The Truth
Rory Phillips
A passionate call-to-action on climate change from the voice of youth.
Why I wrote this song
I co-wrote this song with Roger Corbett (The Bushwackers) in 2018 when I was 12 years old and released it as a 13-year-old in 2020.
It was around the same time that Greta Thunberg (then aged 15) started her “School Strike for Climate” and her protests were gaining momentum and attention around the world. I was so inspired by Greta, to see a young person making such a difference, such an impact, that I wanted to do something too.
I’ve always been passionate about climate change (our family are “waste warriors”), but living regionally meant I couldn’t attend the school strikes when they started up in Australia’s major cities.
Music is the best tool I had, so I set out to write a song which stood for something. The lyrics are subtle, not in your face; but the message is clear. We need to do more, from the top down.
My song and music video for ‘The Truth’ is used as the theme song for all Climate and Peace Forums, an initiative of the Rotary Clubs of Sydney. Their quarterly webinars bring together world leading voices in climate and peace, and promote climate action to increase advocacy within government and corporate communities. The webinars are streamed all over the world.
About me as an artist
With a deep love of music flowing through his veins, Rory Phillips is not your average 15-year-old. Even his musical influences don’t fit the mould of a teenager and he is often described as an “old soul”, a badge he wears with pride.
Rory’s single, ‘The Truth’, is a passionate call-to-action on climate change which premiered on Henry Wagons’ ‘Tower of Song’ on ABC Double J, with Rory being the youngest artist ever featured on the show. ‘The Truth’ placed in the Top 10 songs of the Climate Fridays Songwriting Competition in 2020 and also achieved #1 on the AMRAP Regional Charts. Along with Rory’s debut music video for the single, ‘The Truth’ has received national, regional and local media attention for all the right reasons.
Fanny Lumsden (ARIA Winner, 8x Golden Guitar Winner) describes Rory Phillips as “one of a kind” and “a tiny force to be reckoned with”.
About the music video
The environmental organisations I admire or support
Green Music Australia, BYO Bottle, Climate Fridays, School Strike for Climate, Stop Adani, War on Waste, Plastic Free Oceans Org, Climate and Peace, Extinction Rebellion, Climate for Change, Lock The Gate Alliance, Greenpeace Australia Pacific.
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