Behind the Song: Words
By Tricia Fox
They say words create worlds
The smallest drop turns to a wave
My hurt and your hurt
You know that we can talk about it for days and days
On the screens are painted images
of all the wrong that ever did
show us the meaning of hate
I wanna know
If they showed us something beautiful
That our hope would change
Cuz I’m not naïve enough
To think that our words don’t mean that much
They can silence just ‘bout anything
But it won’t stop the caged bird singing
Or from having wings24
There’s a flag flying high
with thirteen stars marking the sky
there are hundreds and thousands of people
with a desire to be right
there was a dream in spite of difficulty
that lead a nation on a fight to be free
and what if we were judge by our character
and by the content of our words
Cuz I’m not naïve enough
To think that our words don’t mean that much
They can silence just ‘bout anything
But it won’t stop the caged bird singing
Or from having wings
In that world where that word happened to start a wave
There are people that care willing to carry the change
“Words create worlds” is a common phrase in positive psychology. This can mean the words we use or the words we hear, which is why I am so surprised that lyrics have not been well researched. David Cooperider (2005), founder of Appreciative Inquiry, uses this as a philosophy in his work with organizations, reminding them that the type of questions they ask themselves matter. For example, there is a difference between asking, “What are we doing well?” vs. “What are we doing wrong?” When a company asks, “What are we doing well?” the company takes on a “strengths-based” approach, which enhances innovation, productivity, profitability and sustainability. Many other fields utilize this idea that what we say or listen to influences our well-being. I wrote the first verse inspired by the phrase “Words create worlds:”
They say words create worlds
The smallest drop turns to a wave
My hurt and your hurt
You know that we can talk about it for days and days
The second stanza talks about the media’s role in our world:
On the screens are painted images
of all the wrong that ever did
show us the meaning of hate
It is almost impossible for me to watch the news these days without seeing how glorified the hateful things are. This is changing, though. Cathrine Gyldensted (2015), contributor and writer for The Huffington Post and The Guardian, as well as a graduate of the Masters in Applied25 Positive Psychology from University of Pennsylvania, is working to incorporate aspects of positive psychology into journalism to bring balance back into the media. I have had songs take 20 minutes to write and some that I have started years ago that probably won’t be finished for years to come. As for “Words,” I wrote that first verse in about 30 minutes and then couldn’t find the right words or melody for the chorus, so I took a break. A few weeks later, on June 17th, 2015, in Charleston, South Carolina, a mass shooting shook the United States. A gunman entered Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, killing nine people. Not only was it another mass shooting, but it was also another tragic event steeped in racism. The conversation that followed had a large focus on the Confederate Flag, which was still flying high in the state of South Carolina, as it was many other states in the U.S.:
There’s a flag flying high
with thirteen stars marking the sky
The coverage and dialogue felt so polarized, like the conversations were never intended to change anything for the better, but rather only to prove that one side is right and the other side is wrong:
There are hundreds and thousands of people
with a desire to be right
During times of overflowing societal emotion and public friction or injustice, the urge to write songs overcomes my heart and mind. Writing and singing songs remedy my problem of never knowing how to get involved in conversations that are so full of hatred and blame. It doesn’t feel like there is room for another person to join the conversation, so I turn to my guitar and to songwriting. Inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, I started to write the second verse. I had in mind the historical journey from the initial flying of the Confederate Flag to how far the nation has come, but, also how much further we have to go. It was evident to me that the words we choose during these moments of crisis and pain matter:
and what if we were judge by our character
and by the content of our words
The chorus was written from the anger I felt about oppression and the hope I feel about the human spirit and ability to rise above. Maya Angelou’s poem, “Caged bird,” inspired the chorus. Though many are caged and oppressed, their ability to express though music cannot be taken away; the possibility of flight won’t disappear because of oppression. I genuinely believe that no matter how voices are silenced:
…it won’t stop the caged bird singing
or from having wings.
The last line of the song ends halfway through a verse. I felt like it needed an abrupt ending to leave the listener with the message that it takes action, people willing to carry a change
in order for change to happen
In that world where that word happened to start a wave
There are people with voices willing to carry the change.