Rockabye, Babay!

She works at nights, by the water
She's gone astray, so far away
From her father's daughter
She just wants a life for her baby
All on her own, no one will come
She's got to save him...

At a party recently, in the rhythm of electric beats and gibberish lyrics, an upbeat, pop and 'very 2017' music started to play. The music had great dance beats, an excellent voice - and the unheard of : clean lyrics. If the surprise wasn't enough, this club song was also meant to be an ode to a particular section of the society, the most important section in my opinion : mothers.

If you haven't already figured it out, I'm talking about Clean Bandit and Anne-Marie's 2017 hit, Rockabye.



The name, while hinting to the celebrated nursery rhyme, is an ode to a child, by her mother. She, a single mother, works as a provocative dancer to make ends meet - and more importantly, to provide her child a life of comfort, that she never had. The lyrics of the song speak in second person to the child himself, assuring him that "your life, ain't gonna be nothing like my life, you're gonna grow and have a good life, and I'm gonna do what I gotta do". 

This song flabbergasts me, not just because of the lack of provocative content in it, but also because of the way it has been complemented with excellent music, to make it appreciable and catchy. It is an important civil artifact, because it shows a drift in the approach of artists to pick club/electric music to convey ideas and awareness, something that is relatively unheard of to date. It shows how pragmatism pervades, as the most influencing (relative to today's generation) method to deliberate important text is chosen - party music!

While artists of the past decade have started the usage of musical freedom and voice to counter social injustices and discrepancies (Take me to Church - Hozier, is an excellent example), club music is vastly untouched, due to the limited scope to experiment. Would you want to listen to someone preach at a party? No! But if it's presented in a catchy, contemporary musical form - hell yes (exaggerated enthusiasm).

Another aspect to this song is the way it presents the idea of having a child out of wedlock, and the ease/difficulty with which a single mother could raise him/her. Compared to a few decades ago, this would not only tarnish a woman's character, but would earn the poor child the awful term of a 'bastard' in his community. No form of media would have promoted such lyrics or ideals to be propagated up until the early 80s, or even by a bit of an extension, the early 2000s.

This is my civic artifact. The influence of music, to inculcate certain ideals and beliefs into the minds of our youth, who rampantly memorize its lyrics if the beats be catchy. It is mesmerizing to watch the video along with that, which, in spite of some ridiculous moments in between, strike a good rheum in our minds, helping us sympathize with that single mother, and the lovely child she has brought into this world. I wish to explore the power of this media, and the impact of this particular song a biut more, through my speech.

Comments

  1. Muhammad Aizat Noor AzmiSeptember 14, 2017 at 7:07 AM

    Definitely love the hook. To be one of those person in the club to actually listen to the lyrics of a song is something that is rare in our EDM-washed generation. Would like to see how you elaborate on the power of music(good or bad) to influence the people, especially the youths, and shape them into a shared ideology. Also, I love the fact that you are distinguishing how people react to current issues through music and the difference it makes from songs of previous decades which does not touch upon sensitive issues in a big magnitude.

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  2. UnknownSeptember 14, 2017 at 7:13 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. UnknownSeptember 14, 2017 at 7:18 AM

    I am very fond of the topic; club music is often not something we think of as having any message at all, making this civic artifact unique and interesting. I especially like that you intend to analyze the influence that shifting ideologies about motherhood had on the song. It is a little unclear, however, whether you will be analyzing only the song or the song and music video combined, or even if this is something that you have decided yet. Just be sure to make this clear in your speech.

    Assuming your hook will be similar to the start of this blog post, I think that it will be effective. Be careful, however, about your choice of lyrics; make sure that, if you show the audience a portion of the music video, you do not repeat lyrics. It may even be best to start your speech without quoting the song at all.

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  4. UnknownSeptember 14, 2017 at 7:19 AM

    This is a really interesting artifact and definitely not one that I would have ever thought of. I think music can be a very powerful motivator, but I would never have thought that music in a club would promote any real message. The fact that you were able to analyze the lyrics of a song in a club boggles my mind. I am excited to hear your speech.

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