This message is embodied in Bruce Hornsby’s The Way It Is released in 1986. The song went triple platinum and went straight to the top of the Billboard 100. It’s personally one of my favorite songs ever because of how catchy it is, but the lyrics brings a new listening experience. It reveals the realities of racism and poverty in America as a political response to the existing conservative government. The message in the lyrics is implying that it is time to take action in order to achieve racial equality, or will things never change? This song was meant to create a palatable melody in order to smoothly deliver a painful message to the American audience. You cannot pull apart this song or find the true intention of this artist by just enjoying the music aspects. This song was written to say that America is not equal in race now, it was not in 1986 and not any time before then either. The music is not meant to be used just for the sake of saying it sounds great, but it is meant to convey a meaning.
The jazz influenced melody/tune has a very relaxing, almost sentimental mood. There is a catchy piano vamp that is repeated in the song, but the lyrics represent a melancholy protest against the political landscape of the 1980’s. Specifically, Bruce Hornsby wrote this piece about the Reagan administration. He was directly targeting the Republican party and accusing them of neglecting the Civil Right Act that was passed in 1964 allowing for equal opportunity and treatment of black Americans. Amazingly, not much has changed today with continued protests about everything from racial profiling, movements such as Black Lives Matter, police brutality against blacks, and disproportionate percentages of young black men being incarcerated for non-violent offenses.
Starting in 2001, Sean Hannity, a conservative radio host, decided to use The Way It Is instrumental version for his theme song. He longer believed that the lyrics were important to the song, and did not want to include them. Hornsby was a liberal democrat and did not like that this was happening; however, he could not do anything about it since he was still receiving royalties. However, it wasn’t about receiving the royalties that mattered, it was that the song was being misused. The song taken without the lyrics is selling it short of its’ intention. This shows the difference of how receptive the audience is for this song. With the focus on just the melodies, the true intention of this song is blurred. The real intention lies behind the larger social implications coming from the lyrics.
Standing in line, marking time
Waiting for the welfare dime
‘Cause they can’t buy a job
The man in the silk suit hurries by
As he catches the poor old lady’s eyes
Just for fun he says, “Get a job.”
The first verse talks about how there were a growing amount of people cashing out on welfare, waiting in a long line just to catch a spare dime. It calls out the government for not taking the initiative to help people in poverty, and instead ignoring them ruthlessly as useless individuals while the government pockets and spends all their wealth. This also reflects the very high and increasing poverty rate in 1986 (14.6%). The message still rings true today with Trump taking massive cuts to Medicare, Medicade, and Social Security. For years, conservatives were completely against cash handouts to “undeserving” poor people. They believed welfare made people “lazy”. They refused to believe that there were any other benefits to having it unless it was food stamps, since those could only be exchanged for food.
Said hey, little boy, you can’t go where the others go
‘Cause you don’t look like they do
Said hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way?
Did you really think about it before you made the rules?
He said, son
The second verse is pointing out the racism in the attitudes of white people towards black people. Bruce Hornsby’s questions these attitudes from the old white man, asking why people have to think this way? Are people never going to change their minds no matter what rules they make? This type of public perception/attitude that white people have of black people still exists in the United States. I have witnessed it happen to my friends as well as many others. Social movements and protests against this perception that I mentioned earlier are very prevalent as well in today’s social-political landscape.
Well, they passed a law in ’64
To give those who ain’t got a little more
But it only goes so far
Because the law don’t change another’s mind
When all it sees at the hiring time
Is the line on the color bar, no
The last verse talks about the Civil Rights Act in 1964. However, it has not done much to change the way people behave or think about it. Even though the laws have passed, there was still a lot of employment discrimination and racist behavior. White unemployment in 1986 was 6% nationwide while black unemployment was more than twice as much at 14.1%. The differences can still be seen today (2018) with black unemployment (6.3%) at least twice as high as white unemployment (3.2%) on the national level. The highest point of white unemployment is in West Virginia at 5%, not even surpassing the national average of black unemployment.
That’s just the way it is
Some things will never change
The ending chorus statement is what makes this song powerful. It also posses the question of would it be possible for things to change for the better? It takes all the statements that were made and sums them up as a seemingly disappointing status quo. In 2019, it still seems like these racial issues are still just the way it is for some Americans. The lyrics seemed to be very present in the Trayvon Martin case and the acquittal of George Zimmerman. The song was also re-adapted by others reaffirming the same political message, one example would be Tupac’s hip-hop song Changes (1998):
The music has acted as a medium for this important political statement to be made across a large audience. The music was used as a way to increase awareness of issues and to challenge the unfair normalities of society. The music does can’t always focus on the “greatness” of how it sounds, because sometimes the deeper meaning is what gives music that power. The lyrics have really stood the test of time, and they continue ring just as much truth now as they also did in 1986.
Sources:
https://pilotonline.com/entertainment/music/article_a6cc6911-3840-5dde-94c8-f67f2a5441e3.html
https://world.wng.org/2009/09/bruce_goes_berserk
https://www.songfacts.com/facts/bruce-hornsby-the-range/the-way-it-is
https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1987/02/art1full.pdf
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/06/donald-trump-snap-tanf-welfare-reorganization
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/brucehornsby/thewayitis.html
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Hi Emiel, great job on the post. I found it very thought provoking. I liked how you examined the lyrics verse by verse and connected it to current events. Especially, the way that you discussed the racial and poverty issues carrying into 2019 made me think about the world around us. You argued that music has a purpose beyond sounding nice; it can make us think and empathize. I absolutely agree! Maybe one thing you could have done more of was discuss why Bruce Hornsby decided to set such serious and protesting lyrics to such a relaxed, chill tune. I wondering why he chose to go about it in that way? Also, perhaps you could include some resources or suggestions for musicians today who want to carry on the legacy of protest through music. Perhaps you could take some examples of current event injustices and flesh them out. I think that would help the reader empathize and get on board with your ideas. You definitely mentioned some good examples, but maybe a little background or analysis would help. Either way, great job on the post!