We initially set out to create a single EarthShare playlist of environmental songs… only find literally hundreds of tracks that tackled everything from recycling to radioactive reptiles.
This “greatest hits” playlist is our attempt to get the biggies all in one place. These are the essentials, the classics, the songs about the environment with half a billion streams. These are the foundational folk, rock and soul songs of the 1960s and ‘70s environmental movement, along with dozens of other tracks that carried the torch into the first quarter of the 21st century.
Five essential evironmental songs are highlighted below, plus some additional recommendations for anyone who wants to dive deeper. Follow us on Spotify for more playlists, including one on new wave songs.
What makes a song “environmental”?
Not every environmental song is explicitly about climate change or conservation. Some of the most powerful eco-themed tracks explore:
- The power of nature, particularly on the human psyche
- The emotional impact of urbanization and loss of natural spaces
- A longing for connection to both nature and humanity
- The tension between contemporary society and the natural world
Our song selections lean into these and similar themes, offering a more interpretive take on environmental storytelling through music.
“Five Years” by David Bowie (1972)
“Five Years” opens Bowie’s legendary Ziggy Stardust album on a pretty sad note: “News guy wept and told us Earth was really dying.” The song is less about the death of the planet than it is about how humans react to the news. The response isn’t inspiring, as people cry helplessly in the street and start to hit each other. Bowie sings as his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust—an alien glam rocker who arrived on Earth to save the human race from impending doom… a tall order, indeed.
Also recommended: “After the Gold Rush” by Neil Young (1970) and “Subterranean Homesick Alien” by Radiohead (1997), both of which are about extraterrestrials and the environment
“Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell (1970)
Along with Marvin Gaye’s brilliant “What’s Going On,” Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” remains one of the most well-known environmental tracks of the past half century. In this GOAT of green songs, Mitchell delivers us that iconic visual of the American development: “They paved paradise to put up a parking lot.” In a 1996 interview, she talks about writing the song on her first trip to Hawaii, seeing beautiful green mountains framed below by a massive gray parking area.
Also recommended: “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye (1971)
“New World Water” by Mos Def (1999)
Working as Mos Def at the time, Yasiin Bey has given us one of hip hop’s most enduring environmental songs with “New World Water.” From his classic Black on Both Sides album, the song injects urgency and even humor into heady issues like chemical leaks and the privatization of natural resources: “You be buying Evian just to take a f*cking bath.”
Also recommended: “Feels Like Summer” by Childish Gambino (2018)
“All the Good Girls Go to Hell” by Billie Eilish (2019)
Playing with classic religious imagery, Billie Eilish’s “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” has a unforgettable setup. Songwriter Finneas O’Connell says he imagined God and the Devil looking at Earth and both agree on one thing: humans have made a mess of their home. They see wildfires, rising oceans, feckless leaders… and the list keeps going. These two figures may have different agendas, but they both wonder to themselves, “Man is such a fool. Why are we saving him?”
Also recommended: “1 Sun” by Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Pets (2015), featuring The Flaming Lips
“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals (2017)
“Heat Waves” might be a stretch as an environmental song, per se… but it’s hard not to connect the song’s powerful imagery to the state of our warming planet. Written about a close friend who passed away, Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley uses a range of natural metaphors that speak to loss and grief. The heat waves mentioned in the track refer to the wiggling waves that rise from hot pavement—”Road shimmer wigglin’ the vision”—and how they create a mirage of “fake water.” These heat waves are sad and disorienting and make you long for a time you can’t get back.
Also recommended: “The Kids” by MGMT (2005)
