Singing Social Commentary

For an English blog, we were asked to find a song that demonstrated social commentary and write a little bit about it. I chose the song "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. You can check out my English blog post here:
http://brandonblogsyou.edublogs.org/2013/09/28/authors-purpose/

This English assignment has inspired me to do a blog post with my own little twist. I wanted to share 10 songs that address social commentary, explain what is being addressed and why, and share the actual song. This will let you know what kind of music I like, and allow you to create your own opinions of these songs.

1. "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People- This song is about a kid who finds a gun in his dad's closet and decides to turn into a rebel. He wants to shoot anybody he finds with nice shoes. This could address the fact that kid are becoming violent. It could also imply that the kid is poor, considering he wants to shoot anyone who has nice shoes.

2."Where Were You" by Alan Jackson- This song is meant to remind people about the tragedy of 9/11. The fact that people aren't acknowledging that 9/11 happened is almost as bad as the events that occurred on that day. Alan Jackson is taking a numb topic and making it easier to talk about. He is also trying to make the world a better place by spreading a peaceful message.

3. "Bleed Red" by Ronnie Dunn- This song has a great meaning behind it. It is opening us up to the idea that people are people. We should not judge people because of who they are, because at the end of the day, we all bleed red. We have to live in this world together, so we might as well just get along.

4. "Home" by Dierks Bentley- This song brings to your attention the fact that most people don't appreciate where they come from. America is one of the greatest countries in the world. Yes we have our problems, but we have more freedom than most other countries. The fact that America has been forged into one of the world's greatest nations in about 200 years is something that people need to respect. 

5. "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder- This song is about how marriage and love are not taken seriously anymore. It's mainly about men who have a hard time being faithful to their wives. This is a big problem in today's society, considering all of the people who are getting divorces.

6. "I'm Gonna Love You Through It" by Martina McBride  

7. "Skin" by Rascal Flatts- Both of these songs are about how cancer is effecting our society. The song "Skin" is about a young girl who develops cancer. The song goes through her radiation treatments and about her hair falling out. The Martina McBride song is about a mom who develops breast cancer, and how her family is always going to be there for her. Both if these songs show the struggle that cancer can truly cause.

8. "Alyssa Lies" by Jason Michael Carroll  

9. "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride- Both of these songs are about how child abuse is effecting our society in an extremely negative way. In "Alyssa Lies", a girl becomes friends with a little girl named Alyssa who gets beaten at home. When the girl tries to tell her dad, he kind of brushes it off. By the time that he reports it, it is too late. Alyssa "lies" with Jesus. In  "Concrete Angel", a cherub comes to console a young girl who gets beaten by her alcoholic mother. At the end, the girl ends up dying and goes to play with the other kids who died from child abuse. The video really brings your attention to how big of an issue this really is.

10. "Same Love" by Macklemore- This song is about how human right's need to be given in this country, more specifically gay rights. This is a major issue that keeps coming up in the news. And basically, homosexuals do not have any rights because all of the conservative Christians have a problem with it. Gays can argue that this is unconstitutional, Christians argue it is immoral. The fact that it is even an issue bothers me. This song is used in an attempt to wake people up from all of the brainwashing that Christians have caused. It's 2013, this should not be an issue anymore!

I hope you enjoyed what I had to say. I had originally chosen around fifty songs, but these ten made the cut. It was really hard to choose, because there are just so many songs with social commentary. My teacher Mrs. Jenkins has really opened up my eyes with this assignment, and I have seen so many problems in society. It is sad that we have these problems, but I am thankful for a teacher who has inspired me to look deeper into such a vague topic. It is amazing how much your opinions can change when you have a deeper understanding about things.