I have done my own rewrites of a combination of the original work, Stevie Wonder's Pastime Paradise, and Coolio's famous derivitive version, Gangsta's Paradise.
Now, as a corralory of the above page (Buddhist Paradise- a Very Serious Parody), I will analyze the themes in Coolio's work, in search of an answer.
'Why are we so blind to see that the ones we hurt are you and me'
Coolio asks us how we can save people who grow up in the crime-ridden ghettos, such as the students in the film where the song is used.
'They say I gotta learn but there's no one there to teach me
If they can't understand it, how are they to reach me?'
But the real problem with reaching them is despair.
You cannot reach the kids growing up in those awful places, because you have no answer to the despair.
You try and try to understand their nightmare, in order to reach them.
But you have nothing to offer but more nightmare.
The kids growing up in those awful places are like horses dying of thirst in the desert.
They don't need more desert.
They need water.
If we try to get into the hole with them, we can't save them.
Only by reaching in and trying to pull them out of the hole can we save them.
That's why I wrote 'Buddhist Paradise- a Very serious Parody'.
Because that's what they need.
Purpose.
Light.
Hope.
Not more nightmare.
Reading them Dylan lyrics rather than gangsta rap lyrics is a start.
Better yet, something like 'Hey Jude'.
Or maybe just a good meaningful, heartfelt love song.
Only light, love, not more nightmare, can save them.
You can't save a horse dying of thirst by feeding it more and more desert.
They need hope and light.
And that is my purpose as David S. Annderson.
To show us all the light.
I will try to save them.
I will try to give them water and not more desert, even if no one else does.
For that is my mission in life.
And I will damn well try.
God loves you! Keep your head up and look to the light!
Sincerely,
David S. Annderson