Anastasia Miin (9th Grader)
(Oh Shenandoah by Jay Althouse )
Oh, ocean blue, I long to see you
ClOh, ocean blue, I long to see you
Clean and blue, as you used to be
But waves are rising, the ice is melting
And our ocean is in trouble, oh, what can we do?
We need everyday heroes,
To save our oceans from climate change.
We need people who will fight,
To save our ocean’s future by taking action .
Oh, ocean blue, I long to see you
Clean and clear, as you used to be.
Oh, ocean blue, I long to help you
To make a better world, the choice is ours
Ocean blue, ocean blue, ocean clean and blue, as you used to be
But waves are rising, the ice is melting
And our ocean is in trouble, oh, what can we do?
We need everyday heroes,
To save our oceans from climate change.
We need people who will fight,
To save our ocean’s future by taking action .
Oh, ocean blue, I long to see you
Clean and clear, as you used to be.
Oh, ocean blue, I long to help you
To make a better world, the choice is ours
Ocean blue, ocean blue, ocean blue
Words from Author:
My name is Anastasia Miin and I am a 9th grader from Northern California. For as long as I could remember, I’ve always loved the beaches. Every summer, my family and I would take a road trip along the coast of Route 1 in California. It offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, clips, beaches, and small fishing villages.
When my middle school teacher asked us to submit an artwork about ‘save the ocean’, I thought about what I could share and how I want to share the message with the world. It became clear to me that I want to sing a song to tell the world about the beautiful California ocean, how precious it is, and how important it is to continue to love and preserve it for future generations to come. Through this creative process, I tried all different types of songs, ranging from pop, to country to jazz and finally landed on classical song ‘Oh Shenandoah’ from the 1850s because it is an American folk song that describes a wandering sailor far out across the seas, missing home. The melody has the roll and surge and freedom of a tall ship sweeping across the ocean, which is perfect for my song describing my love for the blue ocean and the everyday heroes that keep it clean and beautiful for the future generations.
While I was doing research for this project, I started with writing about one particular hero, then a group of heroes. In the end, I decided to write a song that focuses on inspiring everyone to be a hero in the future. If we all do our parts in saving the ocean, then we are all heroes together. Also, since the melody of the song was a popular shanties that inspired sailors to sing for hours on hand while working at sea. How wonderful it would be if everyday heroes could also sing this song while they are helping to keep our ocean clean and beautiful!
