Today I brought in my “Michael Jackson Number Ones” to pay tribute to the King of Pop. While most of the catchy songs are also helping me get into vacation mindset, there’s one track on the disc that’s more likely to induce a severe case of eco-anxiety than the insatiable urge to dance.

That would be “Earth Song,” Jackson’s 1995 environmental anthem, released years before there really was such a thing. Sure, there are earlier environmental songs like “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology),” but “Earth Song” holds nothing back. It has soaring choirs, crucifixion themes and a video with post-apocalyptic rainforests and dead elephants.

I was surprised to learn in the Guardian’s environment blog that “Earth Song” was also Jackson’s biggest-selling single in the United Kingdom. Yes, it beat out other hits like “Thriller” and “Billie Jean” by selling more than a million copies and topping the ’95 Christmas charts.