We need something nice and smooth here. It's been kind of a drag of a week, and it's just Wednesday! Who better to groove to than Marvin Gaye.
"What's Going" is one of the most perfect "artivist" protest songs ever created. And it is a work of art, so much so, that the Gaye's record label rejected it as being uncommercial [1].
I love the song because the lyrics and music are almost trance like, turning subverting the radical antiwar message of the song. It's almost subliminal the way the grooves hook you while the words slip into the unconscious.
It's as if Gaye becomes with this song an R&B shaman.
What's Going On [2]
Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Al Cleveland, and Marvin Gaye
Mother, mother
There's too many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Ya
Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me, so you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on
Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh
Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
What's going on
Ya, what's going on
Tell me what's going on
I'll tell you what's going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby
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