Marvin Gaye

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Marvin Gaye-What's Going On

Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On" Lyric Analysis

The Vietnam War. A matter of life and death, lost love and gunfires. A giant moment in the 20th century. Motown artist, Marvin Gaye, decided to write this song in the 80s because his best friend, Tammi Terrell, had just died. i chose these lyrics because he sings about the Vietnam War and the controversy that went on during that era. This song relates to our society back when the song was written and now. It relates to our society in which we live because of the Iraq War. It relates to his era because of the Vietnam War. He thought that "war was not the answer".

First, I'll make a connection to the times it was written b y the words in the song. "Picket lines and Picket signs, Don't punish me with brutally". This was saying that there were picket signs of protesters protesting to stop the war. The signs probably said, "End the war, bring our soldiers home". This connects to us today with the Iraq war. Many are dying for our country...just for OIL! I think that people everywhere should try to stop the toughest war America has been in... next to WWII (World War Two).

Our Society wasn't so different from when this song was written. We still have wars and musicians stepping up against the war. We still have people protesting about war, some for war and some against it. A lot of soldiers are dying and like in the song, we still ask ourself's, "Why is this happening?". This part of the song relates to our society today. "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".

Marvin Gaye wrote this song because he did not like what was going on in the world. He was against the war. He wrote this song as his way of protesting about the war. "You know we got to find a way, to bring some love in here today!". These are some lyrics from the song that relate to him knowing what's going on with the war. Marvin Gaye became a famous singer but, his life was a so tragic one.

"What's Going On" really changed my perspectives of music. Now, I'm going to listen to the lyrics instead of just the beat because some of those lyrics could be very enlightening. I saw throughout this song that lyrics from the 80's and lyrics from this time period are sort of the same.

"What's Going On Lyrics

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, fatherWe 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 onRight 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
OhPicket 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 onI'll tell you what's going on - Uh
Right on baby
Right on baby

Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye
"What's Going On"
Back in the '60's there was Motown and in Motown, there were famous R&B and Soul singers, such as The Temptations and Diana Ross. Today, I'm going to tell you about Marvin Gaye. Marvin Gaye was a small three year old boy in Washington DC when was singing and playing the organ in his church. Then he started singing groups with his friends, such as: The Rainbows and The Marquees in 1937. Marvin is mostly famous for his very spiritual lyrics. He's also famous for his hit songs: "What's going on", "How Sweet Is It (To Be Loved By You)", and "Sexual Healing".

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.) was born on April 2, 1939 in Washington DC, and lived to April 1, 1984 in Los Angeles, California. He writes R&B and Soul songs. His best song, "What's Going On" was about the Vietnam War, drug abuse, poverty, and the loss of one of his best friend's: Tammi Terrell.

Marvin Gaye was talking about drug abuse in "What's Going On", doesn't mean that he didn't mess with drugs. Marvin Gaye messed with drugs which leaded him to him and his parents arguing about bills and his own father shot him twice(once on shoulder; once on chest) for self defense.