'It's Alright' maintained East 17's relentless assault on the UK pop charts and dance floors in 1993, yet one that has been overlooked somewhat for the sublime lyrical prose it holds within in favour of the epic and rousing Thunder. Indeed beneath that masterful beat and Brian Harvey's soulful voice there's a statement, a message. The message that East 17 give is that 'it will be alright'.
The 90s may now seem like a magical land and a rich fertile backdrop to which some of the greatest musicians of the century thrived but it was a time of great uncertainty. Mortimer the astute and conscious beatmaster and lyricist plugged into this growing feeling. He saw the uncertainty around him grow as the old certainties of the past and crumbled away. People were restless looking to politicians, religion, and the TV for something concrete to believe in. The masses needed reassurance that the dogmatic rhetoric of politics and religion couldn't give. Mortimer took this upon himself and penned 'It's alright (X 3), It's really alright, It's alright, It's really alright. Alright, alright. Everything's gonna be alright (x 3). Alright, alright it's really alright'. Those kind, thoughtful, insightful words soothed a nervous and anxious public. People heard this song on the radio at school, at home, at work and spontaneously started dancing in the street. Everything was really alright.
I think you've tapped into what made this song such a youth anthem of epic proportions, doodoobubble. At the end of the day, people just want to be coddled and told that, despite the drudgery and ennui of our beigish gray existences, there truly is a hypothetical pot of gold at the end of our rainbows. The meaning of this will vary from person to person, so Mortimer's lyrical simplicity here is really paramount. It lends the song an open ended air, so that the listener can PERSONALIZE & pin their unachievable/yet to be achieved hopes, whims, and dreams onto...
I think you've tapped into what made this song such a youth anthem of epic proportions, doodoobubble. At the end of the day, people just want to be coddled and told that, despite the drudgery and ennui of our beigish gray existences, there truly is a hypothetical pot of gold at the end of our rainbows. The meaning of this will vary from person to person, so Mortimer's lyrical simplicity here is really paramount. It lends the song an open ended air, so that the listener can PERSONALIZE & pin their unachievable/yet to be achieved hopes, whims, and dreams onto the songs universal message.
What I find staggering, to this day, is the weight with which I am HIT each and every time I pop this baby into my Sony Discman. Like Lisa Lisa once sagely sang "Let the Beat Hit 'Em"...Boy, does it ever, Lisa...Does it ever... I am at once uplifted and humbled, rocked to my very core. This song really has the strangest most contradictory effect on me! I think its b/c I now look at it with the eyes of a seasoned elder, but can also imbibe the song with the meaning it held to me as an innocent school girl. It ultimately leaves me feeling rather melancholic, if you must know the truth. See, the lads of East 17 (and they were but boys when this broke the charts) were full of youthful vim and vigor, they HAD reached up, plucked the brightest star from the sky (hell, they WERE the brightest star!), and were JUST beginning to reel it in, greedy little fingers beginning to touch infamy when...
THE BEAT WENT BAM! (like Tony prohpechized)...
And we all know the rest of their tragic descent into tawdry tabloid fodder, ill-fated reunions, televised weddings, and baked potato addictions... Each of these boys had demons, and were robbed, I feel, of the status they truly deserved once said demons reared their ugly heads and the band's once airtight bond was left in shards...
I listen to this Jam knowing all the misfortune that East 17 had yet to suffer, and it breaks my heart, doodoobubble. It shakes me, breaks me, and abuses me in a way that you may never know... I PRAY you never know, at least... Maybe I just feel too much... Maybe I just want EVERYTHING TO BE ALRIGHT? But I know that is a world I will never again inhabit. I am no longer a fag smoking, White Star drinking, stars in her eyes 15 year old playing truant... I am seasoned by the hands of time, and have seen things that have both shocked my eyelids and rocked my very foundations... There is no going back... I guess all we can do is look ahead...
Will you take my hand, doodoobubble, and look towards the future with me? If you squint just a hair, you can see those purple mountains where the horses are rumored to run... Maybe we will catch up with them someday? sigh...
'It's Alright' maintained East 17's relentless assault on the UK pop charts and dance floors in 1993, yet one that has been overlooked somewhat for the sublime lyrical prose it holds within in favour of the epic and rousing Thunder. Indeed beneath that masterful beat and Brian Harvey's soulful voice there's a statement, a message. The message that East 17 give is that 'it will be alright'.
The 90s may now seem like a magical land and a rich fertile backdrop to which some of the greatest musicians of the century thrived but it was a time of great uncertainty. Mortimer the astute and conscious beatmaster and lyricist plugged into this growing feeling. He saw the uncertainty around him grow as the old certainties of the past and crumbled away. People were restless looking to politicians, religion, and the TV for something concrete to believe in. The masses needed reassurance that the dogmatic rhetoric of politics and religion couldn't give. Mortimer took this upon himself and penned 'It's alright (X 3), It's really alright, It's alright, It's really alright. Alright, alright. Everything's gonna be alright (x 3). Alright, alright it's really alright'. Those kind, thoughtful, insightful words soothed a nervous and anxious public. People heard this song on the radio at school, at home, at work and spontaneously started dancing in the street. Everything was really alright.
I think you've tapped into what made this song such a youth anthem of epic proportions, doodoobubble. At the end of the day, people just want to be coddled and told that, despite the drudgery and ennui of our beigish gray existences, there truly is a hypothetical pot of gold at the end of our rainbows. The meaning of this will vary from person to person, so Mortimer's lyrical simplicity here is really paramount. It lends the song an open ended air, so that the listener can PERSONALIZE & pin their unachievable/yet to be achieved hopes, whims, and dreams onto...
I think you've tapped into what made this song such a youth anthem of epic proportions, doodoobubble. At the end of the day, people just want to be coddled and told that, despite the drudgery and ennui of our beigish gray existences, there truly is a hypothetical pot of gold at the end of our rainbows. The meaning of this will vary from person to person, so Mortimer's lyrical simplicity here is really paramount. It lends the song an open ended air, so that the listener can PERSONALIZE & pin their unachievable/yet to be achieved hopes, whims, and dreams onto the songs universal message.
What I find staggering, to this day, is the weight with which I am HIT each and every time I pop this baby into my Sony Discman. Like Lisa Lisa once sagely sang "Let the Beat Hit 'Em"...Boy, does it ever, Lisa...Does it ever... I am at once uplifted and humbled, rocked to my very core. This song really has the strangest most contradictory effect on me! I think its b/c I now look at it with the eyes of a seasoned elder, but can also imbibe the song with the meaning it held to me as an innocent school girl. It ultimately leaves me feeling rather melancholic, if you must know the truth. See, the lads of East 17 (and they were but boys when this broke the charts) were full of youthful vim and vigor, they HAD reached up, plucked the brightest star from the sky (hell, they WERE the brightest star!), and were JUST beginning to reel it in, greedy little fingers beginning to touch infamy when...
THE BEAT WENT BAM! (like Tony prohpechized)...
And we all know the rest of their tragic descent into tawdry tabloid fodder, ill-fated reunions, televised weddings, and baked potato addictions... Each of these boys had demons, and were robbed, I feel, of the status they truly deserved once said demons reared their ugly heads and the band's once airtight bond was left in shards...
I listen to this Jam knowing all the misfortune that East 17 had yet to suffer, and it breaks my heart, doodoobubble. It shakes me, breaks me, and abuses me in a way that you may never know... I PRAY you never know, at least... Maybe I just feel too much... Maybe I just want EVERYTHING TO BE ALRIGHT? But I know that is a world I will never again inhabit. I am no longer a fag smoking, White Star drinking, stars in her eyes 15 year old playing truant... I am seasoned by the hands of time, and have seen things that have both shocked my eyelids and rocked my very foundations... There is no going back... I guess all we can do is look ahead...
Will you take my hand, doodoobubble, and look towards the future with me? If you squint just a hair, you can see those purple mountains where the horses are rumored to run... Maybe we will catch up with them someday? sigh...
@doodoobubble Right today your explanation truly makes so so so much sense.
@doodoobubble Right today your explanation truly makes so so so much sense.
thank you so much my friend
thank you so much my friend