Tracy Chapman's 1988 "Talkin' Bout a Revolution" is a self-titled album that protests economic and racial injustice that continues to plague various countries. In today's world of complete chaos and mayhem, there's little but no hope that things can change. But Chapman's song 'Talkin Bout a Revolution' gives us a sense of hope, belief that this world could change. The message that this song spreads has remained relevant for decades and it still holds its relevance.
"Don't you know They're talkin' bout a revolution It sounds like a whisper Don't you know They're talkin' about a revolution It sounds like a whisper..."
"Poor people gonna rise up And get their share Poor people gonna rise up And take what's theirs
Don't you know You better run, run, run... Oh I said you better Run, run, run... Finally the tables are starting to turn Talkin' bout a revolution."
“Don’t you know,” implies that we should already know we’re either supporting the revolution or we’re in the way. To sing out about a whisper. To rearrange those armies of salvation. The confidence of guitar and Chapman’s voice: “Poor people gonna rise up/ And take what’s theirs.” The belief that tables turn, that people in power should heed this warning and “run, run, run, run, run…”. The use of a second person (you) to implicate all of us: “Oh I said you better run…” There is a safety in this song for me today, even in the skewed reality of our time. We must not get totally distracted trying to just survive.
Tracy Chapman: “I wrote the song ‘Talkin’Bout A Revolution’ when I was sixteen, I guess I was in my second or my first year of boarding school. I grew up in Cleveland and went to public school there. I received the scolarship to go to boarding school. It was a really difficult transition for me, being in Danbury, Connecticut. I found that people at the school didn’t really have that much interest. I was really angry about that, and that’s where the song ‘Talkin’Bout a Revolution’ came from. Meaning that a lot of them thought that… they didn’t think that people’s lives who…, people who didn’t have money or who were working class, their lives weren’t very significant and they also somehow couldn’t make a change. But I feel that’s where change comes from, that’s where people are in most need...
I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in.”
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