90's Nick Song...

Image from "Just Another Stupid Blonde Moment"

As someone who does not remember all that much of my childhood I tend to cling to the things that I do. I mean, I am guessing my subconscious has blocked out some of my family matters for good reason… but at least I remember a lot of my favourite toys and TV shows. I used to watch Nickelodeon religiously and am still a big fan of 90s nick shows. Are you afraid of the dark?, Invader Zim, Argh Real Monsters, Hey Arnold, Rockos Modern Life, The Secret Adventures of Alex Mac, Clarissa Explains it All, Kenan and Kel… the list could go on for days. I think some of them I simply enjoy for the nostalgia factor, but some of them definitely still makes me chuckle.

Anyways, there was an ad on Nickelodeon that had always stuck in my head. I have no idea why it stuck with me as I do not usually remember adverts all too well, but this one did. It intrigued me that I could remember something like this, and made me determined to find it. Only problem was I couldn’t find it anywhere since all I had to go on was a vague recollection of it being a cartoon, having a catchy song, and mentioning the sun, lights and the environment. I google my little heart out and even emailed the only 90s blogger guru I know "Children of the 90s" but still was at a loose end. Until…

This morning, on my way into work… suddenly the song came rushing right back into my brain! I was sitting with friends on the train who instantly noticed my concentration (which is rare so early in the morning). I had finally cracked the mystery… Knowing too well that I would probably forget it again I taped it into my phone and saved it for later.

“its shining above us all, and its here to stay. we know the sky is the limit…”

Now, this may seem trivial (which is totally is) but this was apparently all I needed. I typed this into trusty google and pleas were answered.

Science and Songs - http://spartanburgimagery.org/id61.html

Having gotten my hopes up I was prepared to pore over every inch of this site, but luckily it didn’t take long at all. There it was… reading the lyrics was like a trip down memory lane.

The Light of the Sun

(Chorus)

Turn on the light, turn on the light, turn on the light , turn on the light

The light of the sun, solar powered light of the sun.

Isn't it obvious every day.

It's shining above us all and it's here to stay.

We know the sky is the limit.

We know the power in it.

It's time to begin it.

We're turning on the light.

The Light of the sun, The kight of the sun, solar powered light.

(Chorus)

Don't have to take a drill and hurt a tree

And it will never spill,. I

t's always clean and free.

We know the sun is the ticket

Hop on, let's go, let's get it.

(Chorus) The light of the sun ooo

Solar powered light of the sun

Solar powered light.

The Future will be so bright.

We've just got to change our minds and

Let the lovelight shine. oooooooo

We know the sky is the limit

With all the power in it.

It's time to begin it.

We're turning on the light.

The light of the sun oooo

The light of the sun

Solar powered light of the sun

The light of the sun, solar powered light

(You can do 2 parts with some only singing turn on the light, turn on the light)

I have continued to google to try and find a video or even a screen shot of the old cartoon, but have had no luck in that department. Apparently there was another environmental song on Nickelodeon in the 90’s called “Why does the sun shine?” by They Might Be Giants but this is the only one I could find a video for.

For those of you who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about I do apologize, but I simply had to do a post about this just in case there is someone else out there who racking there brain searching for the same song. If anybody who comes across this knows anything else about this advert please let me know!


UPDATE: One fine reader over in the USA has been kind enough to send me a link to whole clip! Seems the lyrics on this post jogged his memory and he's a better detective than I and he actually found it!

The folks over at RetroDaze have clips of lots of nostalgic goodness but you can find the actual clip here. Unfortunately I wasn't actually able to view it myself (likely due to country restrictions) but some of you may be able to? Ryan (aka better detective than I and all around awesome guy) sent me the clip in a drop box so once I download it I will work on getting it up so it can viewed in Aus or find another way around the 'access denied' problem.

But for the moment here are some screen shots to get the memories flooding back...

Oh and for those of you playing at home - the song is called "The Light of the Sun" and its by Richie Havens with Rockapella from the album Put On Your Green Shoes.

Also the advert only goes for 1 minute so the lyrics are slightly different - and there is a bit of a voice over it goes like so:

Turn on the light, turn on the light, turn on the light , turn on the light
Isn't it obvious every day.
It's shining above us all and it's here to stay.
We know the sky is the limit.
We all the power in it.
It's time to begin it.
We're turning on the light.
The Light of the sun, The light of the sun, the solar powered light. ohhhhh.
"the amount of solar energy reaching us in one day could supply our power needs for over a year. and we CAN harness that energy. "
Don't have to take a drill and hurt a tree
And it will never spill,. It's always clean and free.
The light of the sun - the solar powered light.
"turn on the light of new idea - to power your future"