Interpreting Music

FINDING MEANING IN LYRICS

Okay so this is not a new song. It is a song we have all probably heard before. It is John Mayer singing "Waiting On The World To Change". Sometimes I wonder what the future will hold for John Mayer. He started off his musical career with slow and soft sweet ballads like Daughters and Your Body Is a Wonderland and then he was in a skit on Chappelle's Show. He got into trouble in 2010 for giving an interview with Playboy magazine(NSFW) where he made sexual and racist remarks. I believe that his racial remarks were something regarding his status as a hood pass holder. I digress.

I have always been fascinated with the song "Waiting On The World To Change" and its subtext about the baby-boomer generation standing in the way of the dreams and the success of a younger generation. This is a very unhealthy mentality, however it is a sentiment that makes me weary. The past year a decision was made that anyone in Canada under the age of 50 years old will have to wait two more years before they can qualify for their pension. This is a decision that was clearly made by people over the age of 50 without consulting with Canadians who are under the age of 50. 

Some days I feel as though I have woken up in a world where I have inherited all of the problems from a previous generation and all of the nice parts that were left have been spoiled. Maybe I am just cynical because I am about to turn 30 but pollution, poverty and corporate greed have spiraled out of control. How are people from my generation supposed to look forward to anything when we are preoccupied with the baby-boomer generation's problems? Anyways, I think that John Mayer is singing about how Generation X and the Millenial generation are ready to change the system but we cannot act on our instincts until we are given the space and resources that we need. Otherwise we might topple the baby boomers. Here are the lyrics:

Me and all my friends, We're all misunderstood, They say we stand for nothing and There's no way we ever could           

Interpretation: Our generation has been marginalized by the ruling class

Now we see everything that's going wrong, With the world and those who lead it, We just feel like we don't have the means, To rise above and beat it 

Interpretation: We are made to feel helpless by our leaders

So we keep waiting Waiting on the world to change We keep on waiting Waiting on the world to change 

It's hard to beat the system When we're standing at a distance So we keep waiting Waiting on the world to change 

Interpretation: This is just the chorus he rhymed system and distance

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want 

Interpretation: We want the war to stop, it is hard for us to understand what the war is really about because the people who control the armies also control the media.

That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change 

Interpretation: Alright here is the best part. When he says 'Its not that we don't care, We just know that the fight ain't fair'. Perhaps this is self-defeatist. Perhaps motivation is what is lacking. My theory is that there are so many problems in the world that it is so hard to tell where to start. If we help one cause then we discriminate against other worthy causes. How can we choose a worthy cause? We are too busy defending ourselves from the barrage of capitalism and constant economic growth that traps so many people. Who are we really breaking our backs for? 

And we're still waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change