Beautiful, Part I

This ia three part editorial. The first part is about the Eminem song "Beautiful" and what I think it means.

     I have only been listening to Eminem for a short time and I can tell you that I used to be a hater. I thought his lyrics and the imagery he portrayed was over the top. That it was too graphic, especially for little kids to listen to. This song; however, has made me stop and think.

     There is so much hate in the world and maybe, just maybe, Eminem has helped add to that, but I don't think that is true. I think of it this way, if he were trying to add to the worlds' hate, then why this song.

     The lyrics of this song are different, the tone of this is different. Even the beat of the song is less than before. Though its not exactly less, maybe less intense is the word the phrase I should choose. "Beautiful" tells us that Eminem aka Marshall Mathers, is really a soft spoken man who is only trying to better himself and those of daughters: Hailey, Lanie, and Whitney. He even mentions them in the song:

Yea... To my babies. Stay strong. Daddy will be home soon.

How can a man so devoted to his children, like Eminem is, be such a bad guy?

     He has had a rough life and the way he has chosen to work out all of his issues and eccentricities is through music. Eminem could have chosen any other way to do this. Yes, he took drugs and became addicted to vicodin, but he was actually able to admit it and get help for it.

     Through the lyrics of this song, you can see that he is trying to say that even though hate is strong in this world, that even though bigotry is strong in this world, you should never let anyone tell you that you aren't beautiful enough, that you aren't strong enough.

     That is the MAJOR point of this song: don't let others tear you down. That the only person who can tear you down is you. That the only person whose opinion of you matters is your own. That you should never underestimate yourself, no matter what anyone else says to you or about you.

     The other point of this, as far as I am concerned, is that he is, in his own way, admitting that things are turning around for him. Yeah, he may not know where his mother is for sure, but he is working on forgiving her the best way he can. Sure he hates his father and probably could care less, but again in his own way, he is forgiving him.

     Look at the chorus:

In my shoes, just to see
What it's like, to be me I'll be you, let's trade shoes
Just to see what it'd be like to
Feel your pain, you feel mine
Go inside each other's mind
Just to see what we find
Look at s**t through each other's eyes
But don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful oh
They can all get fucked.
Just stay true to you so
Don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful
Oh they can all get fucked. Just stay true to you

Here I believe he is saying: the only way you'll know me is to walk the walk, talk the talk. See me through my own eyes. He is saying that everyone can go f**k themselves and leave him alone.

     I believe that Eminem knew what he was doing when he wrote this song. I believe he knew what he was doing when he recorded this song. He knew that it just might make people stop and think about the meaning. Or even the possible meanings of this song.

     I leave you with this thought as I continue on to my other editorial: WHY WOULD SUCH A BADASS RAPPER WANT TO MAKE EVERYONE STOP AND NOTICE THAT HE'S REALLY NOT AS BADASS AS EVERYONE THOUGHT?

 

"Beautiful"

by

Eminem

SPKOKEN

Lately I've been hard to reach I've been too long on my own Everybody has a private world
Where they can be alone
Are you calling me, are you trying to get through
Are you reaching out for me, I'm reaching out for you

I'm just so f****n' depressed I just can seem to get out this slump
If I could just get over this hump
But I need something to pull me out this dump I took my bruises, took my lumps
Fell down and I got right back up But I need that spark to get psyched back up
In order for me to pick the mic back up
I don't know how or why or when I ended up in this position I'm in
I'm starting to feel distant again
So I decided just to pick this pen
Up and try to make an attempt to vent
But I just can't admit

Or come to grips, with the fact that I may be done with rap
I need a new outlet I know some s***s so hard to swallow
And I just can't sit back and wallow
In my own sorrow
But I know one fact I'll be one tough act to follow
One tough act to follow I'll be one tough act to follow
Here today, gone tomorrow
But you have to walk a thousand miles

[Chorus:]
In my shoes, just to see
What it's like, to be me I'll be you, let's trade shoes
Just to see what it'd be like to
Feel your pain, you feel mine
Go inside each other's mind
Just to see what we find
Look at s**t through each other's eyes
But don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful oh
They can all get fucked.
Just stay true to you so
Don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful
Oh they can all get fucked. Just stay true to you

I think I'm starting to lose my sense of humor
Everything is so tense and gloom
I almost feel like I gotta check the temperature in the room
Just as soon as I walk in
It's like all eyes on me
So I try to avoid any eye contact
'cause if I do that then it opens a door for conversation
Like I want that... I'm not looking for extra attention
I just want to be just like you
Blend in with the rest of the room
Maybe just point me to the closest restroom I don't need no f*****g man servant
Trying to follow me around, and wipe my a*s
Laugh at every single joke I crack
And half of them ain't even funny like
Ah Marshall, you're so funny man, you should be a comedian, god damn
Unfortunately I am, but I just hide behind the tears of a clown
So why don't you all sit down
Listen to the tale I'm about to tell
Hell, we don't gotta trade our shoes
And you ain't gotta walk no thousand miles

[Chorus]

But don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful
Oh They can all get fucked.
Just stay true to you so
Don't let 'em say you ain't beautiful
Oh They can all get fucked. Just stay true to you so

Nobody asked for life to deal us
With these bullshit hands we're dealt
We have to take these cards ourselves
And flip them, don't expect no help
Now I could have either just
Sat on my a*s and pissed and moaned
Or take this situation in which I'm placed in
And get up and get my own
I was never the type of kid
To wait by the door and pack his bags
Who sat on the porch and hoped and prayed
For a dad to show up who never did
I just wanted to fit in
At every single place
Every school I went
I dreamed of being that cool kid
Even if it meant acting stupid

Aunt Edna always told me keep makin' that face it'll get stuck like that
Meanwhile I'm just standin' there
Holdin' my tounge tryna talk like this
'Till I stuck my tounge on that frozen stop sign poll at 8 years old
I learned my lesson then cause I wasn't tryna impress my friends no mo'
But I already told you my whole life story
Not just based on my description
'cause where you see it from where you're sitting
Is probably 110% different
I guess we would have to walk a mile
In each other's shoes, at least
What size you where? I wear tens
Let's see if you can fit your feet

[Chorus]

Lately I've been hard to reach I've been too long on my own
Everybody has a private world Where they can be alone... so
Are you calling me, are you trying to get through oh
Are you reaching out for me, I'm reaching out for you
so oh oh

Yea... To my babies. Stay strong.
Daddy will be home soon
And to the rest of the world, god gave you the shoes
That fit you, so put em on and wear em
And be yourself man, be proud of who you are
Even if it sounds corny,
Don't ever let no one tell you, you ain't beautiful

Author's Note

Lyrics will be included at the end of the editorial as well as throughout when needed to make a point or to show what I mean.

Reviews

[Time Crosser]

i also thought that some of his lyrics were "over the top" as you mentioned earlier, and a bit too typical coming from a rapper. I even thought that a lot of it was just a bunch of words put together that rhymed, but after the way his lyrics were portrayed and analyzed, i now can see another point of view that i missed to perceive. i guess now i have a different approach to his lyrics. Thanks for sharing.

[Marie Harrison]

Wow! This was beautiful. I'm glad that I read it. We should always be proud of who we are and how God made us.

[Marie]

What an interesting idea. Never would have thought of doing something like this. It doesn't make sense that Eminem would care so much what other people think, given how he conducts his life, but his song "We Made You" is funny as hell, especially when you watch the video.