“Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony Side by side on my piano keyboard, oh Lord why don't we?” For the past few days, this song has been playing to in my head and I am currently listening to it as I write this. When we listen to music time after time we dive deeper into the song to find the meaning. Whether it is Logic’s "1-800-273-8255 " — which, after researching, we learn is the number for the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and now know this song was a way for Logic to reach out and help — or Alessia Cara’s "Scars to Your Beautiful" — which is about body image and how everyone is beautiful, also contributes to a deep meaning argument.
Songs all have meaning and the meanings provided are something that could be beneficial to each and every one of us. Some songs make us emotional and some of them make us stop and think. I can hear a song and I’ll sit there and just wonder what did I just listen to. Obviously, when I heard the song “Ebony and Ivory ” for the first time I knew it was about living in a world where we can both get along but I didn’t know who wrote it or when it was written. It had meaning to me and that while there are times we might struggle to get along we must always fight to live together in perfect harmony.
This song was written and performed in 1982 by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, who without a doubt are two of the best songwriters and singers of the 20th century. It is a number one single but it also tackles a huge issue at the time and something still huge in our time and society.
Recently we observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day which is a day where we remember a leader of the Civil Rights Movement who worked for everyone to get along. With this song being written twenty years after MLK’s March on Washington it can be stated that this song went a long way. While it was common to sing with other famous artists and it still is, it might not have been as common for two people to sing about an issue such as race especially when it was in the 1980s.
It has been more than 50 years since the March on Washington and more than 60 years since the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. So much has been accomplished since that time but I feel there are times where everything we work for isn’t shown. Recently my university witnessed one of our own say a racial slur on one of her social networks. The University of Alabama responded by expelling her. While this event is still fresh in my mind I can't help but think about how this wasn’t the dream MLK had in mind. I know it is going to be difficult for everyone to get along but we need to understand that there is a time and place for saying some things and some things aren’t worth mentioning.
I strongly urge everyone to go listen to this song by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. I have been blessed enough to have friends from all backgrounds and being able to see two famous musicians make beautiful music makes me feel even better. Being able to see something like this continues to give me hope for the future.
