1
I'm gonna make a change
For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
As I turn up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their need
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind, ya know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na
I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
There are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me pretending that they're not alone?
A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream (washed-out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?)
I'm asking him to change his ways (who?)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?)
I'm asking him to change his ways (who?)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (oh yeah)
I'm asking him to change his ways (he's gonna change)
No message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change
You gotta get it right while you got the time
'Cause when you close heart (you can't close your)
Then you close your mind (your mind)
That man, that man, that man (with the man in the mirror, oh yeah)
That man, that man, that man (I'm asking him to change his ways)
That man (gonna change)
That man, that man (no message could have been any clearer)
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, then make a change
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo (na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na)
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo (ooh, gonna feel real good, yeah)
Oh yeah (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na
Oh no, I'm gonna make a change
It's gonna feel real good
Shamone (change)
Just lift yourself, you know
You've got to stop him yourself, woo (yeah, make that change)
I gotta make that change, today, hoo (man in the mirror)
You got to, you got to not pick yourself, brother, hoo
(Yeah, make that change) you know
I've got to get that man, that man (man in the mirror)
You've got, you've to move, shamone, shamone
You got to stand up, stand up (yeah, make that change)
Stand up, stand up and lift yourself, now (man in the mirror)
Hoo, hoo, hoo, ow (yeah, make that change)
Go make that change, shamone (man in the mirror)
You know it, you know it, you know it, you know (change)
Make that change
For once in my life
It's gonna feel real good
Gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right
As I turn up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their need
A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind, ya know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na
I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
There are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me pretending that they're not alone?
A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream (washed-out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind, ya see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?)
I'm asking him to change his ways (who?)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (who?)
I'm asking him to change his ways (who?)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that change
I'm starting with the man in the mirror (oh yeah)
I'm asking him to change his ways (he's gonna change)
No message could have been any clearer
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make the change
You gotta get it right while you got the time
'Cause when you close heart (you can't close your)
Then you close your mind (your mind)
That man, that man, that man (with the man in the mirror, oh yeah)
That man, that man, that man (I'm asking him to change his ways)
That man (gonna change)
That man, that man (no message could have been any clearer)
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, then make a change
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo (na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na)
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo (ooh, gonna feel real good, yeah)
Oh yeah (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na
Oh no, I'm gonna make a change
It's gonna feel real good
Shamone (change)
Just lift yourself, you know
You've got to stop him yourself, woo (yeah, make that change)
I gotta make that change, today, hoo (man in the mirror)
You got to, you got to not pick yourself, brother, hoo
(Yeah, make that change) you know
I've got to get that man, that man (man in the mirror)
You've got, you've to move, shamone, shamone
You got to stand up, stand up (yeah, make that change)
Stand up, stand up and lift yourself, now (man in the mirror)
Hoo, hoo, hoo, ow (yeah, make that change)
Go make that change, shamone (man in the mirror)
You know it, you know it, you know it, you know (change)
Make that change
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this song is indeed about people suffering and the cruelty of the world...but it goes way deeper. its says the only way that you can change the world...is if you change yourself! why is it that we care more about Paris Hilton in jail than the child soldier in Uganda? why is it that it's more important to watch the grammy's than to go on an AIDS walk? ultimately...we have to face ourselves and change our attitudes for the world to be a better place... if we as a society were more sympathetic to others around us, if we were actually put others first be4 ourselves...then with that...a change will occur.
I think this song means that if you want to make a difference in the world then take a look in the mirror. Change yourself because if everyone changed themselves then the whole world will eventually be changed.
I think great changes would include treating others with unconditional love, including yourself. How about compassion, self discipline and self reliance as well.
i think this song is about a change in perspective of a wealthy man when he sees starving children in the streets, beggers freezing......... he realizes that hes been selfish for so long and finally asks himself could this really be me acting this way? hes saying that you cant wait for someone else to come along and make the guilt disappear for you, you've got to start with yourself ie "man in the mirror"
He really got it right with this one. I feel like it means be the change in yourself that you want other people to be. You can't control other people and can only control how you react. People will let you down time and again but if you love yourself than it won't matter. At the end of the day we have to live with ourselves. If other people are shitty that's there problem and shouldn't become yours. Love this song!
@oasisness you reminded me of Jeffery Stump lol. You emulated them lol. I’m you and your me ha! Lol
@oasisness you reminded me of Jeffery Stump lol. You emulated them lol. I’m you and your me ha! Lol
this is a fantastic song from MJ! it brings out the message..that he will start with himself as he realises he has been selfish..and hoping everyone would also look at themselves in the mirror and make a change like he did..
Serenity, I agree with your intepretation 100%. I would to add that this song reminds of one of Ghandi's most famous and oft-said quotes: "You must be the Change you wish to see in the World".I have No doubt that that statement was part of the inspiration for this song.
I believe one of the meanings of this song is that if you want to change the problems in the world, you first must change the problems with yourself.
It's kind of like a man not being able to support himself, so how could he support a whole family?
Micheal Jackson wrote most of his musaic but he did not write this track. It was written and composed by Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. So all these attempts to interpret what 'micheal is saying' and comments suggesting that it catches the 'essence of Micheal' are all stretching it a bit. Sorry. They are not his words.
He did make the song famous however and it is a gem example of songwriting. So simple, yet so powerful. We will never ever forget you Micheal.
This song is basically saying if you want to change the world, change yourself first.