Erykah Badu's "Bag Lady"

Erykah Badu "Bag Lady" lyrics

                Erykah Badu is one of very few women in the music industry who steps outside of the boundaries society has placed female artists in. Badu not only empowers women through song, but through groundbreaking performances, and daring videos also. One of my favorite songs by Erykah is Bag Lady. I am able to build a personal connection with the lyrics and that is one of the most important factors.  The song is about bringing the past such as heartache, pain, dishonesty, and grief into your present and the way it can affect your future and your state of being also. However, Erykah explains the situation in such a powerful metaphoric way that you would really have to analyze the song to understand the argument she is making.

                In the beginning of the song Erykah starts off by saying, “Bag lady you gone hurt your back dragging all them bags like that, I guess nobody ever told you all you must hold on to is you, is you, is you.” In this line alone you can start to paint a picture of where Erykah is going with this. She is referring to the woman as ‘bag lady’ which means that the woman is carrying baggage such as hurt, heartache, and pain. Then, she goes on to tell the woman the danger the bags can do to her back, meaning that the bags (baggage) is weighing her down. Lastly, she explains to the woman that she needs to put the bags down and learn how to hold on to herself, which means the woman is carrying so much baggage around that she has forgotten how to love herself. When people are in situations where their love is taken for granted it is common to lose hope, self-esteem, and develop trust issues. However, Erykah is saying that you cannot carry one situation into the next, and that you have to learn how to let go before the hurt starts to consume you, and she explains this by saying, “one day all them bags gone get in your way, so pack light.” It is natural to put a guard up, but do not get so caught up with your past that it begins to harm your present and potentially your future.

                I once heard that the quickest way to get over someone is by having someone else occupy your time,  but in Erykah’s next set of line she explains why it will be extremely  difficult for someone carrying their past to have the luxury of meeting someone new. Erykah states, “Bag lady you gone miss your bus, you can't hurry up cause you got too much stuff, when they see you coming n***** take off running from you it's true oh yes they do.” Her reason for saying this is because people can sense heartache, and truth is no one wants to be blamed or punished for the last man’s mistakes. She understands that love can hurt and that it take times to heal a broken heart, but during that time of healing it is important to learn how to forgive and forget, but most importantly, spend that time getting to know yourself, loving yourself unconditionally, and being mentally, physically, and spiritually ready to enter something new with a clean slate and new outlook. Ultimately, this song is phenomenal and as the lyrics unfold the picture you started to paint in the beginning starts to become more vivid towards the end.

KENDRICK LAMAR - GOOD KID (GOOD KID M.A.A.D CITY)

     The song "Good Kid" by Kendrick Lamar is from the Album GOOD Kid, M.A.A.D. City that sets up the theme for the second half of the Album.  Kendrick describes many of the social ills that he grows up experiencing as a "good kid" living in a crazy(mad) place like his home in Compton, California.  The second verse in particular is where Kendrick really paints the image of how his innocence is ignored because of where he's from, and how he realizes that this is one of those battles he'll have to fight for as long as he's living in the hood.                                                                                                                                                                       In the second verse Kendrick Lamar is recounting the time that some police officers stopped him right after he got jumped which happened in the first verse.  They say they can help him, but Kendrick knows better than to trust them.  Everything is alright until the police decide to hold Kendrick against his will though he had done nothing wrong.  Kendrick argues that because he is a black teen in Compton, he gets racially profiled and treated like a criminal even though he is completely innocent.  Near the end of the line, Kendrick says, "And you ask, 'Lift up your shirt' cause you wonder if a tattoo of affiliation can make it a pleasure to but me through gang files, but that don't matter because the matter is racial profile I heard them chatter: 'He's probably young but I know that he's down.'"  This is Kendrick using the dialogue of the officers to show the audience how a person like Kendrick is perceived by the law enforcement.  Even though he's young they tell him to lift up his shirt so they can see if Kendrick is apart of any local gangs which can be identified by the tattoos they get on their bodies.  They don't care that Kendrick is a young boy because to them, none of the boys they encounter are innocent. The last line of the verse is where Kendrick's full argument can be felt  when he says, "Step on his neck as hard as your bullet proof vest he don't mind, he know we'll never respect, the good kid, M.A.A.D. City."  Kendrick Uses a simile to compare the bullet proof vests that police wear to the force that they're using to step on his neck.  It illustrates the struggle for Kendrick and teens like him, who are literally always minding their business, but get unfairly categorized as thugs because they're black boys in Compton.  He knows that the law enforcement won't ever respect him as a good kid because of the place he's from and the color of his skin. The irony of the whole thing is that a lot of teens in Kendrick's demographic at the time in a place like Compton were usually guilty of the crimes they were getting convicted of.  Throughout the album Kendrick can be quoted discussing the violence and activities of the blood gang that runs rampant through the streets of Compton.  The title and message of the song is just Kendrick's way of saying that all these stereotypes that are associated with him and his peers are mostly true, but there are always exceptions Kendrick being one of them.  Kendrick is saying that the law enforcers should know better than to just generalize everyone boy from the hood that they see as a criminal, it's irresponsible and immoral and ever so often, they'll be wrong.                                                                                                                                                      

Switchfoot "Dare You to Move"

Music Video with a Subtle Christian Theme

Tribute Video with an Obvious Christian Theme
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/switchfoot/dareyoutomove.html

            "Dare You to Move" is a single by the alternative band Switchfoot in their album, The Beautiful Letdown, in 2003. In actuality, this song is a remix of another song they composed called "I Dare You to Move" from the album, Learning to Breathe, which they composed three years prior to this remix. Although this track was fifth in the Letdown album, it was a long-lasting hit that reached its height by being certified gold in 2005. While being an alternative rock band, many have defined Switchfoot as a Christian band when listening to there music as they create a lot of symbolism regarding the Christian faith. However, they have disapproved this and said that they are "Christian by faith, not genre." In this song, they don't specifically use the Christian faith but offer many ideas that mirror the Christian faith.

          Being a Buddhist, I don't have any of the ideals that have been passed down through the Christian faith. However, I've listened to this song and can tell that it doesn't involve the faith as much as some of their other songs, but it uses some of the ideals presented.

          While the argument within this song is simple and not very hard to analyze, it's argument is how to look past the mistakes and criticisms and continue moving forward in life. In lines 4-8, the lyrics say that people are waiting for you to make some sort of move so they could criticize or praise you. The pressure you feel when trying to please them reach its highest as time goes on. In lines 16-17, the fallout and resistance described in this song shows how we've been pushed past our limits and reach the point of wanting to break away from the path others are telling you to pursue. It could also be treated as our first mistake as we see our limitations and deny that we cannot push anymore and misunderstand it as us reaching the end of our training and finding new limitations to overcome when in actuality, we've been pushed too far and ran away from our problems. In lines 18-21, the tension this song is describing is the struggle of what you should be and your place in the world. It also tells of how you could change who you are and how it could change the future because you don't like who you see yourself as right now. In the fourth stanza, the song gives the easiest interpretation by stating we all make mistakes and that we should look past them as they are a part of life. Salvation can be seen as any place where you feel the most vulnerable and are willing to examine your mistakes and learn how to better yourself in the future.

         While the band members stated that this song was powerful enough to push themselves forward in their own lives, this song also has the power to help people trying to move from their stagnant position in life. As said in the name of this song, we need to push past our mistakes and have the strength to live with what has happened and learn from our past.

                                                                                                         -Nikki "Nikolas" Pham

"The Worst" by Jhene Aiko

              "The Worst" was released November 12, 2013 by singer/ songstress Jhene Aiko. The song is from her new album "Sail Out" which was released a couple days later. Jhene Aiko is known for her hypnotizing voice and lyrical skill when it comes to getting her point across. She is considered to be a musical seductress appealing to her listeners through song.  In this particular song, Aiko describes a failing relationship that is on the verge of collapsing. Her partner's failure to maintain all promises and stay true to the concept of commitment further pushes her and the relationship itself over the edge.She has an inward battle with herself fighting the emotions she has that she wished did not exist. The argument presented is not really directed towards her audience but more towards herself. She just makes the decision to express her argument to her listeners.

                The argument within the song is more of a personal and emotional argument towards herself and her relationship. It is more of an inward struggle with her wants against her needs and her love against her hatred."I don't need you, I don't need you, I don't need you" Jhene Aiko voices over and over again to remind herself that her needs are considered more important even if technically they are not what she wants. Her main argument is whether she should allow her hidden emotions to blind her eyes of the truth or move forward from what she considers to be "the worst" relationship. What should she allow to take over, her love or her hate, her wants or her needs?

                 Jhene Aiko starts the track off by explaining how his pretending ways have done nothing but caused excessive pain to what she has previously experienced in the past and that there is no need for anymore of his pretending. She would rather him walk away then continue on with this masquerade. As the song progresses, Aiko tries to restrain herself from embracing the love she buries in her heart and masks her love with hatred for his lies and deception. Even though her restraint is strong, she has no choice but to admit the obvious which is the love she still has for "the worst" man she has ever known.

                 The argument she presents is not only personal and inward but is relatable as well to listeners. At some point in life, you have had to have experienced an inner battle within yourself on whether what you wanted most should come before what you need. This is not just a song talking about a random relationship situation, but a musical piece that comes from the heart of lyrical genius. The inward emotional war of a brokenhearted woman arguing her needs against her wants and her love against her hate is descriptively expressed throughout the song. The title itself withholds the argument all on its own. 

Jhene Aiko- The Worst (Official Music Video)

"Death Be Not Proud" by John Donne

John Donne

www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173363





















        
    

The poem ‘Death Be Not Proud’ by John Donne is a metaphysical poem written around 1610 and published posthumously around 1633. Metaphysical poetry according to definition, is ‘highly intellectualized poetry marked by bold and ingenious conceits, incongruous imagery, complexity and subtlety of thought, frequent use of paradox, and often by deliberate harshness or rigidity of expression’, and that’s the reason why I love this poem.

Donne, in this poem, puts forward an argument against the power of death. To do this, he personifies death and tells him that he is not at all as powerful as he thinks. I love the way he refers to death as a person because it’s almost like bringing death to his level before telling him off, in this case humanizing him. Like you compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges, he wanted death to be on the same par with him so he could articulately relay to him the misconceptions of his power. Line by line Donne puts death in his place almost assuring us the readers that death is comfortable and that we shouldn’t be scared of him.

In condoning Donne’s argument against the power of death, I will attempt to describe the meaning of his ‘ingenious conceit’ towards death. In the first four lines, he tells death even though that some people say that he is ‘mighty’ and ‘dreadful’ he shouldn’t be proud because he is really not that mighty and dreadful because those who death thinks he has killed are really not dead, and besides if he was that powerful why is he, the poet, still alive. John Donne continues in the next four lines to convince death that he brings pleasure to those he embodies and not pain. He says if rest and sleep, which he refers to as a sort of death, are so pleasurable and satisfying, why should death being a stronger version of these pleasures, be painful instead of more pleasurable than them. He even sarcastically gives death a good attribute by telling him that any time you come around and take a good person, their soul finds peace and they get to rest. I can almost hear Donne tell death to go ahead and embrace us so we can rest eternally. Since there is pleasure in resting he’s almost begging death to come. Immediately after a brief pat on the back, Donne resumes telling death off in the next lines by telling him that he is not that powerful as he is a “slave to fate, Chance, kings and desperate men..” and that there are more powerful ways to die and go to rest other than by death itself, so why does Death act so big. In the last two lines Donne trivializes death to nothing. He’s like what’s the big force about you death? After one short sleep then it’s over for you and then you are no more. Then even you get to die. Now what? The suggestion that death gets to die is sweet because he cannot come again.

After all this, the reason I love the poem the most is the irony of the posthumous publication. Makes me wonder if he wrote the poem on his death bed and also what kind of death he had. Did he die from sickness, war or poison? I absolutely love it.

Welcome to our class blog

Class, here is our blog! Here is a link to this very blog! Also, I'm going to share with you the inspiration for the name of the blog: Roxy Music.

Looking forward to everyone's upcoming posts!