Behind the Music: Price Tag
I don't watch the news anymore.
Maybe this is a typical personality characteristic of a songwriter or an artist, but I am a little emotional. I'm one of those people that cry when I watch commercials so when I see people with little children standing on their roof in a flood, I feel overwhelmed and helpless. When I see news reports of police officers killed in the line of duty or police brutality captured on video, I feel like puking. And when I witness the seeming inconsistency and lack of integrity by news media personalities and politicians within all parties and affiliations, it's difficult to justify supporting any candidate or taking stock in the "facts" shared by any news media outlet.
This is not right. I am a run-of-the-mill good person who wants to make responsible choices. I care about the people and policies in my community and country, but often I don't feel that it's possible to obtain enough true information to make decisions about political candidates. I don't know that my voice matters at this point. By the time I have the opportunity to vote, I get to choose between the lesser of two evils (based on what is reported in the media).
Maybe I'm just lazy. Maybe I need to work harder to find truth. But I'll be honest, I wish it didn't take so much effort to find what might be the truth. And when faced with the option of reading to my son, taking a shower, eating food, taking care of my home, earning a living, or visiting with my family and friends... I pretty much choose any number of those before playing detective on the internet. But I'm also ashamed of this mentality. It's complacency like this that leads societies into communism. I'm not saying our country is a communist country, but I am saying I appreciate the many men and women who've paid for my freedoms with their blood and I don't want to take it for granted. If they were willing to pay the ultimate price for me, why can't I give up something to ensure their sacrifice didn't go to waste?
This frustration with those who seek for power and my own response (or lack thereof) during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections was the impetus for this song. I continue to struggle to find anything that rings true anywhere in political reporting - it's like we're sifting through this kind of lie and that kind of lie rather than lies and truth. Our societies continue to pay a price for this decline of morality among those who seek for power - a hefty price - selfishness, pride, hate, and most importantly - division.
Don't you think it's interesting that we cling to our parties - our sides - so tightly that our "clinging" creates division? Isn't it also interesting that the word cleave means to cut (like with a cleaver) but also to cling to? A tragically perfect verb to describe what we are doing to ourselves.
When I was sharing this song with a few gentleman, the first response from one was ..."too preachy". I guess it might sound like that. One thing my dad used to say when we were young..."not making a decision is a decision". I see that the price I pay for closing my eyes is ignorance which breads fear - not bliss - and makes it impossible for me to see creative solutions to affect positive change within my sphere of influence. I want to do better.
Price Tag Lyrics
Talking loud, cleave to divide
Paranoia on each side
Disconnect and disunite
Only matters if you're right
Where the truth goes, nobody knows
Selfishness and hateful pride
Another price tag (X2)
Can't hear sense on either side
Maybe if I close my eyes
Fake indifference and hide
My head is in the sand, the sand is in my eyes now
Where the truth goes, nobody knows
Ignorance and fearful lies
Another price tag (X4)
Another push, another spin
Too many voices to begin
to separate the concrete-cold-hard lies from tall-tale fiction
Another rock, another stick
Another brother we can kick when fear distorts our view and placing blame defines our nation
Another sister we don't know
How many left out in the cold?
Another price tag (X5)