Same Love
No law's gonna change us, we have to change us
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for today’s 2012 song, “Same Love”, by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.
(813 words)
Today’s song is sung from the viewpoint of a young man who is thinking about why people believe certain things. How do we learn to think some things are good and some things are bad?
The song begins with the singer thinking back to a time in elementary school. The singer remembers being able to draw, and he cleaned his room. He thought that meant that he was gay.
When I was in the third grade, I thought that I was gay
'Cause I could draw, my uncle was (gay), and I kept my room straight
When he told his mother, she told him that it was a stereotype to think that if you liked to draw and you kept your room clean, it meant you were gay. He realized she was right.
I told my mom, tears rushing down my face
She's like, "Ben, you've loved girls since before Pre-K" (before kindergarten)
Trippin' (you’re thinking crazy thoughts), 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"
He saw that these were ways of thinking - before we know the facts.
A pre-conceived idea of what it all meant
For those that like the same sex had the characteristics
He was aware that some people believe that people choose to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. They believe that religion or medical treatment can “rewire” or cure you.
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 points out the very human emotion of being afraid of things we don’t understand. It’s often easier to choose parts from the Bible to support beliefs that LGBTQ people are wrong or bad in some way.
aw 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 thirty-five hundred years ago
I don't know
Members of the LGBTQ community and their supporters understand that they were born to express themselves as they do, just like every other human or other animal on the planet. It’s not something you choose, and it’s not something you can change.
There are people who are fearful of and cruel to gay people. They write things on Internet that are hateful. Recently, some people use the word “gay” to mean something that is bad. The word “faggot” is a word used to bully or harass gay men. If labels are used too often, people might forget that these words can hurt others.
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'
Throughout American history, certain groups have been oppressed based on their race, gender, social status, religion, and family origins.
Our culture founded from oppression
Yet we don't have acceptance for 'em (them, i.e. gay people)
Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board
A word rooted in hate, yet our (hip-hop) genre still ignores it
The singer realizes that is it the same hate that people have fought against in other social justice movements such as the fight for civil rights or conflicts over religious beliefs.
And "gay" is synonymous with the lesser
It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk-outs and sit-ins
It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference
Live on and be yourself
When the singer was at church, he was taught that hate is a sin and that using religion to oppress another group does not show good religious values. Also, it’s important to stand up for those who aren’t able to stand up for themselves.
When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless
Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen
The lyrics also talk about a very serious problem among young people today. They often see or hear messages in school that tell them being gay is not good. This can hurt them to the point that they feel there is no hope in life.
When kids are walking 'round the hallway
Plagued by a pain in their heart
A world so hateful, some would rather die than be who they are
Maybe by allowing same-sex couples to get married legally, it would send a message to these young people that there IS hope.
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
Question
The singer talks about believing stereotypes when he was in third grade. Have you ever believed something about yourself or others that turned out not to be true? How did you learn the truth?
The singer mentions that people are often afraid of things they don't understand. Have you ever felt scared or unsure about someone who was different from you? How did you learn to understand and accept those differences?
Vocabulary
pre-conceived 先入観
rewire 再配線
cure 治療
pre-disposition 素質
paraphrase 言い換え
cruel 残酷
bully いじめっ子
harass 嫌がらせ
gets dropped on the daily - is used every day
numb 麻痺
oppression 抑圧
faggots ホモ
ignore 無視
synonymous 同義語
lesser 自分より劣る人
complexion 顔色
pigment 色素
be plagued by something 何かに悩まされる
Being an old intermediate learner of English and I find this song or lyrics too fast and maybe culturally too specific here and there, but the following four lines instantly on first listen made sense and hit me hard (admittedly because I've been pretty much voiceless over social issues like these.
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' are equal, damn right I support it.
Half of me says "Who am I to talk?" The other half says "I'm moving forward in the right direction little by little, song by song, thanks to Louise's Social Issues in Song newsletters. Thank you.
Mitsuru Hiki
Many people with little capacity to learn and fear of not knowing how to defend their principles, only know how to attack because they do not have the knowledge to refute or argue.