Music Moment

Listening to the tunes of Marvin Gaye creates a bittersweet sensation. On the one hand, each song has a great rhythm; each song makes you want to join in and sing to the lighthearted beat. But if you tune into the lyrics, the song can make a totally different impression. The content of the album What’s Going On examines many controversial situations without trying to glamorize anything. Marvin Gaye sings it straight with lines like “what a shame”, “children today are really going to suffer tomorrow”, “such a bad way to live”. The messages are indicative of the times and serve to reinforce just how hard day to day life was for people during the 1960’s and 70’s. It puts a different spin on the optimistic tone of the album when you think about what influenced the lyrics of each song. Back to the bittersweet, the lines expressing feelings of despair also function as an uplifting call to action. Marvin Gaye encourages his listeners to be distressed by the situation and unite to bring about change and peace: “What’s happening, when are people going to come together”, he asks. His music is similar to the opening song of Full Metal Jacket. The melody itself is bright but the underlying meaning is often bleak. All in all, I admire artists like Marvin Gaye for using their ability and their influence to spread powerful messages world-wide and to give others hope for the future.