I used to think the world was flat Rarely threw my hat into the crowd I felt I had used up my quota of yearning Used to look in on the children at night In the glow of their Donald Duck light And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning But, oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Satellite buzzing through the endless night Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights Jesus Christ imagine what it must be earning Who is the strongest Who is the best Who holds the aces The East Or the West This is the crap our children are learning But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning Now the satellite's confused 'Cos on Saturday night The airwaves were full of compassion and light And his silicon heart warmed To the sight of a billion candles burning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning Oo, oo, oo, the tide is turning The tide is turning Billy I'm not saying that the battle is won But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the war lords Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning The tide is turning Sylvester The tide is turning
Thanks, Slartibartfast. I remember you posting this somewhere else and I listened to it. I listened again.
I have a question to which I don't know the answer. Do you find this a "Don't give Up because we have 'us'- - we're a couple together, a love relationship" song or is the song a general "Don't Give up - -you're important, whether you're in a significant-other relationship or whether you're single or whatever; don't give up because your life is worth something" song? I'd like to think it's the latter but the video and some of the lyrics (" somewhere there's a place for us", for example) seem to suggest to Don't Give Up because we're a couple and we can find strength together.
I'd like to think it's not that type of song because I tire of songs that keep repeating that "Together We Can Get through Anything" love song that , to me, are a dime-a-dozen anymore. Some people, including me, are single. I tire of so many songs stressing the importance of significant-other love relationships.
I know you know this song well and like it -- I like the song, too, after hearing it only twice - - I just wonder if I'm making too much of some of the lyrics and trying to put too much of a specific/literal meaning to the song. I'd like to know that a song like this could be for single people who have no significant other in their lives. :)
Thanks, again for posting and answering. It all helped me a bit today.
When I hit rock bottom after my second suicide attempt, my daughter found a cover of this one by Shannon Noll and Natalie Bassingthwaite - which reminded me of the original. I listened to it quite a lot of times as I battled depression, it helped. I saw it as a wife comforting her husband - the implication that I got was that they had children as well, but that may have just been my take on "we don't need much of anything", I internalized it and applied it to my own situation. I had nothing left to give but they loved me anyway.
Oh, my, thank you for sharing such honesty, Slartibartfast. I appreciate it greatly. And I think you have answered my question very well -- the song is so good that it lends itself to letting the listener internalize it to his or her own self and circumstance. A great song. My best to you always! Be Well, WelbyQ :)
Slartibartfast 