minstrel wrote:DennisMM wrote:I love "Do They Know it's Christmas?" because it's genuine and doesn't just throw out happy-feely vibes. When Bono snartls, "well tonight, thank God it's them instead of you" he blows away every other charity song in toto. Bow before youngish Bob Geldolf's social conscience. Bow!
This is actually true. "Do They Know It's Christmas" is a good song performed well on its own terms, even without the charity angle.
And then the Americans got into the act and said "Anything those Brits can do, we can do better", and came up with "We Are The World", which is a vomit-wrenching heap of dreck.
The link leads to an .mp3 of those lines, including Bono's.
Compare lyrics:
"Do They Know It's Christmas?"
by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure
It's Christmas time and there's no need to be afraid
At Christmas time we let in light and we banish shade
In our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Put your arms around the world at Christmas time
(This opening verse is deliberately soothing and deceptive.)
But say a prayer, yeah pray for the other ones
At Christmas time, it's hard, but while you're having fun
There's a world outside your window
And it's a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
[url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=50:3pfqxzlkldde~T]And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight, thank god it's them
Instead of you[/url]
And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time
The only gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain or river flows
Do they know it's Christmas time at all?
Here's to you raise a glass for everyone
Here's to them underneath that burning sun
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?
Feed the world
Let them know it's Christmas time
(repeat)
"We Are The World"
by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.
There comes a time when we need a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth - you know love is all we need
Chorus:
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
Well, send'em you your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us
By turning stone to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand
(Chorus)
When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, let's realize
That one change can only come
When we stand together as one
(Chorus)
Notice how much the Jackson/Richie song focuses on You (the listener) and We (the singers and public), in a manner not unlike the focus on whites in many of the '80s movies dealing with apartheid in South Africa. Geldof and Ure, meanwhile, use You primarily to contrast Your plenty and comfort with Their utter need ... and directly urge you not merely to care but to FEED THE WORLD.
End of threadjack, for me.
"If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all." -- Noam Chomsky
