This is a very difficult time for us, and we imagine that we are not alone.

Our world is hurting, suffering more insults and injuries every day. Our concerns are based in the reality of what we see with our own eyes everyday: US withdrawal from the Paris Accord – signifying a cavalier attitude about the urgent need to unify around sustainable solutions for the environment; Catastrophic global events of unprecedented proportions—California wildfires; tragic hurricanes; disappearing water supplies; polluted drinking water; unheard of earthquakes (from fracking?); disastrous oil spills that threaten all forms of coastal life; glaciers melting that result in rising sea levels, disrupting island cultures and coastal cities; loss of essential insect populations, resulting in drastic shifts in pollination and crop produuction; tropical deforestation; endangered species; disregard for the safety and security of animal life; destruction of coral reefs; nuclear waste leaching into the oceans, upsetting that fragile ecosystem; warming seas negatively impacting aquatic life; unprecedented chemical run-off from farming practices polluting ground water; unending wars that have become the new norm; growing and thriving cruel regimes; famine and poverty continue to plague the planet; and in addition, global migration from unsustainable living conditions are straining every developed country as people search for some better place and a life that holds promise.

Yes, there are many wonderful things in our world as well, but the destruction of life and environment is escalating far beyond our control, threatening everything we value and hold dear. These destructive patterns are not sustainable!

This music is our way of speaking out, adding our voices in expressing concerns that have never been greater. This is not just about the environment, but rather, about our actions that have a ripple-effect around the world, producing a cumulative negative impact on humanity. Nothing we do individually is ever in isolation—everything is multiplied many times over, the impact exponential. The damage we produce becomes visible in countless ways as “debris that washes ashore.” Out of sight cannot be out of mind anymore. Karma is ever-present—who we have become is evident as we look around at the destruction we have created. We must wake up, step up and take responsibility.

Further division is not the answer.

The time to unify is upon us.

The time to act is now!

Music

Lyrics

Barefoot summers of my childhood
Skipping stones along the water’s edge
Jumping castles built into the sand, melting
Waves swell and break 
Seashells wash ashore
Salt-dusted hands
Flushed from a day of sun
Sea woven tangled hair
Weary with fun

Wistful daydreams of those summers
Brightened many grey, cold winter days
Facing an imaginary sun, blazing
Salty fingers trace
My dry, wind-chapped lips
Snow starts to fall
Flakes drift into my eyes
Cheeks sting, blush, and glow
Dreaming of sun

Driving the Western coast
Fires have charred the hills again
Offshore rigs loom
Mud rivers swell, flowing into the sea

Sun fades from view
Dusk falls across the Florida Gulf 
Hurricanes rage
Trees torn limb from limb
Flooded homes blown apart
 
Daydreams have blurred 
Nothing is as it once had been
Naive no more
Where have all my 
Childhood memories gone

Memories gone
Dreams of sun
Till winter was done
Now they are all gone

Wistful daydreams of those summers
Brightened many grey, cold winter days
Now my once imaginary sun, blazes
With anger sears
My dry, wind-chapped lips 
Sand dreams give way 
Sifting quickly through the glass

Victims of our own design
Awakened at last
To what we have done
Mourn and long
For memories gone
Sweet dreams of the sun

Credits

From album – Quiet Comes Along
Track released – August 2019
Cheryl Martlage – Lyrics, Vocals and Production
Emerson Martlage – Music, Guitar, Vocals and Production
Inspiration – Current global events—Climate Change