an environmental anthem for Canada.
When I first heard about the contest, I thought I would write a song, and a million different ideas went through my head....which caused problems...I couldn't decide what to focus on, there is so much out of balance on our planet right now...but there are also so many beautiful and inspiring things in nature that I would love to sing about.
Then a friend of mine suggested that I had already written the song, and it was sitting right under my nose...and the more I think about it, the more I see that she was right.
I wrote a song that is on my album, Matthew McCully and the matter of Principle, called Mark of the Mermaid. I wrote it after spending a day at White Pine Beach with my two best friends and their kids.
(They are exceptional mothers, and watching them work is enchanting)
I thought about how we much we had changed over the years...from being kind of arrogant and unaffected by the world beyond what we could criticize, to feeling a genuine sense of gratitude for the earth that sustains us.
And it was beautiful to watch my friends passing that on to their children...as we worshiped the sun...and played in the water...and curled our toes in the sand...and waited patiently for a cool breeze across our faces...
To be included in that experience was magical, and I felt that protective force that people feel but don't acknowledge enough...the feeling of family...the feeling that we, as a group have that secret and binding extra strength that will always keep us safe...
And thats where Mark of the Mermaid comes from...
I just re-read what I wrote...lol...although it doesn't really demystify the lyrics for you, it explains the emotional force behind the song...and I think it extends pretty organically from my small group of friends to all people.
I am talking about hope...and about the future...and my belief that, as bad as things get, we will be ok as long as we work together...