Sustainability Starts with Me

Keren Byrne October 17, 2021 2:22 pm

It’s often said that music is a “universal language” – a powerful tool when conveying a message. For this reason, I chose to write this song to inspire positive change. The title is “It Starts with Me”, which captures the central message: every single person can have an impact and no contribution is too small.

The purpose of this song is to highlight the responsibility of the individual to consider their personal environmental impact and inspire the listener to make positive changes. It is musically simple – accessible to a wide audience – and has the key message repeated throughout the choruses to stick in the listener’s head. The idea is that this song would be a companion piece to accompany practical posts containing easy first steps a person can take to become more sustainable. The target audience is youth/young adults and as such, the lyrics are tailored to this age group, primarily through the use of self-deprecating comedic hyperbole. Songs are an easy-to-share medium that can be accessed across multiple platforms (YouTube, Instagram Reels etc), therefore the potential to reach a young demographic is strong.

The lyrics are as follows:

Have you ever considered the link?

What you buy, what you wear, what you drink

Has an impact that’s bigger – it’s greater than you think

It might be a future direction

Or maybe it’s just on the cards

But something is better than nothing

Although it seems hard

Cause a little flame

Can spark a chain reaction

And a little step

Is still a step

I can’t control the weather

Oh, I barely have control of me

But one thing’s for sure

I can do more

We can do more

To care what ends up in the sea

Oh, I can’t control when it rains

I can barely remember my name

But one thing I know

We might plateau, it might be slow, but

I still don’t doubt we can change

Sometimes it’s hard to see

That change, it starts with me

I’m just one person

But people together’s the key