What About the Children?
Every adult today was once a child. Even though most would rather pretend that they automatically metamorphosed to adulthood, the day they were born. The denial , suppression and bid to escape childhood is worrisome. It could perhaps be attributed to the treatment of children as mere inconveniences by their parents and society, at large. It was Nelson Mandela who once observed that “ There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children”. And society’s soul has been cloaked in darkness for the longest time.
Our children are disrespected, abused, deprived, impoverished and dehumanized. Many parents sire children with the purpose of commodification. They are merely a means to an end, a retirement plan and this is an observation precipitated by experience. The needs of the child are hardly ever a priority.
In recent years, stories have been rife about the large scale abduction of children world-wide for the purposes of blood rituals and sex trafficking. This nefarious activity has purportedly been occurring, since the 1950s.
(The Independent)
Need I repeat that society has been callous to children?
As a keen observer of music textures and colouration, I have observed the lyrical thematization of children since the 1980s which have been few and far-in-between. Our children are important and it is refreshing to find songs which reference and esteem them. This post highlights some of such songs.
Bobby Brown. "Storm Away" Bobby (1992).
Chaka Khan. "Don't talk 2 Strangers" Come 2 My House (1998).
En Vogue. "Eyes of a Child" EV3 (1997).
Earth Wind & Fire. "Remember the Children" Last Days and Time (1973).
George Benson. "The Greatest Love All" Soundtrack to the Film The Greatest (1977).
Joe. "Ghetto Child" Better Days (2001).
Kelly Price. "The Lullaby" Mirror Mirror (2000).
Lauryn Hill. "To Zion" The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998).
Lauv. "Kids are born Stars" All 4 Nothing "(2022).
Lionel Richie. "Se La" Dancing on the Ceiling (1985).
Lucky Dube. "Think About The Children" Think About The Children (1985).
Luther Vandross. "Dance With My Father" Dance With My Father (2003).
Mary J. Blige. "Your Child" Mary (1999).
MC Hammer. "Help The Children" Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em (1990).
Michael Jackson. "Childhood" HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 (1995).
Monica. "For You I Will" The Boy Is Mine (1998).
Regina Belle. "If I Could" Passion (1993).
Tina Turner. "We Don't Need Another Hero" Soundtrack to the Film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
William Howard. "Children Hold On (To Your Dreams)
Whitney Houston. "You'll Never Stand Alone" My Love Is Your Love (1998).
Yolanda Adams. "What About The Children" More than a Melody (1995).
Yolanda Adams. "Darling Girl" Believe (2001).
DISCLAIMER: No copyright infringements intended. These songs merely serve the purpose of entertainment.
