I suppose I’m in a music mode right now, but recently I’ve been thinking of how the words of Marvin Gaye’s classic hit “What’s Going On” are so true in today’s society. I remember listening to this song in the car with my dad (probably the same car with no air-conditioning that I reference in the previous post)

I know we could all sing the song from memory, but look at some of the lyrics:

“Mother, mother/There’s too many of you crying/Brother, brother, brother/There’s far too many of you dying/You know we’ve got to find a way/To bring some lovin’ here today…Father, father/We don’t need to escalate/You see, war is not the answer/For only love can conquer hate/You know we’ve got to find a way/To bring some lovin’ here today…”

Another song that our parents would appreciate that is true for today’s society would be “Wake Up Everybody” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Check the lyrics:

“Wake up everybody no more sleeping in bed/No more backward thinkin, time for thinkin ahead/The world has changed so very much/From what it used to be/There is so much hatred, war, and poverty/Wake up all the teachers time to teach a new way/Maybe then they’ll listen to what you have to say/Cause they’re the ones who’s coming up and the world is in their hands/When you teach the children teach them the best you can.”

And just the other day, Sherrell and I were talking about John Mayer’s song “Waiting on the World to Change”, and how it may be the “What’s Going On” for our generation. Some of the lyrics are:

“Now if we had the power/To bring our neighbors home from war/They would’ve never missed a Christmas/No more ribbons on the door/When you trust your television/What you get is what you got/Cuz when when they own the information ooohhh/They can bend it all they want…”

I suppose we find that art reflects life and that life reflects art. I’m not sure if this is the chicken and the egg debate or the nature/nurture debate, but I guess it’s interesting to see how some things, no matter how much time has passed, will generally always hold some sort of relevance.

“This song was 30 years ahead of its’ time.” ~My Daddy, on “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye

Alright, seriously. I love this song. I can remember the first time I heard it. It was a summer afternoon, and my dad and I were riding in the car. His car didn’t have air condition and I was trying to convince him to test drive cars (even though we had no intention of buying one) so that we could ride around in some air condition for a while. Anyhow, he had made a mixed tape from one of the albums that he had, and this song was on there. It was love at first sound.

So, for years I’ve been arguing/heatedly discussing with people the lyrics; particularly in the chorus:

“Papa was a rolling stone/wherever he laid his hat was his home/and when he died/all he left us was ________”

Exactly. Is it “a loan” or “alone”? I firmly believe that it is “a loan”…and here’s why-

The song starts of by saying:

“It was the 3rd of September/That day I’ll always remember (Yes, I will)/Cause that was the day that my daddy died/I never got a chance to see him/Never heard nothing but bad things about him/Mama, I’m depending on you to tell me the truth…”

So, the way I figure is- you can’t leave me alone if I never knew you. Seriously.

Some other lyrics from the song that I believe support this:

“Hey Mama, Is it true, what they say that Papa never worked a day in his life?…Heard some talk about Papa doin’ some storefront preachin’. Talkin’ about savin’ souls, and all the time leechin’. Dealin’ in debt! And stealing in the name of the Lord…” ~Verse 2

“Hey, Mama, I heard Papa call himself a jack of all trades. Tell me, is that what sent Papa to an early grave? Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, or steal to pay his bills…”~Verse 3

So to continue with my reasoning- we find in verse 2 that he was “dealin’ in debt and stealing in the name of the Lord” and in verse 3 we learn that he would “beg, borrow, or steal to pay his bills.” This would mean that when he died he owed people money. And when people die, you or rather the family/the estate has to settle their debts. That said, he left them “a loan”- meaning they had to settle his debts with their own money.

Whew…hope that makes sense. I’m sure there will be some debate on this. But it’s just what I believe. What do you think?