The Story Behind the Song #2 – Daisy Gaia

These days most of us are aware that life on Earth is an interconnected web. The word ‘Gaia’ is familiar to people who care about the planet. It’s a name often used for life on Earth as a whole; not seperate life-forms but a being, perhaps with perhaps with its own consciousness.

There is a scientific backgound to this view. In the 1970s, the scientist James Lovelock was studying ecosystems and discovered that over billions of years, organisms have co-evolved with the natural environment; and that all life, including microscopic bacteria, seems to act collectively to regulate planetary conditions in order to support life.

Conditions on Earth are not naturally stable at all, for instance, solar radiation has increased by 30% since since life appeared on Earth, yet through the effects of micro-organisms on the composition of the atmoshere, the surface temperature of the planet has remained within a habitable range. Similarly, the constant input of freshwater from rivers into the ocean could be expected to affect the salinity of ocean habitats, but sea salinity has been maintained (don’t ask me how!).

Other factors, such as atmospheric oxygen levels all seem to have been regulated by the effects of lifeforms upon them, to counteract the fluctuations that would otherwise make the planet more hostile to life. Mechanisms for regulation include the transpiration of plants producing a well cooling effect. Also, ocean algae and plankton release chemicals important in the formation of clouds, which screen out ultra-violet radiation from the sun. Lately there has been increased evidence of algal blooming, which is thought to be a response to increased CO2 levels in the atmposhere.

Life as a whole seems to have deliberately influenced the conditions neccessary for its own survival. I find this suggestion of a holistic consciousness of sorts pervading life on Earth quite exiting.

We are increasingly aware of the complexity of this inter-connected system, but also how fragile it is. It’s easy to look at the Earth as a single being, but also now a vulnerable being, with a new set of disruptions to contend with. Some have compared the current phase of global warming to the raised temperature of a sick person, with the purpose of driving out an infection – our modern ‘civilisation’. Nevertheless, looking at the scale of the shocks that the Earth has been through gives perspective. From ice ages to meteorite strikes, life on Earth has continued and will not be extinguished by one species.

At the suggestion of his friend the novelist William Golding, Lovelock named his theory the Gaia Hypothesis. Gaia was the ancient Greek goddess personifying the Earth – the Greek version of Mother Nature. The theory has had a considerable impact on planetary science.

I came up with this song a few years ago and it tends to be very popular when I play it live. You can see me singing it below, with the great Felix Ngindu accompanying me on percussion. It has a message but the main thing is that people can (and do) sing the refrain ‘Ohhhh Daisy Gaia!’

Daisy Gaia – lyrics

Oh, Daisy Gaia (repeat)

How do you tell the people when you hear it on the wind?

How do you send the message that the end will soon begin?

They sold the birth right

They stole the living and the light

Oh, Daisy Gaia! (repeat)

Somebody said to me that the road is in the sign

Somebody said to me that the heart is not the mind

They stole the birthright

They sold the living and the light

Oh, Daisy Gaia! (repeat)

Come along, come with me and see us dancing on the road

Come along, come with me and know the blessing of our home

Come along, come with me

Honour the ancestry

Come along, come with me

Honour the ancestry

Oh, Daisy Gaia! (repeat)