March 01, 2018

If Jimmy Fallon Was an ACOEL Member, Here is What He’d Sing

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Jeff Thaler

While many in Philadelphia were in the streets after the end of Super Bowl LII, and New Englanders promptly went to bed after the last pass hit the Minneapolis turf, the Doppelgänger of a native-born Minnesotan made a national appearance in the middle of that long, cold night.

By now, many have seen the 2018 version of “The Times They Are a-Changin,’” performed by someone born 10 years after the original version was created—one Jimmy Fallon. According to my consultation with Dr. Google, the only time Mr. Fallon has talked about environmental issues was back in May 2016 when he did a segment on Sarah Palin, climate change and climate scientists.

Therefore I think it is time that ACOEL commissioned Mr. Fallon to perform an updated version of that and another Dylan song, ones many of us could probably sing by heart (with a refresher class) even though written in the early ‘60s—that pre-NRDC/CAA/CWA/ESA/et.seq. classic, “Blowin’ in the Wind.” The original lyrics for both songs need to be refreshed, as do all of us who were alive and kicking back then, so here they are:

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Come gather ’round people                                                       

Wherever you roam                                                                           

And admit that the waters                                                               

Around you have grown                                                               `                   

And accept it that soon                                                                     

Under water will be our coast and flood zones                       

If our kids’ future to you is worth savin’                                   

Then you better start swimmin’                                                  

or you’ll sink like a stone                                                              

For climate times they are a-changin’

Come federal and state legislators

Please heed the call

Don’t stand in the doorway

Don’t block up the hall

For those who should be ashamed

Will be those who have stalled

Weather extremes are outside and they’re raging

Floods, fires and storms will break down your walls

For climate times they are a-changin’

Come bloggers, reporters, and skeptics

Throughout the land

Please don’t criticize

What you refuse to understand

Rising CO2 levels and temperatures

Are getting beyond our command

Your old fossil-fueled road is

Rapidly agin’.

Please embrace a clean energy new one and

Vote out of office resisting government hands

For climate times they are a-changin’.

Blowin’ in the Wind

How many droughts & fires must the world endure                                  

Before we know they are a warning?

Yes and how many seas must flood our shores                        

Before we seek a solution?                                                           

Yes and how many times must the fake news fly                     

That climatic disruption is not real?                                                

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind                              

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.                                                    

How many years will our beaches and airports exist

Before they are washed into the sea?

Yes and how many years can the glaciers survive

Before they are just memories?

How many heads must be buried in the sand

So that people can deny what should be seen?

The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind

The answer is blowin’ in the wind

How many more years must we create greenhouse gases

Such that too many species can’t survive?

Yes and how many times will clean energy projects be held up

Before too many people have died?

How can we power our cars, lights and heat pumps

Without harming the world for our kids?

The answer my friend is blowin’ in onshore winds

The answer is blowin’ in offshore wind.

So break out your harmonicas and guitars, and we will sing the songs of climate changes while working to change our laws and policies for the benefit of all.

Tags: 

Climate Change | Energy | Renewables

Permalink | Comments (0)