I write “socially conscious” lyrics not because I’m necessarily of the opinion that music can change the world (although it has been known to help), but because I feel as an artist, it’s easiest for me to write about that which I’m passionate.
Every topic is affected by my own personal perspective, though, and topics such as race, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, and class are especially capable of forcing me to realize how inappropriate it would be for me to try and write for someone else.
Write what you knowcan be a bit disheartening when it comes to trying to create something new, but I’ll always remind myself and others that each person has a very unique perspective and set of experiences. It would be vastly idiotic for me to try and expound upon being rich and famous living in a New York penthouse or growing up struggling on the streets of Detroit.
Does this mean that everything I have to say about materialism or classism is null and void, no, but it does mean I need to recognize where I’m coming from and write from there.
Once again, this is because honesty makes the best art. Sure, I can envision a character for myself to play that grew up in a very different circumstance, but that’s more the realm of my fictional prose writing than my songwriting.
The songs that seem to really hit the hardest often come from a place of personal experience connecting with relatable expression.
Here’s to Hope - living in a suburban area where the racism, gang violence, bigotry, and class issues are starting to reflect stereotypically urban problems among an increasingly belligerant cultural mashup of young families moving out of the cities, old farmers trying to protect their old ways, and immigrant families all trying to make a life together - that’s the person experience (living in the midst of that tension) but it only works as a song because I didn’t try to appropriate the feelings of any of those groups, only to express my own feelings and then funnel it into a catchy chorus about changing ourselves to make a larger change in society
Mend - being in a relationship where I put the other person on a pedestal of what I wanted them to be more than trying to get to know them, listen, and care for them as they really were, whether or not they returned my emotions or desires, and then attempting to bridge the gap, apologize, and forgive so that a new, more healthy relationship could begin not based on any expectations but rather on mutual communication - okay, so this one is probably a bit more preachy, but I promise it’s still based on (sadly) many negative personal experiences where I now realize honesty could’ve solved a whole lot. my attempt was to write a love song that was actually about love, not about possessing the other person or longing for some made-up thing that was more than and therefore less than a real person. the only way i could do so was to combine personal experience with personal growth, otherwise the message would just be a preachy and probably quite misogynistic mess.
Oh well, that’s two examples for ya if you care to be interested. I’ll keep working to be a better, more conscious writer, and I hope you’ll keep reading/listening.
Art is honesty and sometimes that means showing your scars and crying on the page.
Every topic is affected by my own personal perspective, though, and topics such as race, ethnicity, culture, sexuality, and class are especially capable of forcing me to realize how inappropriate it would be for me to try and write for someone else.
Write what you knowcan be a bit disheartening when it comes to trying to create something new, but I’ll always remind myself and others that each person has a very unique perspective and set of experiences. It would be vastly idiotic for me to try and expound upon being rich and famous living in a New York penthouse or growing up struggling on the streets of Detroit.
Does this mean that everything I have to say about materialism or classism is null and void, no, but it does mean I need to recognize where I’m coming from and write from there.
Once again, this is because honesty makes the best art. Sure, I can envision a character for myself to play that grew up in a very different circumstance, but that’s more the realm of my fictional prose writing than my songwriting.
The songs that seem to really hit the hardest often come from a place of personal experience connecting with relatable expression.
Here’s to Hope - living in a suburban area where the racism, gang violence, bigotry, and class issues are starting to reflect stereotypically urban problems among an increasingly belligerant cultural mashup of young families moving out of the cities, old farmers trying to protect their old ways, and immigrant families all trying to make a life together - that’s the person experience (living in the midst of that tension) but it only works as a song because I didn’t try to appropriate the feelings of any of those groups, only to express my own feelings and then funnel it into a catchy chorus about changing ourselves to make a larger change in society
Mend - being in a relationship where I put the other person on a pedestal of what I wanted them to be more than trying to get to know them, listen, and care for them as they really were, whether or not they returned my emotions or desires, and then attempting to bridge the gap, apologize, and forgive so that a new, more healthy relationship could begin not based on any expectations but rather on mutual communication - okay, so this one is probably a bit more preachy, but I promise it’s still based on (sadly) many negative personal experiences where I now realize honesty could’ve solved a whole lot. my attempt was to write a love song that was actually about love, not about possessing the other person or longing for some made-up thing that was more than and therefore less than a real person. the only way i could do so was to combine personal experience with personal growth, otherwise the message would just be a preachy and probably quite misogynistic mess.
Oh well, that’s two examples for ya if you care to be interested. I’ll keep working to be a better, more conscious writer, and I hope you’ll keep reading/listening.
Art is honesty and sometimes that means showing your scars and crying on the page.
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