Seeing What's Going On listed as classic protest music, please note that the title song in particular has perhaps the most ignorant, trite excuse for a lyric of any major pop song.
Marvin Gaye was no war protester, or civil rights activist. He gave not a rat's ass about politics. I don't recall him marching in Selma. This is not a criticism; there are other things in life than social protest.
In 1970, however, he apparently felt the need to be "socially relevant" as the wind was blowing in those days. So, he got some words expressing a broad liberal position, and VOILA! He's a protest singer.
Now, the tune is great, the production and performance are spot on. He was a singin', songwritin' SOB. You really can't argue against the record. Marvin was a talented musician. I've spent a good many hours listening to Marvin, and I'm glad of it.
Father, father, we don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
However, "only love can conquer hate" constitutes a really stupid, cheap SENTIMENT, just as trite and deleterious to your ability to deal effectively with reality as the mushy love songs Frank Zappa bitched about. It's absolutely, objectively factually not true. Often the only thing that can conquer hate is getting a big gun and shooting the hater. Why, if we would just get together with Hussein and Bin Laden, hold hands and sing Kum-ba-frickin'-ya, it'd all be fine.
Then, consider such lyrics as "Who are they to judge us just because our hair is long?" Really. When did Marvin have long hair? He was just sucking up to the hippie establishment, trying to be cool.
Then consider the cheap supposedly "progressive" laundry list that gets pasted in for lyrics in the rest of the album. Particularly egregious to any proper sense of decency and geometry, "Let's save the children. Let's save all the children." Oh, HELL no. I'm against that. I say we feed 'em to the whales- then we EAT the whales!
Truly, it's generally asking too much to make any kind of specific political arguments in a song. Music is about emotional expression, not logical argumentation. If you want to make a serious political statement, write a book or a newspaper column or something.
Smooth grooves, though.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - natalie davis
No disrespect, Al, and you may have accurately divined Marvin Gaye's motivations for recording this protest song (legend has it the late singer was coked up when he did the chilling vocal for "What's Going On?")... but guns don't conquer hate. Guns are tools that help violent people express hatred. Guns don't end hate -- they help it multiply through the rest of the world. Think about the hate that flourished after bad guys used airplanes as guns (BIG guns) on 9/11/01. The truth is, Al, love is the only thing that can conquer conquer hate. Now, you may consider that a trite, cheap sentiment, but many people believe it to be true and we work to live our lives accordingly. Gandhi himself once said, "When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won out. There have been tyrants and murderers and they always seem invincible, but they always fall, always." That eventually includes the shlub wielding the big gun you mention.
So, despite your premise, Gaye's tune *is* a protest song, and a classic, and a relevant song for these unduly troubled times. But you did get this right: The grooves are certainly smooth.
Pax vobiscum.
2 - Knud Sandbæk Nielsen
There is a lot of hate in the sentence: "However, "only love can conquer hate" constitutes a really stupid, cheap SENTIMENT, just as trite and deleterious to your ability to deal effectively with reality as the mushy love songs Frank Zappa bitched about. It's absolutely, objectively factually not true. Often the only thing that can conquer hate is getting a big gun and shooting the hater."
So, maybe the person writing it never really conquered his own hate.
I maintain, that it is a fact obvious to all who are even just a little bit spiritually committed, that the hate you meet is equal to the hate you have in your own heart. Jesus would have pittied the hateful, but the author above shows enough hate to want to shoot the people who are hateful. An act which in the end might come bach to you, my friend! As you show hate, and then recommend the shooting of hateful people....
In fact, Saddam Hussein is one of the most pittyful men walking the earth these days! And I would prefer him tried in a court of justice, so that he might be brought to realize, that other people have a different view on his actions, than he has himself! When dead, who knows what his spirit can understand? If there is in fact such a thing as a soul, maybe his will be too confused to even try to understand! And as for his supporters, they too would learn more from a trial than from his possible martyrdom.
These are thoughts from a person who has defeated quite a lot of his own hate. Not just for the love of God, but also by the light of love, the wisdom that comes from loving someone for better or worse - as a friend! No sex involved, no gratification of my own, just love for the sake of the loved one.
Try it, and learn!!
Best wishes and bless you!
3 - Al Barger
I maintain, that it is a fact obvious to all who are even just a little bit spiritually committed, that the hate you meet is equal to the hate you have in your own heart.
Yeah, tell that to the Jews at Auschwitz, or poor schmucks working at the WTC on 9/11.
It is in fact appropriate to have a useful hate for evil. We didn't need to learn how to "pity" the Nazis. They had to be killed off. They were too evil and vicious to live amongst the rest of us. You may call that "hatred" if you wish.
I, on the other hand, call it love for life, and love for the lives of my family and friends. I speak not from an emotional turmoil, but from a calm and reasoned judgment that I support the protection of our lives above pretty nearly any other value. Certainly it rates more important than currying the favor of peace weenies.
Plus you should understand that I don't particularly have any strong feelings against people mouthing worthless hippie pseudo philosophy. It's just that reality intruded on your fantasy world a couple of years ago, and the big folks have to fix things.
"Hatred" is far too emotionally strong a word, really. It's more like the profound Martian hatred of Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land, an emotional state that might best be described as "mild distaste."
Again, GREAT song. Best thing Marvin ever did. Nicely executed lyric and very convincingly expressed, but rationally stupid.
4 - toy
Actually Al, you just made your ass sound like a stupid SOB because Marvin wasn't even the one who actually wrote the song. He mainly just performed. If you would do a little research you would know that Renaldo Benson was the one who came up with the lyrics you dumb ass. so if you want to talk about somebody and their lyrics, talk about Renaldo.
5 - Chris Arabia
toy, where does this post say that marvin gaye wrote that song? it only says that he "got" some words, which implies that he "got" them from somewhere, like from that benson guy. the post commends gaye's songwriting as part of a generic endorsement of his musical skills, which might cut the other way. so, at worst the poster was a little sloppy.
nat, would love have conquered the nazis? gandhi only works if the opponent displays basic humanity on some level. the nazis would have shot gandhi and all of his people.
6 - Tolu
Does this song need to be rationalised? Music is personal, if someone sees it as a protest song then leave them to it, it makes them feel good. After all the debates over who wrote what and who meant what and who was cashing into any movement at a time... you/me/anyone likes a song because you feel it. It makes you feel good.
For some people that album is everything, for others its not worth anything. But if it inspires the first group in anyway then it must have something to it. If he has cashed in on a movement, then he's done it well. I'm not myself sure whether Marvin Gaye intended to write a 'protest song' but I dont think thats the point.
For me, the words 'only love can conquer hate' is true because only when people co-operate in the hope of something that is against what they see as hate, i.e. in the hope of love, is hate conquered. Only when people make that distinction between something being wrong, unjust, unfair and then envision a way out of it - do they act against it.
The phrase is loose because the techniques and results of acting against hate can be anything and everythng. But I do think that people only act in the hope of a way forward if they see another (positive) option. Thats what it means to me. I thought it was obvious.
7 - PEOPLEsuck!
the beginning of the song says, "mother, there's too many of you crying. brother, there's too many of you dying." so, i guess if you have no taste fro volunteering, extending a kind and caring heart out to those who are suffering and watching their families suffer beyond any shadow of a doubt anything you've ever been faced with, then of course you wouldn't understand. one day, maybe it will be your kids, overtaken by terrorists, enslaved, raped and maimed, so i'd think twice about your reaction (and action) to it if i were you!
8 - Al Barger
PEOPLEsuck- Yes, you've got me figured out. I'm a cold, heartless bastard who doesn't care about the poor people. Cause otherwise, I'd just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Bin Laden et al, and the power of LOVE would melt their cold hearts. Then we'd sing "Kum-Bi-Frickin'-Ya" while giving one another handjobs. And then we'd have world peace.
9 - PEOPLEsuck!
that's right, obviously your snide arse couldn't give 2 hoots, about anything, now, could it? because i bet i couldn't find evidence of it if i gave you a once and second over. i bet you couldn't make me turn even after i'm in my grave! so, what's it gonna be? anyway.....!
10 - PEOPLEsuck!
you bore me. is that the best you've got? go back to school!
11 - PEOPLEsuck!
how boring! this just isn't getting anywhere, good OR bad! oh well!
12 - PEOPLEsuck!
well of course! that i just, like, SO obvious! right on, dude! so totally groovy man!! shucks.
13 - PEOPLEsuck!
wow! you must be psychic or something! sneer
14 - PEOPLEsuck!
whoops~ stupid site kept giving me post errors- oughtta get that cleared up, fella's! ROFLMAO!!
15 - PEOPLEsuck!
in this case, then, i would be inclined to rub YOU out, in the clear understanding, it would be for the love and benefit of my friends and family as you are clearly very complacent and ignorant in our terms of what peace of mind means to US. as you have no concept of mercy, forgiveness, or compromise- and likely that you wouldn't even be able to concede to what compromise would consist of!!
16 - Christopher Rose
It's actually literally true that only love can conquer hate, the problem is that people haven't yet come to terms with expressing love without the kind of bogus bullshit that tore down the hippie movement.
17 - Silver Surfer
Yep, you are dead right Rosey ... and a Happy New Year from Down Under (Jan 1, 2008). Hope it's a good one for everyone. Oops. Lunatics have just let off illegal fireworks up the street. My house feels like it's coming down ....
18 - PEOPLEsuck!
like, killing your own parents with axes and stuff? LOL, i don't think it's us that can't deal with feelings of love, i think it's other people that can't deal with our ultimatums for achieving love, instead of hate!! lol, bad joke! ( maybe )
19 - Christopher Rose
Happy New Year to you too Stan. And you, PEOPLEsuck!
20 - PEOPLEsuck!
happy new year to you all! stan, and rosey posey, and everyone in between!!!! God bless you. <:-D
21 - yoni-baloney
Once you figure out what the REALITY is and only then can you make the decision whether or not to
take action or let go.
We are only a culmination of our thoughts, perceptions of reality, choices and actions.
22 - Kristine
Shut the fuck up and just enjoy the music.
23 - WakeUp
So, you say you love life... But only those of your friends and family? Do you not agree that if everyone would abandon their hate, there would be no need for this sort of violent, vengeful thinking? Consider that...
24 - winds
Imagine yourself in another's position before you cast jugdement, at least try, know that you will never fully succed in comprehending, you may never even get past the tip of their iceberg because every single person has a life as vastly diverse as yours, filled with the uncountable choices and events that have lead up to this moment in time, but this is why you must try, so you can at least begin to understand that we are all human and the person across from you is you, just born in a different circumstance.
25 - Laurent
"Yeah, tell that to the Jews at Auschwitz, or poor schmucks working at the WTC on 9/11.
It is in fact appropriate to have a useful hate for evil. We didn't need to learn how to "pity" the Nazis. They had to be killed off. They were too evil and vicious to live amongst the rest of us. You may call that "hatred" if you wish.""
Yeah!!!! Godwin point (huhu)
Al, don't you know that Satan is god's servant as mentioned in Islam and pre-manicheist religions.
So...if you meet Satan you have to deal with him....with a gun ??? zit enough ???
In the other hand you can say : "I'm a children of paradise, I live in paradise and nothing can bother me, nothing can touch my soul" so 9/11 or any war is no big deal for you