I really like this song and I think that it makes a good point. Let's do some analysis. Basically, in the first verse she is making a general statement about human nature these days. She sees a cop, who is supposed to be the epitome of safety and righteousness, shoplifting. An old lady, who should be the most harmless thing in the world, totes a gun. A hero, who is supposed to be the one to save everyone, can't even help. Instead, they run away. She then comments about how everything isn't perfect even though it's not all bad. There are kids playing bills and people buying pride and nobody is unified.
In the chorus, Jewel basically expresses her feelings about the current situations (war, for the most part) in the world. "Mothers weep, children sleep, so much violence ends in silence" - I think that this means that children are being killed, mothers are crying, basically people are dying left and right, and from all of this violence nobody does anything, nobody takes a stand and it continues to happen. Nobody gets the blame, and the pain cannot be stopped. Jewel wishes to make a stand against this with someone.
The second verse is much like the first, commenting on humanity again. "A waitress brings me lunch, we meet but we do not touch" - I think that's a powerful line. In modern society we almost don't have time for each other, there is no gentle conversation or an exchange of smiles for now reason. Jewel also brings more politics into the mix, saying that she feels that D.C. (most likely the Bush administration) sells lies to the people. "While in the corner, King's dream dies" - this refers to Martin Luther King's dream speech, and she's probably saying that racism is still a large problem in the world, thus killing King's dream of racial equality. Also, in this world the homeless man has more money and kindness than the mayor, who would rather spend his money on drugs and hookers than more important things.
I really like this song and I think that it makes a good point. Let's do some analysis. Basically, in the first verse she is making a general statement about human nature these days. She sees a cop, who is supposed to be the epitome of safety and righteousness, shoplifting. An old lady, who should be the most harmless thing in the world, totes a gun. A hero, who is supposed to be the one to save everyone, can't even help. Instead, they run away. She then comments about how everything isn't perfect even though it's not all bad. There are kids playing bills and people buying pride and nobody is unified. In the chorus, Jewel basically expresses her feelings about the current situations (war, for the most part) in the world. "Mothers weep, children sleep, so much violence ends in silence" - I think that this means that children are being killed, mothers are crying, basically people are dying left and right, and from all of this violence nobody does anything, nobody takes a stand and it continues to happen. Nobody gets the blame, and the pain cannot be stopped. Jewel wishes to make a stand against this with someone. The second verse is much like the first, commenting on humanity again. "A waitress brings me lunch, we meet but we do not touch" - I think that's a powerful line. In modern society we almost don't have time for each other, there is no gentle conversation or an exchange of smiles for now reason. Jewel also brings more politics into the mix, saying that she feels that D.C. (most likely the Bush administration) sells lies to the people. "While in the corner, King's dream dies" - this refers to Martin Luther King's dream speech, and she's probably saying that racism is still a large problem in the world, thus killing King's dream of racial equality. Also, in this world the homeless man has more money and kindness than the mayor, who would rather spend his money on drugs and hookers than more important things.