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neurohuman
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neurohuman I saw Bill Oliver on TV as a very young kid. His glamorous poetry combines with rhythm when he sings The Habitat Song, and my young mind was captivated. His song remains a fond memory, and I am proud to support him with this album. God bless, Bill!
Rnicolphxaz
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Rnicolphxaz In July 1997 Bill was in Zion National Park singing for the junior rangers, we purchased a cassette of Habitat, and Bill signed the copy for our 10 year old son Eric. We still have the cassette(no player) and Eric has fond memories of that camping trip, thanks Bill.
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1.
Recycle City 02:05
Recycle cans, recycle glass Recycle newspaper, there’s a truck comin’ past Here in Recycle City we will arrive Every week at your curbside Refrain: It’s easy as takin’ out the trash You’re making your resources last It’s easy as taking out the trash (so easy!) Recycle at home, recycle at school Recycle the reest that can’t be reused Here in Recycle City, we’ve got the drive To keep our rivers and forests alive
2.
Waiting at the checkout line at the market Waiting to check my groceries Checkout clerk says “Paper of Plastic?” I say “No thanks, B.Y.O.B.!” Chorus: Bring Your Own Bag, down to the market Bring Your Own Bag, for your groceries Bring Your Own Bag, no paper, no plastic Bring Your Own Bag, save your own trees Bring Your Own Bag, B.Y.O.B. Not long ago this paper was standing Living the life of an old-growth tree It came down in the flick of a chainsaw Became bags at the bag fact’ry (Chorus) This plastic bag is fresh from a fossil Floundering in a tanker at sea Destined now to leach in a landfill It will out-live you and me Repeat chorus, changing “trees” to “seas” Clerk, (spoken): “Thank you. will that be paper or plastic?” Shopper, (spoken): “No thank you, I brought my own bag!” Repeat first verse and chorus with extra lines: Save energy Save your own seas
3.
Read it in a magazine, see it on TV Here it from Sierra Club, hear it some from me Plastic is a no-no in the ocean and the sea Plastic is a no-no when it’s falling from the trees Refrain: Please, please, Don’t Release That Balloon Tie it to your desk, decorate your room Please, please, Don’t Release That Balloon Find another way to celebrate the afternoon When they go a-sailing on a sunny, windy day They may wind up in the ocean, 500 miles away They look so nice and harmless as they’re sailing on their way They may wind up in a dinner that a dolphin ate that day Fly ‘em in an atrium to the roof so high Or in the school gymnasium, they’ll come down by and by Fill ‘em full of helium that makes your voice so high Fly ‘em where you wanna, but don’t fly ‘em in the sky Refrain, to Bridge: Instead of sending up your messages in baloons Raise your voice and croon, like coyotes at the moon Please, please, Don’t Release That Balloon Tie ‘em to your desk, (go clean up your room) Please, please, Don’t Release That Balloon Find another way to celebrate the afternoon There’s so many ways to celebrate the afternoon…POP!
4.
5.
Beach Buddy 02:01
A little bit of litter makes a lot of bad beach It’s bad on the eyesight, it can cut your feet It wastes our taxes, treats wildlife mean So be a Beach Buddy, and keep the beaches clean Plastic trash bags from passing ships From under the water look like jelly fish To a hungry sea turtle ‘bout to meet its death ‘Cause they’re easy to bite, but they’re hard to digest And think of the birds that make the beaches their home The fish eggs they eat are really Styrofoam And pop-top bottles and pop-top cans Turning popular beaches into pop-top lands It’s good for your feelings, it’s good for your health Go down to the beach, fill a bag for yourself Join in the clean-up, then spread the news Get everybody singing the Beach Buddy Blues
6.
I got off the plane in the Hawaiian rain Grabbed my goggles and fins to go snorkelling Jumped into my suit, jumped into the bay And the very first fish I saw that day (was the:) Refrain: Humu humu nuku nuku- a pu-a-’a Humu humu nuku nuku- a pu-a-’a Humu humu nuku nuku- a pu-a-’a The very first fish I saw! It wasn’t too small, it wasn’t too big It looked a little bit like a cute little pig It got pretty close ‘till it got too shy I think that it winked as it passed me by (the) Refrain, Instr. I said to my friends “Come on, take a look! I just saw the fish we saw last night in the book.” The once-official fish with the official fish name ‘Till the state fish officials played their fishy name game Refrain Now the Humuhumu story is a Hawaiian lulu I think somebody made a little Hawaiian boo-boo As you drift off to sleep in pjs and your moo-moos As you dance in your dreams do a hula with Humu…
7.
8.
Chorus Habitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat Habitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat Habitat, Habitat, Have to Have a Habitat You have to have a Habitat to carry on! The ocean is a habitat, a very special habitat It’s where the deepest water’s at It’s where the biggest mammal’s at It’s where out future food is at It keeps the atmosphere intact The ocean is a habitat we depend on! (Chorus) The forest is a habitat, a very special habitat It’s where the tallest trees are at It’s where a bear can scratch her back (ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch) It keeps the ground from rolling back Renews the oxygen, in fact The forest is a habitat we depend on! (Chorus) The river is a habitat, a very special habitat It’s where the freshest water’s at For people, fish, and muskrat But when people dump their trash Rivers take the biggest rap The river is a habitat we depend on! (Chorus) People are different than foxes and rabbits Effect the whole world with their bad habits Better to love it while we still have it Or rat ta-tat-tat, our habitat’s gone! (Chorus)
9.
10.
She stepped off of the boat in Mobile, Alabama Sometime back in the thirties from her home in deep Brazil She had six legs and a stinger, fire in her eyes And the ability to recreate herself a billion times She didn’t plan to come here, to become chaotic Imported and exotic, she came against her will She stalked the Southern states, from Florida to Texas Gained a reputation as the Queen Ant of the Hill Refrain And they call her Queen Invicta (Ouch!) Fire Ant Invincible (Ouch!) Nothing here could stop her (Ouch!) Predator or chemical The horror stories then grew, like nutria and kudzu Nobody knew what to do, to stop the fiery tide And they sprayed the land with chlordane They sprayed the land with Heptachlor They sprayed the land with Mirex, but the ant refused to die Puzzled entomologists, chemists and biologists Bureaucrat apologists still wondered what to do For climbing up the food chain, came Heptachlor and chlordane The fire ants would remain, the chemicals would, too Refrain Pesticides persistent, created ants resistant Eliminated natural foes, going about their business The cure employed to hit them became worse than the symptom The efforts to eradicate threatened the whole system So they banned the searing spray, and they banned the deadly dust Before they bring the Silent Spring springing up on us This much we can say, the ant is here to stay The final bill of over-kill is much to high to pay Refrain You who live in cities, you who live in neighborhoods Fire ants, it’s understood, may come and take their stand The males that die in nuptials, the queens that come in multiples, The fire ant, combustible, is hard to understand In backyards it’s no picnic, but think before you panic This isn’t the Titanic: don’t give up the land The poison preparations, blind exterminations Research the implications, analyze your goal Reactions based on bedlam may only serve to spread them To some extent accept them, search for safe control They call her Queen Invicta (Ouch!) Fire Ant Invincible (Ouch!) In our quest to stop her (Ouch!) Let us first be sensible (Ouch!) (Ouch!) (Ouch!)
11.
12.
Humu Chorus 01:20
13.
Indians believed a long time ago That the world was floating through space On the back of a turtle, that kept it from sinking Kept it in a safer place Turtles were special, and thought to be wise From the ages that live in their eyes From the back of their shell, They would keep us so well In fact, they would keep us alive Refrain: We are the children of Turtle Island A story that’s old and that’s new On Turtle Island, there’s a turtle smiling Carrying the world from you Turtles can migrate from ocean to ocean Travel thousands of miles in the sea Crawl from their shells, and seven years later Come back to the very same beach Nobody knows how they remember their way It’s a scientific mystery Charles Darwin and others became turtle lovers Because turtles, they felt, held the key Refrain Turtles have out-lived the dinosaur kings With Millenniums stored in their genes But like so many species on the brink of extinction We’re losing the turtles of the sea And now the tables are turning, The story’s returning As mythology mixes with fact As the fate of the turtle, the fate of the Island Is now resting on our back Refrain Like so many creatures on Turtle Island The world is depending on you
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about

16 Tracks of rollicking eco-rock!

This is the ORIGINAL album containing my biggest hit, Have to Have a Habitat, just as I wrote it and sang it with the Otter Space Band and all the kids since 1980! Lots of other artists, like Walkin Jim Stoltz, Magpie, Dana Lyons, and kids everywhere at schools, environmental education camps, parks, and nature festivals all over the country have sung "covers" of this song. This is your chance to buy the ORIGINAL recording and offer your support to me as the songwriter!

For live bookings and correspondence, contact MrHabitat:
Phone: (512) 350-4110
Email: mrhabitat@aol.com
2728 S. Congress #12
Austin, Texas 78704

credits

released October 15, 2015

The songs on this album, often accompanied by student singers, were recorded beginning in 1988, at multiple times through 1995. For me, the wonderful thing about this album is that the students singing here are singing about their own environmental projects: teachers, students & songs forming a circle of inspiration. We hope you enjoy it and wish you the best in your efforts to preserve Acres of Life!

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Bill Oliver Austin, Texas

Bill Oliver: "Environmental Troubadour"

Over twenty years of concerts, campfires, and cafetoriums! Bill's programs are educational and entertaining, engaging and motivating. In schools, National Parks, and river-side celebrations, his songs bring to life the vital issues of Habitat conservation. ... more

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