The Story Behind “Here Comes The Tide”
“Here Comes The Tide” is a song about climate change and our response to it. The refrain of this song originally appeared in my first climate fiction (cli-fi) novel, Change. I eventually wrote a complete set of lyrics for my Patreon campaign.
I’m an author and poet, not a musician, so this song could still use some work. I’m looking for one or more musicians who care about climate justice and want to help me create a polished version of this song. All that you have to do is record and post your own rendition. If I like it, I’ll share it on social media and keep it on this page with attribution, links to your profiles/sites, etc. You can use my recordings below as a starting point for the melody, or you can go your own way with it entirely. I’m also open to tweaks to the lyrics of the verses, but I’m hoping to avoid any major changes to the lyrics of the refrain since that’s already been featured in a published novel.
If you like this song, you’re welcome to use it! In the novel, it becomes a popular protest song. I’d be delighted to see that happen in real life. You can use it (with attribution) for any non-commercial purposes related to climate change and climate justice. If you want to use it for any commercial purpose, though, please contact me first.
“Here Comes The Tide” Lyrics
I walked the streets of New Orleans
The day Katrina came
I knew that the Big Easy just
Would never be the same
The politicians shrugged it off
And said they weren’t to blame.
The politicians lied
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
To these sandy, sandy shores
Where so many people died
Each storm is worse
Each car’s a hearse
Because the politicians lied
Here comes the tide
The night that Sandy came ashore
I could not comprehend
How these beloved New York streets
Could be the same again.
The corporations told us
Fossil fuels were our friend.
The corporations lied
Here comes the tide.
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
To these sandy, sandy shores
Where so many people died
Each storm is worse
Each car’s a hearse
Because the corporations lied
Here comes the tide.
Harvey, Irma, and Maria
All came in one year.
The storms were getting so much worse
It seemed the end was near.
The TV called for charity
But told us not to fear.
The media all lied
Here comes the tide.
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
To these sandy, sandy shores
Where so many people died
Each storm is worse
Each car’s a hearse
Because the media all lied
Here comes the tide.
The world is growing weary
Of this flooding and these storms
We suffer new catastrophes
With each degree it warms
These droughts and fires and plagues and wars
Must not become the norm
The politicians lied
The corporations lied
The media all lied
So let’s shut off the pipelines and
Close every last coal mine
New turbines and solar arrays
Will power us just fine.
The wind will blow, the water flow
We’ll bask in the sunshine
The politicians lied
The corporations lied
The media all lied
We will not be denied
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
We will sweep away the oil
And the many men who lied
The oceans rise
Now so will I
Because so many people died
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
Here comes the tide
“Here Comes The Tide” Recordings
Original YouTube Recording (Refrain Only)
First Full Version (Audio Only)