God Bless the Grass”: The Environmental Songs of Malvina Reynolds

David Livingstone

Published in Literary Oracle — Vol.8, Issue I, May 2024

Keywords: Folk music, environmental issues, ecology, protest singer, activism

Abstract:

The American folk singer and activist Malvina Reynolds (1900-1978) was truly instrumental in spreading awareness of environmental and ecological issues through her songs. Reynolds only began composing in her forties and performing in her fifties, but soon made a name for herself, starting in the early 1960s, with her topical protest songs touching on a range of issues, most notably the environment. Her compositions have been covered and popularized by folk and pop giants such as Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Harry Belafonte and many others. This paper will focus on her most well-known ecological songs: God Bless the Grass, What Have They Done to the Rain, Little Boxes, etc. With her white hair and granny glasses, Reynolds did not at all fit the image of the beatnik folk singer of the 1950s or the hippie movement which followed. She did, however, pioneer the embracing of environmental protection as an important theme in folk music and popular culture in general.

https://doi-ds.org/doilink/06.2024-14719345/LiteraryOracle/2024/V8/I1/A3