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• Amy Sylla, Waterkeeper Swim Guide
  March 19, 2020

In celebration of World Storytelling Day and World Water Day, we’d like to introduce you to an inspiring artist who has been having a positive impact on the environment through his artistry. Meet Murray Kyle, a beautiful storyteller, who shares powerful messages about water protection through his music.

Murray is an independent musician from Australia. He has been interested in water awareness and global water vitality for many years.

We came across his song “Protect The Water” ft. Amber Lily a month ago, and we immediately fell in love with his powerful lyrics and purposeful music video.

We know you will be as inspired by him as we are.

Hello Murray, it is an honour to get the opportunity to interview you. Can you briefly introduce yourself, please?

My name is Murray Kyle, and I am an independent musician, carpenter, and father. I am based in the visionary Byron Bay Area of Australia.

When did you start caring about water protection? Is there anything you do in your daily life to protect water?

I have been interested in water awareness and global water vitality for many years. To protect water daily, I start with simple acts of picking up trash from waterways and supporting water conservation organizations wherever possible. I educate my daughter on the preciousness of clean water and open up conversations at my live music events to bring a deeper connection to each life-giving drop.

These are amazing things to do to protect water. Do you have any additional top tips for protecting water?

I suggest knowing where your water source is. Even in the largest city, our water springs from somewhere in the landscape and it’s a beautiful practice to connect to that place. That way, a relationship is directly built between the water and our communities.

Being aware of what goes down our sinks and drains is also so important. Choosing to use environmentally friendly products that will not damage the ecosystems downstream.

Thank you for sharing these great tips with us. Let’s talk about what led us to you, your song “Protect The Water.” What was the inspiration for this song that we love so much? Did you write the lyrics?

This song was inspired by the rising movement of change born at Standing Rock in Dakota. It is my creative response to this worldwide remembrance of our roles as stewards here on Mother Earth.

We are learning how to truly care for all of life again.

I wrote the lyrics in the peak of the resistance movement there, and my amazing musician friend Amber Lily joined me on vocals, and wrote some additional lyrics too.

Music video for “Protect The Water” by Murray Kyle

Lyrics to “Protect the water”

Everyday, everyone, drinks from the water, the sacred water
We drink from the rain, we drink from the river
We drink from the water, the sacred water

Every drop, is a bringer of life, drink from the water the sacred water
And here on this day, here on the Earth, we will protect the water,
the sacred water

We will rise together, protect the water protect the water
Rise together, all around the world

All colours, all nations now is the time to stand
All people together, listen to the voice of the sacred land
Standing strong for the water, every woman and man
Hold each drop as precious, it’s been flowing pure before time began

We will rise together, protect the water protect the water
Rise together, all around the world
We will rise together, protect the water protect the water
Rise together, all around the world

Welo leyo, wele leya
Welo leyo, wele leya

All around the world we see, the waters flowing
Giver of life for she, keeps us growing
Please, tend to the waters within
That’s where we, where we begin to

Care for the water, respect the water, flow like the water, for we are the water
Free up the water, love to the water, I am the water, you are the water

This is for our sons and daughters, May they drink from pure water
This is for our sons and daughters, May they drink from pure water
For our grandsons and grand-daughters, May they drink from pure water
For our grandsons and grand-daughters, May they drink from pure water

The lyrics are sincerely powerful. Did you feel that this song impacted people and the way they participate in protecting the environment?

I hope so. It continues to be shared widely online and through my live concerts, and many people experience a strong connection to its message and intention. May it serve as a drop in the ocean of change that we are embracing all around the world.

Do you have any additional songs about water/environment protection? We would love to hear more songs and share them with our community!

I carry a few water songs, and this one is called “Agua Pura Vida”, meaning pure water, pure life in Spanish. Also in the lyrics are Yemaya, and Oxun, two of the ancient Orishas and guardians of the water, originating in the Yoruba tribe in Africa.

Murray Kyle performance at the Bali Spirit Festival, 2019

Since you are from Australia, I would like to talk a little bit about the wildfire disaster that happened from September 2019 to January 2020. Did these wildfires affect you? How do you think the wildfires affected ecosystems?

My family was only affected by days of smokey air, but our wider community was impacted with houses being lost and huge areas of habitat being destroyed.

That time was recently followed by a substantial flooding event, and I imagine that a lot of topsoils were washed away after being exposed by the fires. Following a large fire, the nutrients that wash into rivers can put things out of balance and remove oxygen from the water also.

For 15 years, you lived in the town of Uki, Australia. What are your top 3 favourite beaches there?

I love Brunswick Beach and Wategoes in Byron. My third and favourite spot is a secret, haaaaaaaa.

Are there any water protection initiatives in Uki?

Yes, the local community is resisting the industrial-scale water mining industry. A centralized front has been formed called Tweed Water Alliance.

Interesting! What are the issues with the water mining industry?

The industry in northern NSW [New South Wales] has gone unregulated for years, with proven detrimental effects to groundwater aquifers. The miners truck out the water through small residential towns at all times of the day and night, with no limits placed upon their extraction.

Ultimately it also feeds the single-use plastics problem that has become a huge worldwide issue. As humans, we need to completely rethink our relationships to these finite elements.

It’s upsetting to hear that, but we are glad to hear there are some organizations like the Tweed Water Alliance to stop water meaning. Can you tell us more about this alliance, please? Were you involved with them?

Tweed Water Alliance is a local organization born from the resistance to industrial water mining in the Tweed Valley, just south of the Queensland border, where I lived for many years. I have been involved with protests and partitions to convince the Tweed Shire Council to make some big changes to the unregulated tapping of this limited resource.

The struggle continues, and the core team from Tweed Water Alliance is now linking up with many other organizations Australia wide to fight the good fight together.

That is amazing! Unity makes strength! We are nearing the end of our interview, but before you go, can you share your watermark story with us?

Ahhhhhh, well Cedar Creek in the Tweed Valley has a special place in my heart. It is one of two streams that flow out of the sacred Mountain Wollumbin, or Wolumbini Momoli, also known as Mt Warning. This is one of the areas where nature still sings a loud song, and as a human visiting, we can connect in, and feel our humble place within all.

Cedar Creek has whispered many pearls of wisdom to me through the years, and taught me that to swim and drink from pure flowing clean water is our birthright.

Wow, Cedar Creek sounds like a beautiful place to visit. Thank you for contributing to World Water Day and World Storytelling Day, and for helping us all become a little more water literate. We are glad to welcome you as a new member of our community!

Make sure to follow Murray Kyle on Instagram and YouTube.