So you think you’re never going to “get” Earth Science? Does talk of minerals, magma, and metamorphic rock just leave you muddled? If your answer is “yes”, you may want to consider another way of learning about the topic—through music. Rocks and Water is a collection of thirteen songs—ten English, three French—with an Earth Science theme.
     You’ll learn how we’re all “living on a layer cake”: Well if you live in southern Ontario/There’s a fruitcake at the bottom I’m told/With precious gems like candied fruit/And swirls of minerals like silver and gold. You’ll also find out what it’s like to be a raindrop: Drifting in the atmosphere, way down low to the ground/Inside the Skydome, one October day/I condensed on a baseball, made Mitch Williams grip slip/Hello Joe Carter, victory Blue Jays. Other songs explore “La Methode Scientifique”, “Wetland Wonderland”, and “Les Planètes”.
     Rocks and Water may not beat out your favourite CD, but it is a fun way to learn more about Earth Science—it’s music with meaning. So if you want to put some melody in your magma, some swing in your saturated zone, some rock-n-roll in your rock cycle, check this album out. You can read song lyrics or hear audio clips on-line at www.interlog.com/~wrenfolk.

(Originally published in the Summer 1999 issue of YES Mag.)