Music

"Southern trees bear a strange fruit/Blood on the leaves and blood at the root/Black bodies swingin' in the Southern breeze/Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees... Here is a strange and bitter crop."

Strange Fruit, written by Abel Meeropol and performed by Billie Holiday, is a hauntingly emotional composition. It refers to the lynching of predominantly Black persons in the southern United States in the early 1900s. This song is commonly accepted as the beginning of the civil rights movement and a declaration that what was happening was wrong - "strange and bitter," indeed.

For far too long, horrifying acts were normalized at the systemic level Racism, discrimination, segregation, and the oppression and exploitation of men, women, and children. Based on the colour of their skin, hundreds and thousands of people were denied basic human rights, with abuse and violence against them a "normal part" of society and culture at the time (Louis, 1996). 

"You with the sad eyes/Don't be discouraged/Oh I realize/It's hard to take courage/In a world full of people/You can lose sight of it all/And the darkness inside you/Can make you feel so small"

"But I see your true colours/Shining through/I see your true colours/And that's why I love you/So don't be afraid to let them show/Your true colours/True colours are beautiful/Like a rainbow"

True Colours is a song originally performed by Cyndi Lauper and is about having empathy for yourself and others, persevering, resilience, and seeing who a person truly is at their core. This version was re-recorded specifically for an anti-bullying campaign. Bullying can fall under bias, prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination and can even be caused by and exacerbate issues connected with -isms and ideology. The song also supports looking past the outside or the pain we may be experiencing in the moment, in order to support those around us and bounce back from adverse events or feelings. 

True Colours can also be interpreted as a theme for mental well-being awareness. As we know, mental health issues can be a major side effect of discrimination, -isms, and negative bias (Ontario Human Rights Commission, n.d.). 

"A bunch of stereotypes all in my head/I remember doing the math like "Yeah, I'm good a little league"/A pre-conceived idea of what it all meant/For those who like the same sex had the characteristics/The right-wing conservatives think its a decision/And you can be cured with some treatment and religion/Man-made, rewiring of a pre-disposition. Playing God."

"We've become so numb to what we're sayin'/Our culture founded from oppression/Yeah, we don't have acceptance for 'em/Call each other faggots behind the keys of a message board/A word routed in hate, yet our genre still ignores it/Gay is synonymous with the lesser/It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion/Gender to skin colour the complexion of your pigment/The same fight that lead people to walk-outs and sit-ins,/It's human rights for everybody/There is no difference."

Sexuality discrimination connects to other social justice issues, such as homophobia, racism, sexism, transphobia and structural oppression. The song Same Love brings attention to the many stereotypes and discriminatory acts that are still widely socially accepted. For example, it mentions comments on YouTube and indiscriminate use of 'faggot' and 'man that's gay.' These have been far too commonly used phrases for labelling things negatively and enables further stereotyping; spreading negative views of people in the LGBTQ+ community. Same Love also likens the hate spread in connection to sexual orientation discrimination to structural oppression and violence caused by wars about religion and race (slavery: "culture founded from oppression").

This song also brings up a valid and vital point: "It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference." This refers to basic human rights and the United Declaration of Human Rights, which is "a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction," (United Nations, n.d., Preamble).

For a song with a similar message and deeper meaning, see It Gets Better by Rebecca Drysdale.

"Do you know what's worth fighting for/When it's not worth dying for? When you're at the end of the road/And you lost all sense of control/And your thoughts have taken their toll/When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul.”

21 Guns is a tribute to patriotism, soldiers, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s a call for attention to mental health, which is a major influence on many people's lives. Social justice is about more than the violent or more commonly talked about issues - such as racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and various propaganda in the media all across the world. Social justice includes raising awareness, debunking misconceptions, and sharing experiences.

The title of this song is a reference to the 21-gun salute, a naval and military tradition. When a soldier has fallen, there is an honour guard team (usually of 7) who each fire 3 shots, indicating that the deceased has been cleared and properly cared for. This is actually called a Final Salute and is a sign of respect and honour. 

"But when they call you weirdos, fags, and rejects, flamers, gays and hags/Baby dykes and homotikes, lesbos, homos, and queer bags/It might seem like it’s hopeless and will never be ok/But listen to the ones who care, believe them when they say:/It gets better!"

"Everyone made fun of Shannon cause she kissed a girl/So she hid her head and closed her mouth and shut out all the world /She is brilliant, smart and funny, kind and talented, but hey/It doesn’t matter what she is cause all she is to them is gay."

Key social justice issues addressed in the song and video include sexuality, sexual identity, sexual orientation, homophobia, and violence. This song also attempts to foster hope for future ("it gets better"), resiliency, and spreading the message that you are not alone by listing off common experiences and the names of many famous persons in the LGBTQ+ community.

For a song with a similar message and deeper meaning, see Same Love by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

"I see the kids in the street/With not enough to eat/Who am I, to be blind pretending not to see their needs?"

"That there are some with no home/Not a nickel to loan/Could it be really me pretending that they're not alone?"

"A willow deeply scarred/Somebody's broken heart/And a washed-out dream/They follow the pattern of the wind, ya see/'Cause they got no place to be/That's why I'm starting with me."

This song tells the story of a person waking up to the reality of the world around them - being hit with the realization of the pain others suffer. The kind of things we could walk past any and every day, without taking a moment to really see what's in front of us; the things others fight to get through every day. Sufferings that are accepted as part of life. 

Poverty and oppression based on social class, racism, discrimination, bystander effect, turning a blind eye, systemic and societal apathy, homelessness, even willful ignorance. All of these social justice issues are present in the song and we can hear the emotion behind each word. The lyrics themselves are almost pleading with us to stand up, to make a change, even if only a small one. Systemic problems, racism, and poverty are huge issues and seem too big to take up alone. However, making a difference starts with one person making a conscious decision to be better than they were the day before - "gonna make a change, for once in my life." 

Man in the MIrror asks us to stop and take a look at ourselves - analyze our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Reflect on our biases and preconceived ideas. "Gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference, gonna make it right."

"What happened to the dream of a girl president/She's dancing in the video next to 50 Cent."

"The disease is growing, it's epidemic/I'm scared that there ain't a cure/The world believes it, and I'm going crazy/I cannot take anymore/I'm so glad that I'll never fit in/That will never be me/Outcasts and girls with ambition/That's what I wanna see."

Major social justice problems mentioned in this song include gender discrimination, stereotypes, misogyny, systemic sexism, labelling, denial of opportunities, oppression based on gender, and exclusive behaviours. Stereotypes and gender bias can be toxically harmful to development holistically, with effects on self-esteem, social behaviours (bullying), and empathy/view of other people being some of the most relevant. These negative consequences are generally referred to as Stereotype Threat (Dewar, 2020). 

Stupid Girls calls attention to these toxic behaviours by bringing up examples of systemic and societal actions that have been far too common. Many of these examples fall under the umbrella of 'toxic masculinity' - such as a young girl who dreamed of being President one day, only to instead dance half-naked in a music video. Indeed, P!nk outright states that "the disease is growing, it's epidemic/I'm scared that there ain't a cure" in reference to the harmful gender discrimination that exists. 

For another song with similar deep meaning and catchy lyrics, listen to 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton.