Jon Bellion: a singer gaining popularity by the day. I fell in love with this artist before any of his songs were on the radio. My friends and I used to go on late night drives, blasting his songs that aren't even on iTunes. It is said there are songs that stamp your life and bring you back to certain moments; that's how I feel when I listen to any of his songs. In 2016, he released "The Human Condition" and we listened to it on repeat. Every song is so beautifully written and conveys a great message. This is the album that made him famous and I went through, picking out some of my favorite lyrics.
He is the Same:
"Really puts it in perspective/ What the f**k's a bad day?"
Following some of the losses he's taken, he sings this line. One thing I was always taught was to never judge people because you don't know what they're going through. This perfectly teaches that lesson.
New York Soul Pt ii:
"I had a conversation with an angel/ She told me I'd cheat death if I stayed away from the party life"
Before entering college, I had a long talk with my friend's sister. She told me it's funny because you love partying then one morning you wake up and literally never want to party again and you're over that phase. As a freshman, that hasn't happened yet. I can understand that happening though. That lyric reminds me of that conversation and how partying is a stage of the human life and it is dangerous if you let it be more than a stage.
"Let me give the kids just a little help/ Tell 'em money is not the key to wealth"
He justifies this line by adding "cause if it can stop the pain/ how the f**k did you explain the bunch of millionaires that killed themselves". A lot of songs in this album analyze the way humans are so obsessed with material objects and need to stop. People will be a lot happier enjoying the little things versus spending their life trying to have the most expensive goods.
Fashion:
"It's amazing that the crown of a king doesn't change me"
This comes from his song "Fashion". Given the chorus goes, "but that's when I remember/ that we all want, we all need fashion", this is one of the songs that shows people they don't need wealth to be happy. This gets you thinking at the end when he sings, "Might be gold, but that sh*t's still a chain".
Maybe IDK:
"Although I guess if I knew tomorrow/ I guess I wouldn't need faith"
"I guess if I knew His plans, I guess He wouldn't be God"
Maybe IDK is one of my favorite songs on the album because of the words he chose to convey his message. These are two lines that should stick in your head because thinking everything is part of a bigger plan makes all the tough things easier to go through. As someone who is religious, it's calming knowing that all the obstacles in my life are for a reason.
Woke the F*ck Up
"We live in an age where everything is staged/ Where all we do is fake our feelings"
Jon Bellion managed to capture the modern dating scene in one line. Not speaking for everybody, but it's easy to argue this is exactly what goes on. The contemporary dating scene is not what it used to be and everyone knows it. Somehow we went from guys picking up girls and shaking their dad's hand, to texting someone asking if they want to watch Netflix. That's definitely not the case with every couple, but there are a lot of teenagers who's views of dating have changed.
Morning in America:
"I've been trying to keep up with all of these great expectations/ So I keep on faking"
"Cause the great expectations got us all imitating"
This is my favorite song on The Human Condition. The pressures of modern American teens are captured by the first line where he talks about perfect SAT scores. Just going off this line, there are so many things people have to do perfectly to get a fair chance of success in life and this song works to demonstrate the tradeoffs that presents and what it means to be a modern American.
Hand of God (Outro):
"When you're lost in the universe... don't lose faith"
"Your whole life's in the hand of God"
The album closes with an outro that blends all the songs together and hits on the main points of each song. One of the messages Bellion chooses to leave us with are these lines. Much like what I took from Maybe IDK, the album leaves people telling them not to stress because God has a plan.
