http://www.softpower.org Sun, 18 Dec 2011 07:54:51 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 http://www.softpower.org/the-power-of-words-a-new-appreciation-for-lyrics-i-never-used-to-listen-to http://www.softpower.org/the-power-of-words-a-new-appreciation-for-lyrics-i-never-used-to-listen-to#comments Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:13:23 +0000 admin http://www.softpower.org/the-power-of-words-a-new-appreciation-for-lyrics-i-never-used-to-listen-to

I know – such an awkward title! But it reflects the feeling when I actually “hear” the words now of songs from groups I never listened to as I was growing up. Or even contemporary groups. Take Queen for example – I was always the soft pop girl … the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, The Bee Gees (you get the message). I never listened to the so-called Rock bands like Queen, or Pink Floyd or (gasp) The Rolling Stones. Sure I liked the odd single, but I never went out and bought their records.

And yet lately it seems I am actually hearing the lyrics for the first time. Not just listening and bobbing with the beat, but really hearing what the words are and the message they are giving. Who are these people? Are they not part of the whole “sex, drugs, and rock and roll” scene? Isn’t their message one of excess and defiance?

Maybe not! In the Queen song “Under Pressure”, the chorus line is “…love dares you to care for the people on the edge of the night; and love dares you to change our way of caring about ourselves…” When I truly heard the words for the first time I thought “WOW! I can’t believe a group like this was giving this kind of positive message!”

Another song of Queen, “Radio Ga Ga” says “…So don’t become some background noise; a backdrop for the girls and boys; Who just don’t know or just don’t care; And just complain when you’re not there…”

A Rock Group? Telling those who will listen to step up and make your voice heard or don’t complain? Mind blowing!

And then a line from a more contemporary group Private Nation in their song “Calling All Angels”: “…when you feel the world shake from words that are said…” Think about that line – is that not what Barack Obama is doing right now? I know I can feel the shaking from the words that are said!

It really is true that so many people are giving the same message of Love and Hope but in different ways. And it is also true that different people need to hear that message in different ways before it becomes their own “light bulb” moment.

For me, I’m simply grateful for all the wonderful people and groups who are part of this grand tapestry of Love and Hope, and grateful that I am hearing more of these messages in all their formats whether from the past or in the present.

By: Alison Prentice

]]> http://www.softpower.org/the-power-of-words-a-new-appreciation-for-lyrics-i-never-used-to-listen-to/feed 0