Eco-Friendly

Messages in the
Lyrics, Music, and Film
of Neil Young's Musical Novel Greendale

By Christian Z. Goering
Fayetteville, Arkansas
March 5, 2008

mother earth has many enemies

there's much work to be done

Neil Young's poignant lyrics and edgy high voice have been enfolded in popular
culture for nearly five decades. Throughout his ground-breaking musical career, he has
advocated for the environment, protested the Vietnam War, criticized the American
government on multiple fronts, and most recently led protests against the war in Iraq.

Wearing his political and social beliefs on his red-banded sleeve for the world to see,
Young created a masterpiece of musical artistry and social commentary in his 2003 film
and album release, Greendale. Young, mature and seasoned, utilizes a megaphone in the
final song, "Be the Rain," to convey a direct and universal message: Our environment
desperately needs our attention.

By bringing these two pieces of popular culture

into the high school classroom in a series of English language arts lessons, I managed to
introduce my Midwestern students to some of the larger forces at work in their world —
and to do it in a way they could comprehend and appreciate. I might add that Young's
Greendale is more than a topical artifact of pop culture. It is also a genuine work of art
that speaks to the literate side of every young intellect.

Moving Beyond the Traditional

My Greendale unit fit nicely into an eleventh grade American Literature course we
designed to focus sharply on the function and value of multimedia. One of the main goals
of the course was to employ film, music, advertising, and the World Wide Web as a
supplement to the traditional activities of an English course. Greendale, proclaimed by
Young as a musical novel, provided the ideal opportunity to satisfy these goals in a grand
manner, allowing us to examine lyrics, listen to and dissect music, and watch and analyze
film. It was a multi-modal approach to English that motivated students to enroll in the
class with the anticipation that something special might happen.

big wheel's still rolling

down on me
one thing i can tell you
is you got to be free
 Our study of Greendale combined two separate activities into
something new and different.

The first activity, in which my students analyzed a song

and its lyrics and then wrote about it, proved successful time
and again in my classroom. I valued it and put it to good use
year after year. Greendale followed that successful formula, but at a deeper level. This
would be my first attempt to have my students analyze not just a tune or two, but an
entire album.

Second, a lesson built upon a movie, in which my students studied the film and then
wrote an essay based on its themes, was another consistent winner. My students almost
always enjoyed the experience and related to it quickly.

The Greendale unit combined the study of tunes and the study of film in a
challenging and innovative fusion, a combination rooted in the standards-based procedure
of comparison and contrast. We had a fine album crafted by a master musician. We had
an innovative film based on the album. The possibilities intrigued me.

we were runnin' through the night

never knowin' if we would see the light
paranoid schizophrenic visions
livin' in fear of the wrong decisions

Several researchers contend that music and movies are precisely what our students need.
Bringing popular culture into the classroom, according to Gaughan (2004), allowed him
to reach his goal, which was "to challenge some of their assumptions and consider how
those assumptions were constructed in the first place" (113). Reading such texts as
Greendale, rich in the fabric of the popular culture from which it was created, is one
successful method of approaching English and other classes.

Keeping Pedagogy Current

May Rattle the Comfort Zone
Yes, our students are immersed in Facebook, Myspace, and the goings on of such pop
icons as Brittney, Paris, Akon, Justin, and Amy. (A few years from now the names of the
pop players will change, but the allure of the topical will remain the same.) To better
relate to youngsters living vivaciously in such a world, educators need to include current
pedagogical materials, even those that might push their comfort level a bit, or have the
"potential to rattle us" (Reed 99).
 By no means do I suggest we create a new curriculum based
solely on popular culture, but we ignore it at our peril. We do
need to consider pop as a resource, as a motivator of young
minds, and as a utilitarian method of meeting the students on their
turf.

we got a job to do
we got to
save mother earth

Music is an ideal form of expression for creating a sense of

identity amongst its listeners. As Brock Deither asserts, "It
provides the language and metaphors with which students make
sense of their experience and leads to insights that inspire
outstanding writing" (xi).

It's a fact that students today don't spend their free time reading
novels penned and published in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It's a fact, as
Christenson and Roberts found, that "On average, American adolescents spend
somewhere between four and five hours a day listening to music and watching music
videos — at least as much time as they spend watching standard television fare and more
than they spend with their friends outside of school" (8).

Clearly, a great deal of time is not afforded to the likes of Twain and Melville. Read
it and weep, my colleagues. Students need pedagogical materials which more closely
resemble their lives.

Movie as Babysitter? Not!

Greendale provides more than a musical novel for students to comprehend, analyze, and
discuss; it was also made into a film, which follows the album song by song. The
question then arises: How do we as teachers employ the music and imagery to the benefit
of our lessons? Popping the DVD into the player, turning up the volume, and turning
down the classroom lights is not the answer. Teasley and Wilder's (1996) account of the
use of movies in school is not glamorous. "On any given day we can walk down the halls
of just about any secondary school and find a videocassette player in use in an English
classroom. All too often, what's playing is last week's book and the students are 'taking a
break' from the usual work of school...." (5).

While the videocassette player has largely been replaced with streaming video and
the DVD, the likelihood of finding a 'taking-a-break' activity in the classroom is just as
high today as it was in 1996. It's a pity. Our students can benefit from the movie maker's
art, but not by watching a rehashed, often sub-par movie version of the last book they
were assigned to read.
The right way of putting film to good use in the classroom is to transform it into a
challenging and illuminating experience. Students are led to first find and interpret
messages and concepts embedded in the film, and then to connect their discoveries to
broader ideas in culture, art, and society. By doing so, they learn to develop their critical
thinking skills and hone the kind of thinking they will need to interpret the world outside
the classroom. In that spirit, Teasley and Wilder suggest, "film — viewed broadly — is a
branch of literature" (6).

Though their book is dated, Teasley and Wilder have exposed a flaw and an
opportunity that remain relevant today. Movies are still being shown to fill time and
reinforce (supply) a disconnected understanding of the assigned reading. That's the
persistent flaw. Based on a need to engage my students beyond the narrow boundaries of
curriculum and to illuminate current social protest, Greendale became our text, the TV
and stereo our words on the page. That's the profound opportunity.

a little love and affection

in everything you do
will make the world a better place
with or without you

I began the Greendale unit with several educational goals in mind. The goal of tracking
the story in Young's album — the audio version of the tale — was the first focus for the
students. Then they were asked view and analyze the companion film. Comparing and
contrasting the movie with the album was a noble and difficult mission. Several vexing
questions appeared. Do they support each other? Do they differ? Which is more
effective?

Next, I wanted my juniors to be able to discern their own perceptions of a message

or universal theme from the work. Armed with the idea that a message could be found in
the imagery and lyrics, the students were encouraged to defend their opinions in a formal
essay. These are not revolutionary goals by any stretch of the imagination. I would
suspect the only difference between my class and other American literature courses was
my use of popular media rather than time honored literature as tools in pursuit of
enhanced literacy.

"that guy who just keeps singin'

can't somebody shut him up?
i don't know for the life of me
where he comes up with this stuff"

The Prudence of Precaution

 I'll admit, my Greendale lesson raised a red flag or two. Young is a
polarizing public figure, a longtime social warrior who is as
controversial as any musician on the popular landscape. I wondered
if the unit of study would be a good fit for students in a large
district's only high school in a conservative stronghold in a deeply
conservative state. The potential for negative reaction was real
enough to make me stop and think about it.

I took three precautionary steps to counter any potential

censors before they could raise the false alarm.

First, I posted the unit of study on the school's website with a day-by-day plan for the
lessons and activities. The post was short, less than a page, but outlined the essentials so
that no one could claim they weren't informed beforehand.

Second, I asked the librarian to buy a copy of the Greendale CD and DVD for use in my
classroom. Should an issue arise, the offending materials would belong to the school, and
not to the teacher, perhaps mitigating the damage.

Third, I made the proverbial mental note of my own beliefs regarding all of the issues
presented in Greendale with the resolve to leave my opinions at home. My thoughts and
feelings would only hamper my students' ability to form their own opinions and ideas.

save the planet for another day

"attention shoppers, buy with a conscience and save"
save the planet for another day
"save alaska! let the caribou stay"
don't care what the governments say
"they're all bought and paid for anyway"
save the planet for another day
"hey big oil, what do you say?"

We Began
by Examining the Artist.
Neil Young is not the artist that most of my students shuffle on their iPods. Sure, a few
admitted they listened to one or two of his classic songs but most, even the fans, were
oblivious to the serious messages in tunes like "Ohio" and "Rockin in the Free World." I
realized that a biographical study of Young would be essential. In designing this
instructional unit, I would have been guilty of taking Greendale out of context if I had
neglected an examination of the artist and his longtime social consciousness. So we
began our three-week unit by searching the internet for historical knowledge about
Young's career.
 Toward this end, students were divided into eight groups, each with
the responsibility of researching a half-decade of Young's career.
Group One took 1965 to 1969, Group Two 1970 to 1974, and so on
until the present day. This activity established a tone of inquiry and
scholarship from the very beginning. Each group presented their
findings, as well as their understanding of Young's art and social
consciousness, to conclude the first day of class.

The next day we read and discussed song lyrics, listened to the musical
performance of Greendale, and watched scenes from the movie. Our back-and-forth,
back-and-forth, and back again approach to the tunes and images worked for the students
— but only for a while. As the story became more complicated, as the number of
characters grew, as the plot lines merged and digressed, my students began to complain,
"We're confused!" I understood completely. There are significant differences between the
musical and movie versions. And Greendale isn't your run-of-the-mill music video. The
richness and depth of the Greendale narrative presents more than the average challenge.

Just as English teachers do when teaching difficult works of literature from the
canon, I had to back up and guide my students through the step-by-step process of
engaging and understanding a challenging narrative. We looked long and hard at key
scenes from the movie, noting similarities and differences in relation to the tunes. We
created Venn diagrams of plot lines and maintained a family tree as a character list. These
techniques proved helpful as we moved from a basic understanding of what was
happening in the story to the challenging task of identifying, tracking, and analyzing the
environmental messages Young embedded in his lyrics, plot lines, and characters.

Beyond the Basics

Into Critical Thinking
Though many of my students struggled to fully comprehend Young's musical novel, it
was imperative that we move beyond a basic understanding of plot, character, and theme
into deeper levels of critical thinking. My students needed to identify and analyze the
experience of multiple literacies — that is, reading about, talking about, listening to, and
watching Greendale.

In a time-honored fashion, we moved from experiencing the musical novel towards

writing a formal analytical essay encompassing themes from the work. I allotted and
allowed significant time for my students to discuss, argue, and ultimately understand the
driving forces, political and social, behind Young's work.
be the rain you remember fallin'
be the rain, be the rain
save the planet for another day
be the rain, be the rain
be the river as it rolls along
be the rain, be the rain

First, my students read the lyrics to "Be The Rain," the capstone song of
Greendale, and then discussed the song in a Socratic Circle (Copeland, 2005). Student-
centered discussions were already a well-established practice in the class, so I wasn't
surprised as I listened to my students eagerly delve into the issues at hand. Ultimately
they identified five central messages: corporate greed, disregard for the environment,
government corruption, destruction of family, and overzealousness of the media.

Now it was time to write.

To supplement the essay prompt, I provided model examples of an introduction and the
first body paragraph. Here's the prompt:

Write a multi-paragraph essay in which you explain and analyze the way the themes of
social protest are developed through the lyrics of the musical novel Greendale. While it
was ultimately written, according to Young, to "make the world a better place" (1.22), the
artist identifies several contemporary American issues within his lyrics. Choose two
institutions of social protest and trace their beginning and development as portrayed in
Greendale.
Here are three examples from student work that demonstrate an acute awareness
of the environment following their experience with Greendale.

As natural deposits of crude oil decrease and the demand for it increases, the
government's ideas clash with those of pro-environmentalists on how and where to
extract it from the earth. As of now, there stands an argument of whether or not the
United States should drill for oil in the wildlife reserves of Alaska. In "Be the Rain,"
Young's environmental grand finale, there is a resounding cry of "Save Alaska! Let the
caribou stay" (10.4). Young speaks out against the drilling factors that would push
wildlife out of its natural habitat. Animals whose life cycle depends upon the lush
landscape of Alaska would be driven away by pipelines, machinery, and contaminated
earth. In the same context, Young claims "Don't care what the governments say / They're
all bought and paid for anyway" (10.5-10.6). Politicians are disregarding the threat posed
on the land by this massive drilling project. Furthermore, the government has become
more concerned with satisfying the economy than preserving one of its few remaining
wildlife reserves. Lastly, in "Be the Rain," the fisherman in his boat is "Comin' home
empty, he's barely afloat" (9.42). Young illustrates people losing their own resources
because of the shift in the life cycle. Since there are few conveniences, the people of
Alaska are forced to live off the land, and if their resources are driven away by industrial
development, they, in turn, are driven away too. "Be the Rain" is Young's informative
protest displaying the life-shattering effects of what could become of the Alaskan wildlife
reserves.

The effect of corporate greed on the environment is protested directly in "Sun Green" and
"Be the Rain" to show the audience how careless and thoughtless corporations can act. In
"Sun Green," Young describes the fictional character Sun Green as she sets out on her
own in hopes to make the world a better place through protest. Part of her protest efforts
lead her to chain herself to a statue in the lobby of PowerCo. She projects several phrases
through her megaphone, dangling from the statue several stories high: "They're all dirty"
(9.8); "You can't trust anybody" (9.10-11); "Truth is all I seek" (9.15); "There's corruption
on the highest floor" (9.8). These phrases lead the audience to believe that this business
has been dishonest with the public. Through her proclamation that there exists corruption
on the highest floor, she states that the heads of businesses and corporations are dishonest
and saturate the world with their capitalist plague.
 In addition to displaying objection to the media, Young also encourages us to
"save mother earth" (10.20), namely Alaska, as said in the final song, "Be the
Rain." Sun Green shouts in this song, "Save Alaska! Let the caribou stay /
Don't care what the government say" (10.5-6). Green is holding the
government responsible for the environmental predicaments. It is also quoted
in "Be the Rain" to "Dream the hunter on the western plain / the birds are all
gone, where did they go?" (10.40-41). This statement brings to mind the
issue of hunting and how it is killing off the wildlife. Young indicates he
wants the land to be preserved for the animals, rather than the animals
preserved for hobby or sport.

These writing samples exemplify the wide range of expression and the impassioned
response that our study of the Greendale musical novel inspired in my students. I chose
them for this report because they represent three different levels of writing skills. David
might be the best writer to ever pass through my classroom. Jackson represents the lesser
skilled members of the group, while Amy fits squarely in the middle of the class.

Open Your Eyes, My Students,

To See the Great World Beyond
All three shared equally in one facet of the project: Never before had any of these rural
Midwestern students devoted so much attention to the environment and its impact of the
quality of life in the USA. The very context of the rural Midwest serves as a barrier to
understanding many of the environmental challenges facing other parts of the country.
The rivers in their region are generally clean and clear; industry might pollute, but with
sparse populations, the effects aren't often felt; and in their rural, agricultural
communities, most people care for the land and work to preserve it.

In addition to the educational goals we pursued and achieved with this unit, our study of
Greendale and the career of Neil Young wrought both personal and corporate change. It
was a wonder to observe.

Some changes took the shape of new rules that my students imposed on the
classroom. No longer could we leave the lights on if we left the room. No longer could
we simply throw away paper, plastic, or aluminum. No longer could we use paper when
an alternative source was available. The students created a green classroom as a result of
Greendale, a reinvented space with recycle bins, posters advertising the new rules, and a
sense of greater social purpose extending well beyond the daily demands of learning
English.

the moral of this story

is try not to get too old
the more time you spend on earth
the more you see unfold

Shall It Last?
Three years have passed since that special lesson unfolded in Kansas, but I still hear
about the time my class studied Neil Young's Greendale. The litmus test for classroom
activities is whether or not they are remembered three, five, maybe ten years later. I
wouldn't say everyone recalls this adventure in learning, but several do and have related
their memories to me in messages and conversations. "I still listen to Greendale," one
says. "I used Greendale as an example in a college essay," another writes. Another former
student asks, "Have you heard the latest Neil Young album? I like it."

I like Neil Young's music and his messages, but my original mission with this unit
was not to create a rural, Midwestern fan-base for the old troubadour. I'll admit, however,
that most of my students did develop a tolerance for his music. As for the handful who
learned to appreciate Neil Young — now that's music to my ears!

sun green started makin' waves

on the day her grandpa died
speakin' out against anything
unjust or packed with lies

Angela and Her Dad

Some changes took the shape of awareness. The closest I came to the specter of
censorship during the unit was when Angela, the daughter of a prominent conservative
attorney, warned me in class one day that "my Dad will be coming to the parent-teacher
conference tonight to discuss this Greendale stuff." Admittedly, my heart sank a little at
those words. I knew her Dad's reputation as an attorney, businessman, and political figure
in the community; his standing and involvement had been well documented in the staff
lounge.

Later that evening Angela's dad walked purposefully into my classroom with his
wife in tow, almost seeming like she didn't want to be there. I could relate. We discussed
Angela's progress in writing and her overtly social nature, which at times limited her
focus in class. Sensing that the conference was nearly over, I thought I might have
successfully dodged the issue (bullets), but about that time the attorney-businessman-
political figure changed the subject to Greendale.

"Hey, I want to thank you for bringing in this Greendale thing by Neil Young," dad said. I
was more than a little surprised. "For the first time in my daughter's life," he continued,
"we were able to have an intelligent conversation about politics and why she believed
what she believed." I told him that Angela had warned me that dad was coming to discuss
the Neil Young stuff, and that I was glad to hear that she was coming to an understanding
of her own beliefs. Angela's dad remained one of my biggest advocates in the time
following our conversation.

slammin' down a late night shot

the hero and the artist compared
goals and visions and afterthoughts
for the 21st century
but mostly came up with nothin'
so the truth was never learned
and the human race just kept rollin' on

Students weren't enthralled when I told them about this unit. A few groaned. To
them, Neil Young was no Brittney Spears in terms of popular culture. I felt the need,
though, to expose my students to diverse viewpoints on issues important to our planet and
the quality of life on it. Out of 104 juniors in four classes, 104 completed the essay
assignment. These were not pre-AP or honors students; in fact, one class contained 13
special education students. These were real kids. 23 essays were turned in late and 16
students had to rewrite part or all of their original submissions.

Real kids taking required English classes need pedagogical content that relates directly
and relevantly to their lives. They need it not only in English language arts, not only in
rural Kansas, but in every subject area and in every school in America. Real kids need
teachers who motivate them to learn, rather than teaching them something with little
value, something they'll forget the moment they walk out the classroom door.

If this country is to realize the change promised and promoted by No Child Left
Behind legislation, then schools have to become relevant and rigorous. Greendale was a
challenging unit. It challenged students to think about their beliefs and practices. It
challenged them to think critically about music lyrics, movies, and the message-oriented
music of Neil Young.
Works Cited
Christenson, P. G., Roberts, D. F. (1998). It's not only rock & roll. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton
Press.

Copeland, M. (2005). Socratic circles: Fostering critical and creative thinking in middle
and high school. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Dethier, B. (2003). From Dylan to Donne: Bridging English and music. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.

Gaughan, J. (1997). Cultural reflections. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Reed, C. (1997). "Technology, popular culture, and the writing classroom." The Writing
Instructor: 99-102.

Teasley, A. B., Wilder, A. (1997). Reel conversations: Reading films with young adults.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Young, N. (2003). Greendale. Reprise/Wea.

Several helpful resources are available at the official Greendale website listed here for
teachers and students interested in learning more about Neil Young's musical novel
Greendale. Listen to the CD in its entirety, look at a map of the fictional town, read the
lyrics, follow the Green family tree, or listen to Neil Young tell the story surrounding his
lyrics.

http://www.neilyoung.com/greendale_frames.html