Earth Song

"Earth Song" is a song by Michael Jackson. In the music video it outlines how the Earth is being destroyed by humans, and it alludes to environmental and poverty issues in the world.

The song is available on the HIStory album. When it was released in 1995, it reached number one in the United Kingdom, becoming the Christmas number one single in that year, selling over a million copies. The single sold over three million copies worldwide.

However, many critics considered both the song and the video to be pompous and overbearing, a charge repeated by Jarvis Cocker as partial explanation for his notorious invasion of Jackson's stage during a performance of "Earth Song" at the 1996 Brit Awards. Fans said that the critics failed to fully read the lyrics of the song, or look at the video more closely. They claim there were no indications of a "messiah complex" that some critics claimed, and in the video, Jackson represented himself as a mendicant who prays for a better tomorrow, along with the nations of the world.