Article January 1, 2002 ISSUE

Words of praise

By Tara Kearns

“All you need is love...,” “Summertime and the livin’ is easy...,” “Oops — I did it again...” At one time or another, most of us have heard these lyrics and are familiar with the artists who wrote or sang them.

Over the years, lyrics have both been blamed for taking lives and praised for saving lives. For example, Marilyn Manson and Eminem have each been blamed for influencing people with the violent messages in many of their songs. On the other hand, people find inspiration and self-esteem through artists such as Destiny's Child and the Dixie Chicks.

As young adults, I think we are each responsible for filtering out negative messages. This is especially important today when words are more graphic and the messages are more illicit. If the words to a song are really hard to listen to — offensive, violent, or just badly written — I'll make the choice to stop listening, even if I think the melody is really great. I know how deeply lyrics affect me, and this is the choice I have made.

Of course, each of us has the choice to listen to the music we like. But for me, music is a way of praising God, praising good. And that's what I keep in mind when I decide what lyrics I want to listen to.

A singer I really enjoy is pop artist India.Arie. She has a positive, even spiritual,message in her lyrics. As a young woman living in a world that often seems to value the superficial, her words give me confidence. In the song Video she sings:

(excerpt of chorus) I'm not the average girl from your
video
And I ain't built like a supermodel
But I learned to love myself unconditionally,
Because I am a queen

(Verse 2) When I look in the mirror and the
only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it's
suppose to be
And I know my creator didn't make
no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my
eyes, I'm loving what I see

The message I get from Video is that your dignity and self-worth don't depend on your looks or possessions. They come from being happy with yourself, from knowing that God created you with loving care. To me, these are lyrics worth listening to.

Tara is a sophomore college
student from Renton, Washington.

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