Human Stories

I was inspired by Dr. Rosemarie Peña, Dr. Emily Frazier-Rath, and our various guest speakers to write and produce this song. Therefore, I dedicate “Human Stories” to this class and the teachers that inspired me. This class has taught me to see things from new perspectives and fully embrace differences.

“Human Stories” is about being open-minded, accepting our differences, and learning. In the introduction, I try to describe humanity in just a few words. As humans, we are creative and want to create change, we have core humanistic temptations, and we have the opportunity to do great things. I believe these great things can be accomplished once we are able to accept each other and learn.
In the chorus, I aim to first ask a question and then provide an answer. Once you start to question who you and the people around you are, you start to see the similarities and differences in their stories and yours. It’s your choice what you choose to take away from their story and how much you want to relate. We can surprise ourselves by how much we can learn from others; I believe it’s always worth your time to hear their story and discover those differences and similarities.

The first verse is focused on open-mindedness. In the first eight lines, I talk about the importance of being present. You choose what you want to see to a certain extent, and it’s breaking that barrier that will let you be present, taking in what’s going on around you. Just by doing this, you will see things from a new perspective. In the final lines, I explore how this concept sounds easy and at times seems “corny,” but once you break this barrier, you feel liberated and happier. I end with a question that has no easy answer, but once you can start to see things from various perspectives, you can start to understand these complex questions.

The second verse is about self-identity. Identity is understanding yourself, but how do you understand yourself if you are constantly changing? This was a concept we explored with Ines Johnson-Spain, Amal Abbass, and a few other speakers. To know yourself, you must be constantly checking in with yourself– like how you have to retune the string on a guitar. The final lines refer to outside influences on yourself. There are many influences in our lives, but at the end of the day, you are the one to make your decisions. Simply, learn about yourself and the people around you, and follow what you believe.

Lyrics:

Intro:

Creative machines trying to change the world, we destroy we create we love we hate, we are humans, and we have the opportunity to do great things by accepting each other’s differences and learning we can simply ask ourselves…

Chorus:

Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with a different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity

(wait what)

Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with the different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity

Verse 1:
Open up your mind and have a look around
different people different views and you only setting bounds to
your perspective and what you want to view
and you rather pay money to go see a different view
but right in front of you there could be something found
now only different views but also different sounds that
inspire you to think of something new
a change of perspective that led to a breakthrough
wow so simple yet so complicated
and all the sudden you feel liberated
happiness is correlated to balance and love and that’s not debated so
Let me leave you with a single question, what is life and why is there aggression
is it fair for me to ask this question, has no answer, but here’s a suggestion

Chorus:
Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with a different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity
(wait what)
Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with the different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity

Verse 2
Do you know who you really are?
it’s okay if not but don’t drift away to far
just like the strings on a guitar,
you can fall out of tune and never be a star but
that’s why they created a tuner
an easy tool to check in sooner with
yourself and the people that’s surround you
not only them but also the ones that are bound to you
your family and your environment
Mold you to you, but you choose who to represent
So follow yourself and what you believe
ain’t no person out there that could tell you to leave

Chorus:
Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with a different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity
(wait what)
Who Am I who are you who are we
different humans with the different story
but that story is still a human story
you can look for a difference or similarity