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Only One Ocean

by Banana Slug String Band

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    Dive in! Swim with us, alongside sea turtles and whales, on a musical odyssey into the Earth's one mysterious, marvelous – and precious – ocean.

    ONLY ONE OCEAN is 14 rockin’ new songs from the award-winning Banana Slug String Band all designed to inspire young people and their families to learn about and care for the ocean.

    Special guests include George Winston, Brett Dennen, Zach Gill & Grammy winners Victor Wooten and BeaSoleil avec Michael Doucet.

    Immediate download of 14-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9.99 USD

     

1.
Chorus: *Only one ocean… only one ocean *(audience call and response) Only one ocean… only one ocean Only one ocean… only one ocean Only one ocean… only one ocean It’s only one ocean, only one sea The ocean is the reason that life can be It’s only one ocean, wherever you stand Look around and see how it shapes the land All life’s formed in the ocean It’s the reason we can breathe the air Plankton plants make oxygen And send it to the atmosphere The highest peak is in the ocean The deepest trench is just off-shore Wherever you walk, you can find some rock Of the ancient ocean floor [Chorus] Its only one ocean, only one sea The ocean holds life's diversity It’s only one ocean, wherever you go The ocean is the reason for the wind and snow All these ecosystems A living soup of salty sea Life adapts to its habitats So many forms and varieties It turns the global current Of wind and rain and air It’s a big ole' weather machine Spinning energy everywhere [Chorus] It’s only one ocean, only one sea It ties us all together, you to me Its only one ocean, shore to shore There's so much more yet to explore All life in common needs the water It’s in our blood and our history Our food and inspiration come From this gift of timeless sea Put your mask and snorkel on Let’s explore as we descend For science here is the last frontier What we all must comprehend [Chorus] Only one ocean, only one sea Let's give the ocean sanctity It’s only one ocean, that's all we've got Without it things would get pretty hot. The Indian Ocean Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean There all connected We got one ocean Around the globe Blue Blue Planet Yeah Only one ocean Gotta care for the ocean Gotta love the ocean
2.
Well, I like this little pool But this life is pretty tough Don’t get caught playing the fool Because this gang is really rough In order to survive We have to pinch and grab That’s how we stay alive In the kingdom of the crab Chorus: Grab, grab, grab, grab In the kingdom of the crab This shell is called my carapace Crustacea is my name And I bet that you can guess What is my claim to fame Ya! It’s these pinchers that I close So tightly when I grab So don’t you go and stick your nose In the kingdom of the crab [Chorus] Whatever we can eat We’ll eat till we are through Be it live or dead meat Hey! We’ll eat each other too Then back to a rock I hide My pinchers armed to grab Whatever comes in with the tide In the kingdom of the crab [Chorus] When I grow, I molt my shell It’s dangerous for me then So I hide and wait a spell Until my shell gets hard again If an octopus comes my way Then my pinchers they can’t grab But that’s the price that we must pay (livin’ here) In the kingdom of the crab [Chorus] I do my sideways walk My eyes look all around My sharp feet grip the rock As the gulls come swooping down So we run if we must Hold on, hide or grab Because there’s nothing you can trust In the kingdom of the crab
3.
GOING DOWN, DOWN, DOWN Chorus: Going down, down, down, underneath the sea Though there's treasure to be found, pirate life is not for me. Going down, down, down, we will see what we can see We will know where to go through bathymetry Going down, down, down, where we've never been before. Now come and walk with me along the ocean floor Sonar sounding down into the depths Echo location then we take a few more steps (2x) Because there's more to explore As we walk the ocean floor On the continental plate is the continental shelf To know about this has scientific wealth Down the continental slope, there's alluvial fans The result of deposition like upon the land An underwater canyon, a V-shaped canyon Where sand from the land can fall into the canyon From the shelf were it began can go deeper then the Grand Comes out the other end to form a deep sea fan Down from the slope is the abyssal plain With turbidary currents, sediment it falls like rain It’s so deep and dark beyond the reach of the sun Only five-foot rise in a mile of run. It’s flat and smooth, so flat, so smooth And there's life in this abyss that would be easy to miss Without the presence of bioluminescence It’s the only way to spot ‘em, this life on the bottom. Now let's leave these strange creatures for some more benthic features Sonar sounding down into the depths Echo location then we take a few more steps (2x) Because there’s more to explore As we walk the ocean floor Fissures in tectonic plates As they move over hot spots they create New ocean crust new ocean floor And when they get pyroclastic then there's more: Magma rises, lava flows Seamounts are made, so are archipelagos The Hawaiian Islands are some of those The big island in the chain continues to grow The Azores, Iceland, Galapagos Are islands made from volcanoes There's flat topped guyots but that's not all Let's go find a coral atoll. It’s clear and tropical, it’s clear and tropical In hydrothermal vents, tubeworms survive Through chemosynthesis microbes stay alive They don't need sun in the deep dark sea Now let's go find some more geology Sonar sounding down into the depths Echo location then we take a few more steps (2x) Because there’s more to explore As we walk the ocean floor When plates subduct they make a ring of fire When plates collide, they lift the mountains up higher A rift zone emerges where they separate The mid-ocean ridge is from divergent plates Historically it used to be a Land called Pangaea, plates set free To spread slowly a ridge continually Across the bottom of one big sea Ninety-seven thousand miles, it’s the longest mountain range. It’s all volcanic so it’s constantly in change Greater than gold, this treasure is worth Because it is the source of brand new earth. It’s new earth, it’s new earth Before the days of Jacques Cousteau and his boat Calypso There’s been many ways to know about what is down below Satellite telemetry, submersibles can help us see As we follow our wonder to explore the world down under Sonar sounding down into the depths Echo location then we take a few more steps (2x) Because there’s more to explore As we walk the ocean floor
4.
Chorus: I've got a mountain in my hand from the rain-washed land Down by the sea now is where I stand With this mountain in my hand trying to understand Oh, oh, wonderful sand Silicon dioxide, tan sand is made of quartz I like to lie in the warmth and the colors that I see Iron black is magnetite; tiny shells are all bleached white Shiny mica spinning light right back at me Bridge: Sand…white pink, yellow, green, black and red Sand…rolling down the watershed Sand…mixed with shells gets ground some more Sand…washed along the water’s shore [Chorus] Sand is grainy fine or course. Its color indicates the source Moved by wind or force of the longshore flow Let’s keep the rivers free to bring the sand that beaches need And naturally, bar and berm will shrink or grow Bridge: Sand…along the coastal strand Sand…stops erosion of the land Sand…such a valuable thing Sand…there’s even sand dunes that can sing Sand…jagged grains and some are round Sand…within the sand life can be found Sand…land and water mix and meet Sand…feels so good on my bare feet [Chorus]
5.
You might be hiking in the Alps, through the wind and snow Or walking in the jungle where the Amazon flows. You could be on the Great Lakes, floating your canoe But the ocean is a part of everything we do. You might see a rhino on the Serengeti Plain Or the wind blow in Ohio across a field of golden grain. You could be in Missouri in a cave deep underground But you know the ocean touches us the whole world round. Chorus: Even though the ocean may be far away It’s part of our life every day All you have to do is breathe the air Ocean, ocean, ocean, ocean everywhere (2x) The land on which we stand was all beneath the sea Look for evidence of this in its geology From desert sand to limestone, the earth outside your door Could be a thousand miles from the nearest ocean shore Wherever there is weather what weather there is found The ocean makes the climate by moving heat around From the tropics to the poles, the ocean brings the rain When the winds spin 'round, it feeds the hurricane [Chorus] Thank the ocean for our food and a worldwide trade The ocean's been for commerce since those first boats were made The ocean we can thank for the things we use and make There’s ocean in your ice-cream; it’s in every bite you take The ocean keeps in motion Earth's water, land, and air To keep the planet cool returning heat to atmosphere Diatoms they take in CO2 as they float free Breathe with the plankton, gratitude to the living sea [Chorus]
6.
STANDING ON MY HEAD At the rocky shore the ocean waves break night and day That’s why I fasten to a rock so I won’t wash away I put my feet out in the tide so I can be well fed I’m a barnacle, a barnacle. I’m standing on my head. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle he’s standing on his head. When the tide is low, I hide safe inside my shell And when the tide is high, my twelve legs, they serve me well To filter feed, my legs must be free to move around I’m a barnacle, a barnacle, and I live upside down. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle and he lives upside down. Me six limey plates will grow. I molt and get bigger too But I don’t like that blimey whelk. It can force its way right through But me mates are all around. We cling to whales or crabs or docks I’m a barnacle, a barnacle. My head’s glued to a rock. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle. His head’s glued to a rock. I close up my operculum when I am high and dry But I take some water with me to stay moist while I’m inside I wait for the tide return. It happens twice in every day I’m a barnacle, a barnacle. I’m always flipped this way. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle. He’s always flipped this way. In my youth I was a plankton. Now no longer do I roam A sedentary life I now am settled in my home My cirri bring my food to mouth like little feathered hands I’m a barnacle, a barnacle, in a lifelong headstand. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle, in a lifelong headstand I’m hermaphroditic. I could give birth, you see Or I might fertilize my friend who’s stuck there next to me No antenna and no eyes, I’m blind. No need to see or feel I’m a barnacle, a barnacle, my head below my heels. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle, his head below his heels. Lobster, shrimp and crab, they are crustaceans. So am I But I’m proud that I am different and by now you should know why If you see them trying to be like me then probably they’re dead I’m a barnacle, a barnacle, my feet above my head. He’s a barnacle, a barnacle, his feet above his head. If you go a-walking by the shore and rolling sea Kick your feet up in the air and you can be just like me You can take a new perspective if you do as I have said You’ll be a barnacle, a barnacle, standing on your head. You’ll be a barnacle, a barnacle, standing on your head.
7.
Cetacea 03:07
CETACEA Humpback, Finback, Orca and Grey Narwal, Bowhead, Beaked, Minke, Sei Sperm Whale, Dolphin, the little porpoise too Right Whale and Pilot, the White and the Blue, Cetacea
8.
Coral Reef 04:37
CORAL REEF Every tropical isle is dancing in style With the coral reef, the coral reef It’s a living rainbow growing down below In the coral reef, the coral reef There are branches and fans, coral shaped like hands In the coral reef, the coral reef It’s as precious as gold. It’s a thousand years old. The coral reef, the coral reef Chorus: E malama, malama Malama, i ke kai * The coral grows in chambers with colonial neighbors In the coral reef, the coral reef They grow upon each other they are layer upon layer Making coral reef, the coral reef The coral must depend on a little algae friend In the coral reef, the coral reef The algae seeks the sun, gives the coral oxygen In the coral reef, the coral reef [Chorus] So put your mask and snorkel on go down and look around At the coral reef, the coral reef You will say with disbelief, “How could anyone hurt this reef?” At the coral reef, the coral reef But you know that it is true, the things that people do Can hurt the coral reef, the coral reef Our reef needs some protection from human destruction The coral reef, the coral reef [Chorus] So where the warm breezes play and the blue water sways There’s a coral reef, a coral reef The white foam spray whispers with the waves In the coral reef, the coral reef The rainbow fish and I all have a wish For the coral reef, the coral reef That forever it may be this living jewel of the sea The coral reef, the coral reef [Chorus] * These Hawai'ian words mean “protect the ocean.”
9.
Ocean Flow 04:48
OCEAN FLOW Seventy percent of the planet is the sea It’s the reason for all life, the reason life can be It’s all one ocean, so let’s step into the flow Talking ‘bout the ocean, what else do you know? Ninety percent of the air that we take in Made by floating ocean plankton producing oxygen So you see it’s clear, it’s clear as night and day Life depends upon the ocean, what more can I say Chorus 1: Ocean red sky in the morning Ocean red sky at night Ocean all sailors take a warning The ocean is the reason for Earth’s delight Bridge 1: Ocean, ocean, here we go Rising high or deep below Now it’s time to ocean flow We're talking ‘bout the ocean, what else do you know? The mid-Atlantic ridge is the longest mountain range It’s all volcanic so it’s constantly in change Eight thousand miles of spreading ocean floor Now how about that fact! Do ya want one more? Eighty percent of the planet’s life resides In an ocean ecosystem rise and fall with the tides Weigh them all together – over a 100 million tons Now that’s a good fact just for fun [Chorus 1] [Bridge 1] On the big Hawai’ian island, you can find the Mauna Kea It’s the biggest mountain known in the world today A giant volcano, ocean floor to snowy top Over five miles high. Will these facts ever stop? The largest life in the ocean is the great blue whale, 110 feet from the nose to tail With grace and with power, it makes a final blow Then it holds its breath an hour. What a good fact to know! [Chorus 1] [Bridge 1] Fifty feet long, twenty-six-thousand pounds, a four-foot-wide mouth, it’s the biggest fish around but plankton’s what it eats, so it filter feeds Those are whale shark facts that you might need. Hey, here's one more fact, then you're on your own The knowledge about the ocean has steadily grown The ocean is the reason why life can be All life is connected by one sea Chorus 2: Ocean red sky in the morning Ocean red sky at night Ocean all sailors take a warning The ocean is the reason for Earth’s delight Ocean keeps the cycle turning Ocean deeper than light Ocean all sailors keep a yearning For the feel of the salt spray, foam in flight Ocean red sky in the morning Ocean red sky at night Ocean all sailors take a warning It will do us all good to treat the ocean right Bridge 2: Ocean, ocean, here we go Find some facts that you want to know Write a little verse and we’ll put it in the show Everybody join the ocean flow [Bridge 1]
10.
TURTLE ATE A JELLY Turtle ate a jelly and he didn't feel well He had a pain in his belly Cause the jelly wasn't what He thought it would be Chorus: It was a plastic bag It was a plastic bag It was a plastic bag Too many plastic bags……..Now in the sea (2x) These ancient turtles here are wise They stare into our eyes To help us realize how much Wiser we could be Chorus: Too many plastic bags (3x) No more plastic bags…..now in the sea (2x) I took a swim with Tortuga And he brings this message to ya To reduce the use of plastic It's up to you and me Chorus: No more plastic bags (3x) We are keeping plastic bags…. Out of the sea (2x) Bridge: A reusable bag in my pocket everyday So when I'm at the store then I can say I don't need a bag, I'm doing fine Getting rid of plastic one bag at a time The leatherback turtle thanks you All fifteen hundred pounds Her only wish is that her favorite dish is A jelly not a bag floating 'round The Olive Ridley thanks you Jellies are a part of his cuisine He loves shrimp and crabs but not plastic bags Let's get plastic out of this scene When it comes to the ocean, think Green Chorus; It was a plastic bag Too many plastic bags No more plastic bags We are keeping plastic bags…Out of the sea No more plastic bags…. No more for me Out of the sea… No more for me…
11.
PLANKTON SOUP If you live out in the sea then the thing that you should eat It’s a mix of plants and meat called Plankton Soup Out where algae grows in a lovely sea meadow That's where you'll find a batch of Plankton Soup CHORUS: (2x) Plankton soup, plankton soup Aye! You really ought to try some The ocean is alive with plankton soup Now the diatoms catch some sun, then the soup it has begun That's how you cook a batch of plankton soup Then the zooplankton can munch on a phytoplankton lunch There's a food chain in each bite of plankton soup [Chorus] The great whale takes its fill of plankton soup with krill A thousand pounds each meal of plankton soup The whale filters soup between its strainers called baleen And spits off the briny broth of plankton soup [Chorus] Plankton plants make oxygen which we must all breathe in All of life depends on plankton soup It’s such a little thing but life is what it brings So let us all now sing to plankton soup [Chorus] If you sail out on the sea and you meet a salt like me I'll show you where to find some plankton soup It's the staff of life out here. There's a new batch every year The ocean is alive with plankton soup [Chorus]
12.
JELLIES BALLET Chorus: Jelly, jelly, jellyfish aren't fish Jelly, jelly, jellyfish aren't fish They don't have a backbone, nor a brain No tail, no fins, no face But their motion in the ocean Is a rhythmic dance of grace [Chorus] In the ocean night under threads of light There's a jellyfish ballet They're propelled by a silver bell While the tentacles pleate [Chorus] Medusa glides on a windswept tide Her tentacles twist and sway They will bring a deadly sting To whatever becomes her prey [Chorus] Dive down with me underneath the sea To where the strangest creatures stray We'll watch entranced to this delicate dance The jelly fish ballet [Chorus]
13.
THE LIVING SEA The ocean is the mother of every land From the Himalayan snow to the California sand And the ocean gives the living what the living need We are breathing with the ocean, with the living sea Chorus: Ooh, ooh, ooh, with the living sea Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, celebration Ooh, ooh, ooh, with the living sea Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, celebrate Everything is touched by the ocean’s reach From the high mountain tops to the wind-blown beach We are all island people surrounded by one sea As the ocean gives the living what the living needs [Chorus] To the moon and to the stars, our rockets can soar While the depths of the oceans have not yet been explored There is wisdom, there is beauty, there is mystery In the pulsing, rocking rhythm of the living sea [Chorus] The ancient salty sea flows within us all The largest life is in the ocean down to the very small Keep it vital, treat it kind, give it sanctity All life is intertwined with the living sea [Chorus]
14.
Too Hot 03:40
TOO HOT Way up north in the arctic there Problems are brewing for the polar bear Life on the ice is not so great Polar bears are losin' their real estate Too hot…. A little more each day Too hot…. Melts away Too hot…. What should be cool is not The ocean is the reason for the life we've got (2x) Now in the tropics life's not always okay Some coral reef has lost their floral bouquet Their algae friend can't live in the heat So the coral can't get what it needs to eat Too hot…. No fish in sight Too hot…. When the reef is bleach white Too hot…. What should be cool is not The ocean is the reason for the life we've got (2x) Now the open ocean drifters rise in the tide Where the sun comes through is where they like to ride On photosynthesis all life relies But phytoplankton can't live if the temperatures rise Too hot…. Can't get the nutrients they need Too hot…. The food chain can't proceed Too hot…. What should be cool is not The ocean is the reason for the life we've got (2x) Now I love the place where water touches land I like to sink my bare feet in the cool, wet sand And with this vast ocean it amazes me How much can be affected by one degree Too hot…. Yeah, she's starting to bake Too hot…. All life is at stake Too hot…. What should be cool is not The ocean is the reason for the life we've got (2x) Too hot…. Ocean has the flu Too hot…. There must be something we can do Too hot…. Don't let this fever last Let's pledge to reduce this greenhouse gas Coda: Keep it cool. Don't let it get too hot (3x) The ocean is the reason for the life we've got…. too hot

about

This album is sponsored by Ocean Science organizations, representing thousands of scientists and educators nationwide.

The Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE)

Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) at UC Berkeley

National Marine Educators Association (NMEA)

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF)

All songs are based on "Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles of Ocean Sciences K-12."

For Associated Curricula, see the Banana Slug String Band website for links.

credits

released January 11, 2011

Banana Slug String Band

“Solar” Steve Van Zandt
Guitar & Vocals

“Marine” Mark Nolan
Guitar, Mandolin, Dulcimer, Ukulele & Vocals

Doug “Dirt” Greenfield
Electric & Acoustic Bass Guitar & Vocals

“Airy” Larry Graff
Guitar & Vocals


All songs written by Steve Van Zandt
Arrangements by the Banana Slug String Band, Will Kahn & Jonathan Arthur
Produced & Engineered by Will Kahn
Assistant Producer/Vocal Producer: Jonathan Arthur
Executive Producers: Doug Greenfield & Larry Graff

Special Guests

Victor Wooten – Electric Bass
BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet
Michael Doucet – Violin & Cajun Vocals
Jimmy Breaux – Accordian
Billy Ware – Washboard
Mitch Reed – Violin
George Winston – Slack-key Guitar
Brett Dennen – Vocals
Tim Carbone – Violin
Zach Gill – Upright Piano, Hammond Organ
Reuben Rogers - Bass
Barry Phillips – Cello
Will Kahn - Electric Guitar, Percussion, Drums & Electric Keyboards
Jonathan Arthur – Vocals, Vocal Arrangements

Karamo Cissokho - Kora
Stewart Dean - Alto Sax
Kevin Dinoto – Lead Pan Drum
Valerie Joi Fiedmont – Vocals
Papiba Godinha - Cavaco
Heather Houston - Vocals
Lars Johnanesson – Flute, Piccolo
Kealohaoku'upu'uwai – Hawai’ian translation
Luke Kirley - Trombone, Sousaphone, Tuba
Richard Salzberg – Vocals
Anne Stafford - Tenor & Baritone Sax
Ron Work – Bass Pan Drum

Youth Choir
Laurel Andrews
Galen Asphaug
Briana Ballard
Sage Bahr
Eva Borgman
Jessica Borgman
Corinn Canfield
Isabella Collins
Sophie Coover
Athena Crosby
Jade Davidson
Tommy Espinoza
Dominic Johannesson
Caetano Lepore-Godinho
Gabriel Lepore-Godinho
Kayla Graff
Grace Greenfield
Kaitlin Greenfield
Kellen Leach
Erik Ledbetter
Celeste McDougal
Isabel Mouton
Pearl Peterson-Hanes
Natalia Vazquez
Sophie Warren
Cooper Young

This album is dedicated with love to Kyle Strang and Kealohaoku'upu'uwai (love of my heart). We also dedicate it to the Gulf of Mexico.

Special Thanks to
Craig Strang
Will Kahn
Jonathan Arthur
John Henry
Rich Williams
Stephanie Raugust of Pacific School Chorus
Melanie Redman – Vocal Coach
Santa Cruz Guitar Company for all their generosity – great guitars, warehouse space & loan of the theremin

Mixed by Rich Williams at Paradise Studios
Mastered by Ken Lee
Cover art: Beautiful ocean murals by the students of Monarch Elementary School
Design: Mythmaker Creative Services

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Banana Slug String Band Santa Cruz

Booty-shakin' music for kids ... or anyone 'young' enough to love this precious Earth!

"The best thing about Banana Slug String Band albums? An adult can listen to them [i]almost[/i] as many times as the kids want them played and not experience an urge to strangle a purple dinosaur.
Dr. Amy Rogers, Science Thrillers
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