The kind of songs that have an actual message to get across are the best kinds in my book. I don't care for a good beat as much as I do for a message that makes sense and makes me feel something.
I'm not sure why it is that I enjoy music like this. Most of the times my parents tell me to change the songs I find most beautiful because they call them depressing. But, really, it's not my fault that most of the songs with worthwhile messages that move me seem to be in a slow, morose melody.
Although, back when I was a kid all the way in 2009, I found one song with a thought inducing message that didn't have as depressing a melody as all the other ones I had found before then.
Now, I don't want to seem like a hipster. I'm not. I just enjoy the earlier version of Where is the Love? more than the newer version. There is something about the beat that, to me, feels like there is more soul and love put into the song. Whenever I listen to it, I get chills because it feels as if the singers were singing straight from the heart with pure, unadulterated feelings. And the chill, rhythmic beat of the sound feels reminiscent of a time when songs weren't repurposed and churned out simply to make a radio hit. It reminds me of a time when beats were created for the lyrics, not the other way around.
Inequality has been a running theme on this blog. From racial to class related, one of humanity's greatest sicknesses is prejudice. And this song calls everyone out on the way they live their lives.
We're all humans. Who picks the people that deserve more? Who has the right?
No one, that's who. But everyone wishes to be better than everyone else. And humanity seems to be inherently greedy. Even though no one has the right to decide who is more and who is less, people still try their best to make others feel like they do not deserve more of life.
"What's wrong with the world, momma?
People living like they ain't got no mommas.
.
.
.
Whatever happened to the values of humanity?
Whatever happened to fairness and equality?
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity.
Lack of understanding leading us away from unity."
Sometimes it feels like those that have power abuse of it and forget that they too are humans. Sometimes it feels like, no matter how much one tries, if they come from a lower social class, their thoughts matter less. Sometimes it feels like everyone is out for their own selfish desires, rather than work together to better the world as a whole.
"But if you only have love for your own race,
Then you leave space to discriminate.
And to discriminate only generates hate.
And when you hate, then you're bound to get irate, yeah."
People shouldn't hang up on skin color or class origins. That only creates a wider berth for people to try and cross.
It's only when we learn to love for the heart, rather than the skin, that this world will finally begin to heal.
As you mentioned, it's not race, gender or religious preference that makes a person great. Even though people who discriminate often have power as their ally, these people are wrong. What makes a person great should be the capacity that one may have to work towards a common goal for everyone's benefit.
ReplyDeleteSongs that give you chills are the best, somehow that's the way they speak to me. I think I enjoy the older version too, definitely more upbeat. It's sad how these issues that they mentioned a decade ago are still persistent.
ReplyDeleteI'm your complete opposite. For as long as I can remember, I don't like to listen to the lyrics of a song. That preference is due to the fact that certain lyrics make me emotional, and that means that I have to face my feelings (which I hate). For that reason, I prefer to listen to beats, rhythm, vibes, the flow of the song. Also, it has to do with the fact that I love dancing, and to dance you don't have to know the lyrics, you have to know the rhythm. However, I liked the lyrics and their relation to our class topic. For my surprise (not really), the lyrics made me emotional because of all the bad things that happen in the world. We are so fortunate to be even alive! For me, the song was a reminder that I have to be grateful for my life.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed your love for music and I agree with you. Not all the songs have a true and deep message. I also love slow music, non of which my parents like. I love how you always relate different topics with the one you focus on. There are topics that we have so much to say because of how much we have seen within our society.
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