In the first verse of the song, K’naan speaks from the perspective of a soldier stationed in Iraq. The soldier was a good student who could have gotten into any college he wanted. Many people were disappointed when he decided to join the army. However, K’naan claims that “they don’t understand just the power of significance / More than brilliance and certainly more than dividends.” Then, he asks “If you ask me now, would I repeat it? / Would I fight in a war I don’t believe in?” He bashes American society when he says “I must be crazy ‘cause all I’m obsessing with is her MySpace and Facebook and who’s commenting.”
K’naan really makes us look at ourselves and think about what we are doing in this world.
The second verse of the song is about the life of an unemployed single mother. The woman “In self-pity she suddenly cried. Would my life be important if I suddenly died?” This line makes you want to ask yourself the same question. The woman loses her job when the company downsized. She is “Now stuck with a mortgage she can’t afford And too educated to blame the corporate world.” K’naan once again makes us questions the society that we live in, a society that revolves around status and class. Why do we look down on people who are poor? Class and status tells you nothing about a person.
The last verse of the song is more personal as K’naan tells about his experience in Somalia. He begins the verse introducing his “favorite cousin.” Together, they “both partook with the gun crimes,” and “liked American rap rhymes.” He tells how in seventh grade they almost got killed by a grenade. When the country plunged into a civil war, K’naan’s mother tried to get them out. However, they didn’t have enough money for plane tickets. “How bitter when my mother had to choose who to take with her / So my cousin got left in the war and that’s just hard to recall.” This part of the song is just overwhelming. K’naan shares a sad part of his life. He shows us a different world that we are fortunate enough to not having to live in.
In the first verse of the song, K’naan speaks from the perspective of a soldier stationed in Iraq. The soldier was a good student who could have gotten into any college he wanted. Many people were disappointed when he decided to join the army. However, K’naan claims that “they don’t understand just the power of significance / More than brilliance and certainly more than dividends.” Then, he asks “If you ask me now, would I repeat it? / Would I fight in a war I don’t believe in?” He bashes American society when he says “I must be crazy ‘cause all I’m obsessing with is her MySpace and Facebook and who’s commenting.”
K’naan really makes us look at ourselves and think about what we are doing in this world.
The second verse of the song is about the life of an unemployed single mother. The woman “In self-pity she suddenly cried. Would my life be important if I suddenly died?” This line makes you want to ask yourself the same question. The woman loses her job when the company downsized. She is “Now stuck with a mortgage she can’t afford And too educated to blame the corporate world.” K’naan once again makes us questions the society that we live in, a society that revolves around status and class. Why do we look down on people who are poor? Class and status tells you nothing about a person.
The last verse of the song is more personal as K’naan tells about his experience in Somalia. He begins the verse introducing his “favorite cousin.” Together, they “both partook with the gun crimes,” and “liked American rap rhymes.” He tells how in seventh grade they almost got killed by a grenade. When the country plunged into a civil war, K’naan’s mother tried to get them out. However, they didn’t have enough money for plane tickets. “How bitter when my mother had to choose who to take with her / So my cousin got left in the war and that’s just hard to recall.” This part of the song is just overwhelming. K’naan shares a sad part of his life. He shows us a different world that we are fortunate enough to not having to live in.