Let Nature Sing

File:Sam Lee (folk musician).jpg, an artist active in the Extinction Rebellion movement, was one of the creators of the track.]]

To raise awareness of the decline in birds over the last 50 years, the RSPB recruited the creative agency Glimpse to create a campaign to bring nature into popular culture.{{cite web|url=https://weglimpse.co/projects/let-nature-sing/|title=Let Nature Sing|website=Glimpse|accessdate=28 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190728221702/https://weglimpse.co/projects/let-nature-sing/|archive-date=28 July 2019|url-status=live}} Part of the campaign was for a single to be released and enter the charts for International Dawn Chorus Day on 5 May 2019.

While producing the RSPB Guide to Birdsong, the author Adrian Thomas recorded samples of many different British bird songs between 2016 and 2019.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2019/apr/26/siren-song-can-a-charity-single-save-britains-birds-from-extinction|title=Siren song: can a charity single save Britain's birds from extinction?|first=Andy|last=Welch|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 April 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804174828/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/shortcuts/2019/apr/26/siren-song-can-a-charity-single-save-britains-birds-from-extinction|archive-date=4 August 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/natureshomemagazine/posts/the-making-of-let-nature-sing-the-behind-the-scenes-story-of-rspb-s-assault-on-the-pop-charts|title=The making of Let Nature Sing – the behind-the-scenes story of the RSPB's assault on the pop charts|first=Adrian|last=Thomas|date=26 April 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|website=RSPB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726112029/https://community.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/b/natureshomemagazine/posts/the-making-of-let-nature-sing-the-behind-the-scenes-story-of-rspb-s-assault-on-the-pop-charts|archive-date=26 July 2019|url-status=live}} Thomas then mixed some of these recordings together into a demo. Thomas then recruited the help of Bill Barclay, the musical director at the Globe Theatre, and the folk musician Sam Lee to arrange the recordings into a track. The final mix was produced by Andrew Mellor, recording engineer of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

To coincide with the release of the track, the RSPB organised a panel on "the musicality of nature" hosted by BBC Radio 6 presenter Shaun Keaveny, with Eliza Doolittle, Chrissie Rhodes of The Shires, and Sam Lee.{{cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/music-interviews/ed-o-brien-solo-album-radiohead-nature-sing-interview-2019-2477408|title=Radiohead's Ed O'Brien really, really likes birds|date=16 April 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|newspaper=NME|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806054457/https://www.nme.com/music-interviews/ed-o-brien-solo-album-radiohead-nature-sing-interview-2019-2477408|archive-date=6 August 2019|url-status=live}} The track was remixed by Diplo for the Nick Grimshaw drivetime show, creating a "donk" version.{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1124272458297688064|title=A song made entirely of bird calls|website=Twitter|date=3 May 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019}}

The song features the songs of many different species, ranging from very common garden birds such as the blackbird and robin to endangered and rare species such as cranes, of which only a few pairs are found in the UK. These include:{{cite web|url=https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/campaigning/let-nature-sing/the-chorus-hub/who-am-i-hearing/|title=Who am I hearing?|website=RSPB|accessdate=26 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726112033/https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/campaigning/let-nature-sing/the-chorus-hub/who-am-i-hearing/|archive-date=26 July 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlYe2F4CxLQ|title=RSPB - Let Nature Sing (subtitled)|website=YouTube|date=29 April 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019}}

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• Cuckoo
• Nightingale
• Wren
• Blackbird
• Great spotted woodpecker
• Robin
• Collared dove
• Crane
• Curlew
• Lapwing
• Swift
• Bittern
• Turtle dove
• Chiffchaff
• Snipe
• Blackcap
• Swallow
• Great tit
• Sedge warbler
• Grasshopper warbler
• Skylark
• Song thrush
• Nightjar
• Tawny owl

{{div col end}}

The video, performed by Drew Colby, uses shadowgraphy or "hand shadow puppetry" to show two birds struggling to find food for their chicks. Colby used hand shadows to produce the images of birds, spiders and landscapes, which were there composited together digitally. Text at the end of the video explains that since 1966, the UK has lost over 40 million birds and that "time is running out to save the rest". The RSPB also created a subtitled video, highlighting the name of each bird as it sings.

Andy Welch, writing for The Guardian, called "Let Nature Sing" "strangely comforting and a welcome sound for anyone who has ever enjoyed a dawn chorus". Joe Shute in the Daily Telegraph described its appearance during The Official Chart Show as "rather magical".{{cite news|title=How the music business woke up to the beauty of birdsong|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/music-business-woke-beauty-birdsong/|date=7 May 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|newspaper=The Telegraph|first=Joe|last=Shute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606071134/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/music-business-woke-beauty-birdsong/|archive-date=6 June 2019|url-status=live}}

"Let Nature Sing" debuted at number 11 in the mid-week chart,{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/birds-debut-on-the-uk-singles-chart/|title=Birds Debut on the UK Singles Chart|first=Evan|last=Minsker|date=30 April 2019|accessdate=27 July 2019|website=Pitchfork|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727053344/https://pitchfork.com/news/birds-debut-on-the-uk-singles-chart/|archive-date=27 July 2019|url-status=live}} and reached number 3 in the Official Trending Chart,{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/stormzy-debuts-at-number-1-on-the-uks-official-trending-chart-with-vossi-bop__26186/|title=Stormzy debuts at Number 1 on the UK's Official Trending Chart with Vossi Bop|date=30 April 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|website=Official Charts Company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430074041/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/stormzy-debuts-at-number-1-on-the-uks-official-trending-chart-with-vossi-bop__26186/|archive-date=30 April 2019|url-status=live}} with a final position of 18 in the full weekly chart. The single was the best-selling of the week, with 23,500 units sold.{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/stormzy-scores-debut-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart-with-vossi-bop-words-don-t-really-do-it-justice-i-m-genuinely-for-once-in-my-life-speechless-__26241/|title=Stormzy scores debut Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart with Vossi Bop|date=3 May 2019|accessdate=26 July 2019|website=Official Charts Company|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704064614/https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/stormzy-scores-debut-number-1-on-the-official-singles-chart-with-vossi-bop-words-don-t-really-do-it-justice-i-m-genuinely-for-once-in-my-life-speechless-__26241/|archive-date=4 July 2019|url-status=live}}

• Birdsong (radio channel)

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/campaigning/let-nature-sing/ Let Nature Sing campaign page]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlYe2F4CxLQ "Let Nature Sing"] on YouTube

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Category:Bird sounds

Category:Songs about birds

Category:Environmental songs

Category:Music videos featuring puppetry

Category:Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Category:2019 singles

Category:Visual arts by animals

Category:2019 songs