Echoes of The Anthropocene: Decoding Human Hubris and Ecological Grief in Ebiet G. Ade’s Songs

Abstract

The Anthropocene demands a radical re-evaluation of cultural narratives regarding ecological collapse, particularly within the vulnerable Indonesian archipelago where scientific data often fails to capture the emotional and spiritual dimensions of environmental grief. This study examines how popular music serves as an alternative space for ecological consciousness by analyzing the lyrical architecture of four seminal compositions by Ebiet G. Ade: "Berita Kepada Kawan," "Masih Ada Waktu" "Untuk Kita Renungkan," and "Nyanyian Burung dan Pepohonan". Utilizing a qualitative research design focused on interpreting textual phenomena through descriptive analysis, this inquiry maps the selected texts onto Greg Garrard’s foundational ecocritical tropes, including the pastoral, pollution, apocalypse, animals, and the wilderness. The findings reveal that Ade’s works systematically subvert traditional pastoral expectations, reframing environmental disasters not as isolated geomorphological events but as acute existential crises triggered by human hubris. Specifically, the text internalizes physical pollution as moral corruption, utilizes apocalyptic urgency as a pedagogical warning, and restores active subjectivity to non-human entities. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that popular music in the Global South functions as a potent vehicle for environmental advocacy, successfully challenging anthropocentric assumptions and reframing ecological preservation as an urgent moral imperative.