[Reaction/Reflection Essay] Pollution by Tom Lehrer

  To be frank, when I first heard the intro of the song “Pollution” by Tom Lehrer I thought, “The music is kind of weird.” I have to convince myself not to close the tab on where the song is playing, so that I could write this write-up. It was tempting. And moreover, there were too many distractions that kept me from listening to the song and making the essay. Then when I heard the guy sang, I told myself, “Okay, he’s voice is also weird.” I really want to close the tab this time though I have no choice but to listen to the song until it finishes. I watched the video with lyrics on it. And that is when I found out that what was written as the lyrics were fascinating. Even if the whole song is really old (1967), the lyrics say everything about how pollution affects our environment.

   I read the lyrics while listening to the song. The lyrics of the song are trying to tell how dangerous and unpleasant the environment is in America. Even if the song is about America’s environment, I can relate the song to what is happening around us in the Philippines. Though I think it’s not just in the Philippines, but the whole world is at risk due to pollution. The song mainly focuses on air and water pollution. It describes how air and water pollution can affect our living, the environment, and also the animals. The song’s humorous style creates its own uniqueness out of many environmental songs. More on, the song frankly expressed its meaning by using metaphors and other figures of speech. 

   I like the song’s meaning. That is because it depicts us the state of our environment nowadays. There’s also a part in the song that tells how a person throws garbage at a bay where many people get their water from. This song is also reflecting to us the things we do to our environment. The quote “The earth we abuse, and the living things we kill, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future” goes for here. The meaning you’ll get from the song is that because of humankind creating pollution, the environment is becoming so unpleasant, making it a dangerous place to live in. Not only for us but also to other living things such as the animals. If you would think, we are just paving paradise. We destroy forests to build houses, buildings, and sometimes, ironically, parks. And we are also the number one contributor of pollution.  If we don’t take care of the environment now and prevent pollution, what more will happen to us?  This is what the song is trying to express to us.