The Need for Inspirational Songs - Essay Example

The Need for Inspirational Songs In this paper, three songs are presented which guarantees that they provide the listener with inspiration and reason to live. They are, in the order – When You Believe, Hands and The Voice Within. When one feels that he has failed in some major issue of his life and a solution is nowhere in sight, he can fall back on music to “restore the soul” – to rekindle strength, hope and faith in himself. Music by itself is not enough (the combination of pleasant sounds); the lyrics and prayers are needed for a miracle to happen. An optimistic attitude can also be attained with the support of understanding and well-meaning friends. Our first song, When You Believe was introduced to music lovers by Mariah Carey. This song won the 1999 Academy Award for “Best Original Song”. It also received a Golden Satellite Award nomination for “Best original Song in a Motion Picture”. It was nominated for the 2000 Grammy Award for “Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals”, losing to “I Still Have That Other girl” by Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello. One of the features of the song is when Carey and Whitney Houston sing a section of the song in thirds; they have done this and still kept in tune. The lyrics of When You Believe consist of ten stanzas starting with a painful and seemingly hopeless situation gradually evolving into a more favorable one. The persona (who can be practically anyone) can begin to hope and believe in himself, thus enabling him to achieve. The first stanza goes thus: “Many times we’ve prayed With no proof anyone could hear In our hearts a hopeful song We barely understood” The heart of the speaker is not entirely devoid of hope, however, he confesses to half-hearted prayers addressed to no one in particular or someone who cannot hear. A change comes about in the second stanza when the speaker discovers that his plea has not come to naught since – “Now we are not afraid Although we know there’s much to fear We were moving mountains long Before we knew we could.” The danger of the problem still exists, but faith has moved in and has started to make its presence felt. A time comes in a person’s life when he succeeds in accomplishing something he never even dreamed he could do. The speaker here finds himself in such a situation. He attributes this to a miracle. The speaker accepts that the fertile ground for miracles to happen is the presence of hope which is frail, yet hard to obliterate. He firmly states that when one believes, success is just around the corner. The fourth stanza to a lot of readers/ singers is the most beautiful and fraught with meaning: “In this time of fear When prayers so often prove in vain Hope seems like the summer birds To swiftly flown away.” There are times in life when prayers remain unanswered and fear on all sides threaten to overwhelm. These are times when hope flies to other climes like summer birds before the onset of winter. But this is just a feeling as shown by the next stanza wherein the speaker wonders why he has not succumbed to failure. His heart overflows with words of gratitude that he never thought he would need to say. Of course, miracles such as these do not always take place when one asks for them. He admits that it is easy to give in to one’s fears. There are times when one cannot think straight because of the pain or see one’s way through the rain. (Rain here is used a s a metaphor meaning a state of suffering). It is then when a small but still resilient voice can be heard, saying that love can provide relief, love is the solution. The lyrics do not say whose voice it is, but the concluding paragraph hints that the voice is God’s voice. “There can be miracles (miracles) When you believe (Lord, when you believe)” The speaker ends by telling his audience to “just believe” Everyone who is alive on this planet goes through difficult times. The song teaches its hearers that one must never give in to his fears of failure. Instead he must listen to “the voice within” and revive hope in his heart. Although hope is frail, it is hard to kill. When hope lives again, a miracle can actually happen. When one believes, he can be “moving mountains” even before he realizes that he could. That is another miracle aside from the miracle he originally prayed for. Hands is our next inspirational song sung by Jewel who works with the RE Generation movement to help homeless youth in honor of the first ever National Homeless Youth Awareness Month in November, 2007; a message from Jewel runs thus: “I’ve recently become an Ambassador for Virgin Unite, the entrepreneurial, non-profit foundation of Sir Richard Branson’s virgin Group. I’ll be raising awareness and support for a number of social and environmental issues. Working with the RE Generation gives me the chance to let people know that so many children are living on the streets right in our own backyard. Many of them have left home because of violence, abuse or neglect. Every day, they face extreme hardships – poverty, social exclusion and often continued abuse.” (Jewel’s website) Hands is a song that teaches listeners how to instill courage and optimism in another who has lost hope. The persona starts out by saying: “If I could tell the world just one thing It would be that we’re all OK And not to worry ‘cause worry is wasteful And useless in times like these.” The speaker believes that the most important news he could broadcast to people would be that we are all right. We must not worry since worry is wasteful. He doesn’t say how or why it is wasteful, but we do know that worry is a waste of time and energy. He resolves not to be made useless, and do nothing and give way to despair. He resolves instead to act and strengthen himself by clinging to his faith. In not so many words, he avers that faith is light which drives darkness away. Darkness here probably means ignorance and helplessness. A stanza that is mentioned four times in the song goes thus: “My hands are small, I know But they’re not yours, they are my own But they’re not yours, they are my own And I am never broken.” Apparently, the one speaking is one of a team of two and this person is speaking tohis partner that although this partner of his has given up, unlike his partner, he has not given up the fight. When he says his hands are small, he admits that he is not powerful, but he still can do something to alleviate the situation. He will not join his partner in despair. When he says he is never broken, he says that nothing in the world can trample him down, even if his partner has surrendered. The speaker/ singer bolsters his friend’s confidence in himself by pointing out that although the partner has gone from “riches to rags” (poverty stole your golden shoes), he has not lost his optimism and the ability to look at the fighter side of things. The speaker tells his partner that he has had his share of life’s disappointments but he knew these setbacks would not last forever. (“And heartaches came to visit me/ but I knew it wasn’t ever after”) In the next stanza, the speaker reassures his companion that the two of them can put up a fight but not out of spite. Their combined efforts are needed for there must be those who must fight for what is right. He says further that in a society where no one is brave enough to voice out his rights, there are people like him and his partner who will defend the rights of all (“‘cause where there’s a man who has no voice/ there ours shall go singing.”) Towards the concluding stanza, the persona stresses the fact that “In the end only kindness matters (2x) I will get down on my knees and I will pray (3x)” It is possible that he is alluding to the kindness he extends to his partner, which kindness will give rise to the kindness both of them can extend to the rest of mankind by fighting for the right. The success of their combined efforts in the fight for human rights is not dependent on themselves alone. Both also have to pray for divine help and guidance. But first, their hands have to be willing hands. The speaker/singer ends his song with a powerful statement which points out that With God on our side, we can see (understand) anything. We can look into our hearts and feel what is in His heart. And since, as the song goes – we are His hands and we can do anything. Our third and last song is The Voice Within by Cristina Aguilera. There could be a tie-up between this song and the preceding one in that the partner who gives way to his fears is a girl who is referred to in the third song as “Young Girl”. The words of the persona are a kindness extended to the partner who happens to be a “young girl”. The speaker begins his comfort and encouragement thus: “Young girl, don’t cry I’ll be right here when your world starts to fall Young girl, it’s alright Your tears will dry, you’ll soon be free to fly.” The speaker, the stronger of the two tells the young girl to stop crying since he will be there for her even when her world starts to fall (even when she feels doomed to failure). He promises her that things will be better and she will soon resume a normal life (freedom to fly). He understands her plight: “When you’re safe inside your room, you tend to dream Of a place where nothing’s harder than it seems No one even wants to bother to explain Of the heartache life can bring and what it means.” He tells her that done in the privacy of her room, she could be dreaming of an idyllic place where difficulties do not exist and no one needs to explain why people have to endure heartaches. Whenever this partner or teammate of his feels alone or abandoned, he advises her to look inside herself and “listen to the voice within”. She is to trust this voice as she would her oldest friend, thereby finding the strength that would guide her way. There is a tie-up between this song and he first one which also mentions “a small but still resilient voice”. The stronger one of the team insists for the girl not to hide or run away from her trouble but to “just hold tight”. He means for her to endure until soon she will see a brighter day. The speaker/singer continues bolstering the girl’s spirit and as though speaking from experience, he agrees with her that: “Now, in a world where innocence is quickly claimed, It’s so hard to stand your ground when you’re so afraid No one reaches out a hand for you to hold When you look outside, look inside to your soul.” It is possible someone has taken advantage of her and she has not retaliated because of fear. She could have been a victim of a crime of child abuse for whom Jewel in the preceding song, Hands has been fighting for. In such a case, he tells her to be self-reliant. In conclusion, he points out to her that life is a journey which can take one anywhere he wants to go. As long as she learns from experience, she will benefit by it. “You’ll find everything you need to know.” He is confident that if she develops strength and holds on, she will eventually become powerful enough such that no one can tell her what to do and no one can stop her from doing what she wants to do. Once again he reminds her that he will help her every inch of the way so “Young girl, don’t cry I’ll be right there when your world starts to fall.” These three songs have inspired others to fight life’s battles. I hope, dear reader, they will do the same for you. Read More