Climate Fridays Songwriting Competition

13 July 2020

School Strike For Climate and Green Music Australia invited all school-aged musicians to submit their best original song about climate justice or the environment, for their chance to perform their song in a Climate Fridays Season 2 showcase and win $1,000 in prize money. Meet the winners and listen to the songs now!

The three winners (below) performed live on the finale of Climate Fridays Season 3, and shared over $1700 in cash prizes. We were blown away by the quality of these musicians - make sure to listen to their climate-themed songs below.

1st place - Chloe Gill, 'Lunch'

Chloe Gill, 16, is an aspiring Singer/Songwriter and Multi-Instrumentalist from Newcastle, Australia. Chloe grew up in a musical family and started dabbling in songwriting at just 12. Her unique sound is made up of Alternative Contemporary with influences of jazz and blues. She has always had a raw passion for music and its ability to connect with people and their surroundings. She is passionate about climate change as it will heavily impact upcoming generations.

Lyrics:

I sat down to breathe, breathe in the air
a city of smoken skies a feeling of guilt and fear
I wrote you a song
a song with words alone
why do I have to leave this place, the place that is home

Picked up a piece of paper and I screwed it up in a bunch
Then I wrote your name on the windowsill
And thought we were going to lunch, going to lunch

I picked up my stuff, ran down the street there was dirt on my hands but a fire beneath my feet
I’m hungry he said(run), I gave him all I had. it wasn’t enough cause he turned all I had, turned it to dust

I’m gonna wipe away everything, everything that you’ve paid for and worked for
but the heroes are out there fighting
they’re fighting for all that we know, and all that we own

Now everything we had is gone
It’s gone and it ain’t coming back,
We’ve been stripped of all we know, and now we’re now lying flat on our backs

Look up to the red of the sun, and you breathe in more smoke fill your lungs
Now the kids are standing in a bunch
with nothing left because they thought, they were going to lunch

2nd place - Lara Buchanan, 'Smoke'

Lara Buchanan is a 15 year old singer / songwriter from Canberra, Australia. She has been singing and writing music for 2 years now and knows this is one of her true passions. Lara is a strong believer in fighting for climate justice. Lara wishes to use her voice through her music to express that change doesn't happen overnight. The more people that start fighting for action the sooner the voice of youth will be heard.

Listen to Smoke here.

Lyrics:

Standing on the beach / Ashes falling to my feet
People crying, Where are we supposed to go
They say it's under control / But we all know

There are fighters fighting fires / Stupid people and their lighters
But it's more than cigarette smoke / Super heros come and save us
Is it too late for the neighbors / Help me I can't go

You have to stay far away / The smoke is here to stay
Hold your breath so you don’t choke / Have to get away from the smoke

I watch with teary eyes / Look across the burning sky
And I / Don't lose hope, It's only smoke
They won’t let you choke / On the smoke

Standing by the hill / Suddenly I feel ill
Blaze going in for the kill / My favorite places are burning
Tide of the world is turning / But we’re still here

There are fighters fighting fires / Stupid people and their lighters
But it's more than cigarette smoke / Super heros come and save us
Is it too late for the neighbors / Help me I can't go

You have to stay far away / The smoke is here to stay
Hold your breath so you don’t choke / Have to get away from the smoke

I watch with teary eyes / Look across the burning sky
And I / Don't lose hope, It's only smoke
They won’t let you choke / On the smoke

Getting harder to breathe / Smoke suffocating me
Never felt so much hurt / I had to watch the cities burn
Still hard to see the lights / Too scared to sleep at night
I have so much to lose / I’m still holding onto you

You have to stay far away / The smoke is here to stay
Hold your breath so you don’t choke / Have to get away from the smoke

I watch with teary eyes / Look across the burning sky
And I / Don't lose hope, It's only smoke
They won’t let you choke / On the smoke

3rd place - Scarlett Graham, 'Hand Me Down'

Seventeen year-old Canadian-raised, Western Australian-based singer-songwriter Scarlett Graham has grown up in communities filled with musicians. She learned from an early age the power of music and she continues this musical message in her own songs which reflect her personal journey as a dual citizen, highlight important issues around social justice and speak to the necessity of securing a better environmental future for all living things. In early 2020 Scarlett released her debut EP titled “Fremantle”.

Listen to Hand Me Down here.

Lyrics:

I’ll try to find a little more hope, in this crazy world you promised me,

It all rests upon my shoulders, fix the mistakes we made

We don’t choose the world we live in, as the dusk follows the day,

Sunrise to sunset, Come what may,

From the Mountains to the rivers and whatever comes in between,

Keep it green

I'm always scared we’ll cross the line, Nothing we can do will ever make it right

Are you listening at all? Or are you speaking only empty words, And empty promises

We don’t choose the world we live in, as the dusk follows the day,

Sunrise to sunset, Come what may,

From the Mountains to the rivers and whatever comes in between,

Keep it green

Past the finish line crying too late, Won’t let my daughter go outside today,

Let me tell you about the good old days, Where there were trees

We don’t choose the world we live in, as the dusk follows the day,

Sunrise to sunset, Come what may,

From the Mountains to the rivers and whatever comes in between,

Keep it green

This initiative is proudly funded and supported by The Music Trust.