Michael Jackson Music and WT Doctrine

by discreetslave 7 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

discreetslave

With the disgust I feel over the betrayal of the WBTS I've started listening to Michael Jackson. Pre JW as a child I loved MJ I remember listening to his music thru some rough times at home. When I became a JW I no longer listened to his music since he was DA. I could never grasp how many JW's didn't make the same connection. Now I've been listening to him again. I am finding as a ex-JW at heart his lyrics have deeper meaning. I'd like to think he was subconciously warning us. See if you get what I'm hearing I'll start with Scream
Scream Lyrics
(Michael)
Tired of injustice
Tired of the schemes
These lies are disgustin'
So what does this mean? (Daddy)
Kicking me down
I got to get up
As jacked as it sounds
The whole system sucks (Daddy it)

(Janet)
Peek in the shadow
Come into the light
You tell me I'm wrong
Then you better prove you're right
You're sellin out souls but
I care about mine
I've got to get stronger
And I won't give up the fight
(Michael)
With such confusions don't it make you wanna scream
(Janet: Make you wanna scream)
Your bash abusin victimize within the scheme
(Janet)
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
(Both)
Somebody please have mercy
Cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin me
Just stop pressurin me
Stop pressurin me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin me
Just stop pressurin me
Stop pressurin me
Make you just wanna scream

(Michael)
Tired of you tellin the story your way
You're causin' confusion
You think it's okay (damn it!)

(Janet)
You keep changin' the rules
While I keep playin' the game
I can't take it much longer
I think I might go insane

(Michael)
With such confusion don't it make you wanna scream
(Janet: Make you wanna scream)
Your bash abusin victimize within the scheme
(Janet)
You find your pleasure scandalizin every lie
(Both)
Oh father, please have mercy cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin me
Just stop pressurin me
Stop pressurin me
Make me wanna scream
Stop pressurin me
Just stop pressurin me
Stop fuckin with me
Make me wanna scream

(Janet)
"Oh my God, can't believe what I saw
As I turned on the TV this evening
I was disgusted by all the injustice
All the injustice"
(Michael)
"All the injustice"

(News Man)

(Michael)
With such collusions don't it make you wanna scream
(Janet: Make you wanna scream)
Your bash abusin' victimize within the scheme
(Janet)
You try to cope with every lie they scrutinize
(Both)
Oh brother please have mercy'Cause I just can't take it
Stop pressurin me Just stop pressurin' me
Stop pressurin me Makes me wanna scream
sizemik

Very interesting observation discreetslave . . .
It's hard to avoid the conclusion that there's some WTS inspiration in there . . .
Be warned however . . . the child molester knuckleheads will be along shortly to piss hate all over your thread
Band on the Run

I only admired his music with the Jackson Five. My eyeballs popped out when I saw him grab his crotch and hold it for what seemed an eternity. It was aggressive, deliberate. I was not permitted to have any Beatles stuff. Sometimes My father messed up the TV so I could not watch Ed Sullivan. I cried and cried. They are the symbol of my teenage resistance. Once when John and Yoko went public, he lectured me severely about evil, demonic John Lennon. I thought about Lennon's wit, power, fame, music, etc. and then I surveyed my father's abode and life. I started to laugh out loud.
So an active JW grabbed his crotch in defiance on national/international TV and he remains a Witness. I thought what would happen to me. The shunning would be miserable. The label of shame. What was the difference between the two of us? He was a man (I won't go anyplace with that) and I was not. More importantly, the Society must have adored his donation. This is the way of the world, nothing new. Witnesses proclaim they are different. Too much time is spent talking with vehemence against Roman Catholics. I read his ability to do such acts, invite little boys over for fun and remain a Witness as very consistent with the Borgia pope and others.
Tuesday

I think MJ talked a whole lot about the JW world in his music. He uses alot of terms that seem pretty inane but are somewhat insider terms especially depending on the part of the world you're in.

I've been a victim of
A selfish kinda love (I think this is talking about disfellowshipping, parents only loving if you're still a witness)It's time that I realize
There are some with no home
Not a nickel to loan
Could it be really pretending that they're not alone (I think this has to do alot with JWs not donating to any other charity)
A willow deeply scarred
Somebody's broken heart (I think he's talking about his mother when he was disfellowshipped here and his loss of her relationship to him)And a washed out dream (Washed out is a term for someone going for MS or Elder and ends up disfellowshipped)(Washed out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see (To go with the willow metaphor, I think this is a dig at New Light)'Cause they got no place to be (I think this is about the isolationism of JWs when they leave they've got nothing)That's why I'm starting with me
I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways (Alot of ex-JWs had this moment when they're about to leave they don't like who they've become)And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make a change (Essentially stop waiting for God to step in, if you want the world to be better work for it)
discreetslave

This song makes me think of the name calling, gossip, & backbiting
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"

[Chorus]
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)

[1st Verse]
I Took My Baby To The Doctor
With A Fever, But Nothing He Found
By The Time This Hit The Street
They Said She Had A Breakdown
Someone's Always Tryin' To Start My Baby Cryin'
Talkin', Squealin', Lyin'
Sayin' You Just Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

[Chorus]
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)

[2nd Verse]
You Love To Pretend That You're Good
When You're Always Up To No Good
You Really Can't Make Him Hate Her
So Your Tongue Became A Razor
Someone's Always Tryin' To Keep My Baby Cryin'
Treacherous, Cunnin', Declinin'
You Got My Baby Cryin'

[Chorus]
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
You're A Vegetable, You're A Vegetable
Still They Hate You, You're A Vegetable
You're Just A Buffet, You're A Vegetable
They Eat Off Of You, You're A Vegetable

[3rd Verse]
Billie Jean Is Always Talkin'
When Nobody Else Is Talkin'
Tellin' Lies And Rubbin' Shoulders
So They Called Her Mouth A Motor
Someone's Always Tryin' To Start My Baby Cryin'
Talkin', Squealin', Spyin'
Sayin' You Just Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

[Chorus]
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
You're A Vegetable, You're A Vegetable
Still They Hate You, You're A Vegetable
You're Just A Buffet, You're A Vegetable
They Eat Off Of You, You're A Vegetable

[Ad-Lib]
If You Cant Feed Your Baby (Yeah, Yeah)
Then Don't Have A Baby (Yeah, Yeah)
And Don't Think Maybe (Yeah, Yeah)
If You Can't Feed Your Baby (Yeah, Yeah)
You'll Be Always Tryin'
To Stop That Child From Cryin'
Hustlin', Stealin', Lyin'
Now Baby's Slowly Dyin'

[Chorus]
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
I Said You Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
You Got To Be Startin' Somethin'
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)
It's Too High To Get Over (Yeah, Yeah)
Too Low To Get Under (Yeah, Yeah)
You're Stuck In The Middle (Yeah, Yeah)
And The Pain Is Thunder (Yeah, Yeah)

[Ad-Lib]
Lift Your Head Up High
And Scream Out To The World
I Know I Am Someone
And Let The Truth Unfurl
No One Can Hurt You Now
Because You Know What's True
Yes, I Believe In Me
So You Believe In You
Help Me Sing It, Ma Ma Se,
Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa
Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa,
Ma Ma Coo Sa
Band on the Run

I walked past a group of students that Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary was lecturing and performing so I decided to stay awhile. A student said she wanted to a pro in folk music and did Mary have any tips about writing songs?
She said the vaguer, the better because they don't age and people can project their own meanings into a vague song. Bob Dylan's tunes are more about defiance and nonmainstream Americans than about Karl Marx or the best way to find peace in Viet Nam. I am certain he was under intense pressure from the Left to put forth their platforms.
Blowin' in the Wind does not mention the Montgomery bus boycott or the bombings. He wrote it for the civil rights movement clearly but not any specific faction. I am no MJ fan but am I a Beatles fan. Before the Internet and all the Beatles college courses, we had to guess what the lyrics meant. Many years later I would find out. It was so different from what anyone thought. Some times there were just rhymin' problems or incidental stuff happened.
I'm assuming that MJ never addressed the meaning of the lyrics and the Witnesses. He clearly loved his mom and may have reined in his feelings.
It is very interesting.
TDaze

In that case I wonder what he meant to say about the WTS in Billy Jean. Honestly, I think you're grasping here. The guy was a believing Jehovah's Witness (though not active), and Janet Jackson was even more serious. This leads me to think that they are not, in fact, deriding the WTS in any way.
discreetslave

I said subconciously. I guess the put your own meanings into it thing applies.Grasping or not it's fun
Billie Jean = false accusations I know a young brother who was accused of fornication by the mom of the sister he was dating. The mom trashed her own daughters rep trying to discredit him.
Thriller in the beginning Michael is really enjoying a scary movie something denied us as JW and the girl leaves. I've been in that situation on both sides.
The rest of the video and song make me think of the whole confession, witchhunt process of a Judicial Committee and how every one turns on you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&feature=related

Michael Jackson Music and WT Doctrine

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