Feed the World
It's Christmas time. There's no need to be afraid. At Christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade.
And we decorate trees and listen to carols and start to question those lyrics, particularly Do They Know It's Christmas? the Band Aid 80s classic. [image error]
Yes, in the 80s, I loved the song, and the video, all my favorite bands and singers getting together out of the goodness of their hearts. Sigh. Well, that's what I believed then. Now I wonder how much personal glory and self-promotion was involved. Did they all really care about starving Ethiopian children? Or was it a good chance to get together and have some laughs and boost their profiles?
Feed the world, let them know it's Christmas time. Aw. Seems innocent enough, concerned rock stars eager to raise money for poor kids. So maybe at worst, it was simply tone deaf. Check out these lyrics, as sung by Bono:
Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.
Seriously! Ouch. That's almost as bad as my solicitation from St. Jude Children's Hospital- a worthy cause with a skeevy campaign that says something like "Please donate. We pray that you and your family never have to suffer from serious illness." It's almost a veiled threat. If you don't donate… cue sinister music.
But I'm sure they mean well. Another blog was picking apart one of my favorite classics, Baby, It's Cold Outside. They accused it of being a rape anthem. What? Oh, because of the line "Say, what's in this drink?" Oh, come on! It's a sweet little song about two lovers who look for excuses not to part. I'm sure she isn't really suggesting he slipped her a mickey.[image error]
So I am going to lighten up and go back to enjoying Do They Know It's Christmas? As Simon Le Bon so cheerily sung in his part:
There's a world outside your window… and it's a world of dread and fear.
Um, okay. I'm going to lighten up and go back to enjoying Baby, It's Cold Outside. I love the Glee version. And maybe some Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Yes! That's better.
Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on our troubles will be out of sight.
Oh yes! That's lovely. We wish you all a merry little Christmas, happy Chanukah, wonderful Festivus, whatever you celebrate, we're thinking of you with love and joy in our Whiny hearts. Bless us, every one.
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