There have been a lot of things going on in the world these past 3 or 4 months, from the Coronavirus pandemic and related quarantines and restrictions on activities, to the recent protests over racism and violence by police. Rather than enthrall you with my take on these issues (which will probably come via another blog post soon), I thought I'd take a step back and some share song lyrics that I think are apropros to the situations we face these days. Most of these are serious, but I've thrown a few humorous lyrics in as well. I've always admired songwriters and lyricists who are so adept at saying what we oftentimes struggle to say, so consider this a tribute of sorts to these folks. Here we go...
"The load is heavy and the road is long
And we've only begun to fight
We just can't give in, we just can't give up
We must go boldly into the darkness and be the light
...
When did the land of the free
Become the home of the afraid?
Afraid of the world, afraid of the truth
Afraid of each other
...
This ain't the country my grandfather fought for
But I still see the hate he fought against
Give rest to the tired, give mercy to the poor
Give warmth to the huddled masses
And I'll show you freedom"
- American Aquarium, "The World is on Fire"
"Don't stand so close to me"
- The Police, "Don't Stand So Close to Me"
"Why is there a rebel flag hanging from the state house walls?
Tired of hearing this shit about heritage not hate
Time to make the world a better place
Why must we hate one another?
Well, no matter what we gotta live together
Just that you don't look like me, tell me what do you see?
When we pass on the street, what do you want to see?"
- Hootie and the Blowfish, "Drowning"
"You lie so much you believe yourself
...
Arrogance and ignorance go hand in hand"
- Metallica, "Holier Than Thou"
"Down here we're still fighting for all the wrong reasons
Old men still defend these monuments to treason
To the right side of history we're always late
Still arguing the difference between heritage and hate"
- American Aquarium, "A Better South"
"I exploit you, still you love me."
- Living Colour, "Cult of Personality"
"When the last thing we notice is the color of skin,
And the first thing we look for is the beauty within
...
When we're free to love anyone we choose,
When this world's big enough for all different views"
-Garth Brooks, "We Shall Be Free"
"There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind"
-Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth"
"Mind is a battlefield
All hope is gone
Trouble to the right and left
Whose side you're on?"
- Foo Fighters, "The Sky is a Neighborhood"
"And then a politician shows up promising that
He'll return the jobs that God himself could not bring back
...
Neither the left nor the right
Are gonna fight for folks stuck in between
The way things really are
In the American dream"
- American Aquarium, "Me + Mine (Lamentations)"
"Don't wanna be an American idiot
One nation controlled by the media
Information age of hysteria
It's calling out to idiot America"
- Green Day, "American Idiot"
"America Street it's right nearby
Land of the free and the brave
And if we can't work and make some change
There won't be much of this land left to save"
- Edwin McCain, "America Street"
"There's too many men, too many people
Making too many problems
And not much love to go 'round
...
This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in"
- Genesis, "Land of Confusion"
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