Lorde - Bravado
"I was raised up to be admired, to be noticed
But when you're withdrawn, it's the closest thing to assault when all eyes are on you
This will not do."
The first time I heard this song, it immediately clicked with me. It’s basically about the struggles of being a socially awkward introvert around extroverted people. The song opens up with the lyrics, "All my life i've been fighting a war/I can't talk to you or your friends/It's not only you/ My heart jumps around when I'm alluded to." The war she speaks of is not physical, but emotional. Social anxiety is an internal war that eats at you and keeps you from socializing. Often times you find yourself not wanting to talk to people, because you fear how they'll perceive you.
Childish Gambino - Outside
"And I just wanna fit in, but nobody was helping me out
They talkin' hood shit and I ain't know what that was about
Cause hood shit and black shit is super different."
This song delves into what it's like growing up in an impoverished predominately black neighborhood, yet wanting more. I easily relate with the song, because I have personally seen friends and family members throw their life away, because they don't realize and are essentially taught that there is more out there for them to experience. The songs chorus repeats, "There's a world you can visit if you go outside."
Beyoncé - Save the Hero
"I bottle all my hurt inside,
I guess I'm living a lie.
Inside my mind each day I die
What can bring me back to life?"
This song easily relates to me in aspects to my relationship with my family. For some reason I have always been held as the one who will "get this family out of the ghetto." Having to carry such huge expectations can be demanding and I often find myself thinking if and when it's all said and done, "who's gonna save me?"
Mariah Carey - Close My Eyes
"Funny how one can learn
To grow numb to the madness
And block it away
I left the worst unsaid
Let it all dissipate
And I try to forget"
When I first heard this song I was 14 and instantly related to the lyrics, because my home life felt so unstable at the time. I couldn't get enough of this song. Before today, I hadn't listened to it in 2 years and when I heard it today it just made me see how much I have grown from that day when I first heard it.
Frank Ocean- Wise Man
"Sad man cannot cry in place where man can see
Never witnessed father weep
This old man thought it weak
But strong man don't exist
No undying man exists
Weak man don't exist no
Just flesh and blood exists"
The theme of this song is that we should love and help each other, but instead we judge and hate each other. This is what causes people to develop negative attitudes toward themselves. The first time I heard this song I was sitting in my room, it was after midnight and I went into deep thoughts as it replayed. It kind of, in a sense, helped me realize that life is simple, but we complicate it each and everyday with negative feelings.
Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
"And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am."
I know it's meant to be a love song, but I am able to apply the lyrics to myself in other ways. "I don't want the world to see me/Cause I don't think that they'd understand." Pretty much sums it up. It's about not showing anybody your true self because you're too afraid. It's hiding yourself behind made-up images, copied from other people and then compiled into one for you, so you don't get hurt. It's about wishing there was just one person you could show your true self to, and finding that person (you think), then losing the nerve.
Janelle Monáe - Sincerely, Jane
"1,2,3,4, your cousin's here round here selling dope
While they daddy, your uncle, is walkin' round, strung
Out
Babies with babies, and their tears keep burning
While their dreams go down the drain now"
This song hits home, because I have actually watched individuals in my family throw their lives away. This song is near and dear to me for the same reasons as Outside (2nd song posted above). It's sad to witness "Are we really living or just walking dead now?/ Or dreaming of a hope riding the wings of angels/ The way we live/ The way we die/ What a tragedy"
Madonna - Easy Ride
"I want to let go of all disappointment that's waiting for me
What I want is to live forever
Not defined by time and space
It's a lonely place
That's what I want"
I love the line "not defined by time and space, it's a lonely place." Every aspect of human life is culturally and historically specific and I don't want that for myself. I don't want to be defined by circumstances.
Devin Valez - Temporary Home
"This is my temporary home, it's not where I belong
Windows and rooms that I'm passing through
This is just a stop on the way to where I'm going
I'm not afraid because I know
This is my temporary home"
I've been through stuff just like everyone has. Life is hard, really hard. Listening to this song helps realize that no matter where you are, no matter what you're going through, that your hardships, or loneliness, or depression, or pains are just like temporary homes. Eventually you'll find your way out of whatever darkness is hindering around you.
Kanye West - Heard Em' Say
"They say people in your life are seasons
And anything that happen is for a reason"
And anything that happen is for a reason"
That's just life. Whenever I listen to this song, I suddenly smile. We can't just say we're going to change the future today and expect it to happen. It's a lot harder than that.
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