I had heard this song before and it made me really emotional, so I thought it would be a good song to write about. The song is a rap song by Macklemore mixed with a song by Mary Lambert. This song is about gay rights.
Macklemore says that the LGBTQ movement is "the same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins." The singer is saying that is that fighting for gay rights is no different from the fight for women's rights or civil rights or in some other way an oppressed group. All of these groups fight the battle for acceptance by the people who hold all the power. My interpretation of his point is that group after group has partially gotten most of what they wanted, so why not this group?
With the lyrics,
“The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made, rewiring of a pre-disposition
playing God,”
he addresses the fact that some people believe being gay is a choice and that they have the means and the right to try to talk you out of a trait. I believe they are bigots who think anyone who isn’t the way they are should be changed if possible. He really tries to make that clear, although I think that not only right-wing conservatives think it's a decision. There are many others who really can't accept the fact that we are all just people who love people of the same sex. That's it. Then, he brings up something very important that has just become a normal part of speech:
"Have you read the YouTube comments lately
"Man that's gay"
Gets dropped on the daily "
That really talks about how people don't even think about how what they say affect the people around them. They equate the word “gay” with “bad, weird, stupid, dumb,” or “lesser”.
These lyrics make me extremely emotional because I know that this is just like any other movement, may it be for women's rights or the civil rights movement, The movement that I really want to partake in and that I have been the victim of has been pushed down and made me see my non-straightness as a weakness. I am strong, but sometimes it's hard to see that when everyone tells you you're somehow not good enough or inadequate. I identify with this song because I’m not straight. I hope that the people around me will at some point realize that I am in no way different from them, necessarily, except for my love for other people. Essentially, that's what most of us are: people who love other people.
Progress, march on!...
We turn our back on the cause...
Kids are walkin' around the hallway
Plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful
Someone would rather die
Than be who they are
This is another thing that is a major issue, especially in small suburban town where people may not be as accepting as in New York, the Hub of Diversity. People have been killed for coming out. People have had their parents evict them for being gay. So in that context, being who you are comes at a price some people are not willing to pay.
The entire text:
Same Love - Macklemore
When I was in the 3rd grade
I thought that I was gay
Cause I could draw, my uncle was
And I kept my room straight
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like, "Ben you've loved girls since before pre-K"
Trippin', yeah, I guess she had a point, didn't she
A bunch of stereotypes all in my head
I remember doing the math like
"Yeah, I'm good at little league"
A pre-conceived idea of what it all meant
For those who like the same sex had the characteristics
The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man-made, rewiring of a pre-disposition
Playing God
Ahh nah, here we go
America the brave
Still fears, what, we don't know
And God loves all His children
Is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written
35 hundred years ago
Don't know
[Hook: Mary Lambert]
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm [x4]
[Verse 2: Macklemore]
If I was gay
I would think hip-hop hates me
Have you read the YouTube comments lately
"Man that's gay"
Gets dropped on the daily
We've become so numb to what we're sayin'
Our culture founded from oppression
Yeah, we don't have acceptance for 'em
Call each other faggots
Behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate
Yet our genre still ignores it
Gay is synonymous with the lesser
It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender and skin color
Complexion of your pigment
The same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins
It's human rights for everybody
There is no difference
Live on! And be yourself!
When I was in church
They taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service
Those words aren't anointed
And that Holy Water
That you soak in
Is then poisoned
When everyone else
Is more comfortable
Remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans
That have had their rights stolen
I might not be the same
But that's not important
No freedom 'til we're equal
Damn right I support it
I don't know
[Hook: Mary Lambert]
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm [x4]
[Verse 3: Macklemore]
We press play
Don't press pause
Progress, march on!
With a veil over our eyes
We turn our back on the cause
'Till the day
That my uncles can be united by law
Kids are walkin' around the hallway
Plagued by pain in their heart
A world so hateful
Someone would rather die
Than be who they are
And a certificate on paper
Isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start
No law's gonna change us
We have to change us
Whatever god you believe in
We come from the same one
Strip away the fear
Underneath it's all the same love
About time that we raised up
[Hook: Mary Lambert]
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
And I can't change
Even if I tried
Even if I wanted to
My love, my love, my love
She keeps me warm [x4]
[Outro: Mary Lambert]
Love is patient, love is kind
Love is patient (not cryin' on Sundays)
Love is kind (not crying on Sundays) [x5]
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