Music Friday: ‘Plant Your Flower and You Grow a Pearl,’ Sings Earth, Wind & Fire

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you great throwback songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the lyrics or title. Today, legendary band Earth, Wind & Fire uses pearls and gold to symbolize unspoiled perfection in their 1975 classic, “That’s the Way of the World.”

A powerful song brimming with messages of inspiration and hope, “That’s the Way of the World” implores the listener to “stay young at heart” despite the negative influences of the cold world.

They sing, “That’s the way of the world / Plant your flower and you grow a pearl / Child is born with a heart of gold / Way of the world makes his heart so cold.”

Band members have called “That’s the Way of the World” their “national anthem” and, in 2004, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. One year later, Rolling Stone magazine rated it #329 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

“That’s the Way of the World” was originally written by band members Maurice and Verdine White, along with producer Charles Stepney, as part of the score for a movie about the dark side of the music business. While the movie flopped, the soundtrack was a rousing success. The song was also the title track of their sixth studio album, which ranked as the third best-selling pop album and the number one best-selling R&B album of 1975.

Founded in Chicago by Maurice White in 1969, Earth, Wind & Fire’s unique sound combines modern jazz, fusion, soul, gospel, funk, disco, rock and the distinct rhythms of African music. Featuring the interplay of Philip Bailey’s falsetto and Maurice White’s baritone — supported by multiple drummers and a powerful brass section — the band amassed a huge international following for more than 40 years. Maurice White passed away in February of 2016 at the age of 74.

The six-time Grammy Award winners are members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide.

Please check out the video of Earth, Wind & Fire’s live performance of “That’s the Way of the World.” Put on your dancing shoes and be prepared to sing along…

“That’s the Way of the World”
Written by Verdine White, Maurice White and Charles Stepney. Performed by Earth, Wind & Fire.

Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne

We come together on this special day
Sing our message loud and clear
Looking back, we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future pass, they disappear
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ’cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart, ’cause you’re never, never old

That’s the way of the world
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold

Hearts of fire create love desire take you
High and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire love desire
High and higher, yeah yeah yeah
Hearts of fire love desire
Ahh higher

We come together on this special day
Sung our message loud and clear
Looking back, we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future disappears
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ’cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart, ’cause you’re never, never, never

That’s the way of the world,
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
Child is born with a heart of gold
Way of the world makes his heart so cold

Hearts of fire, love desire
High and higher, yeah yeah
Hearts of fire, love desire

Credit: Image by Craig ONeal [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

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