“That’s just the way it is
some things will never change
that’s just the way it is
Ah, but don’t you believe them”…
-Singer/songwriter Bruce Hornsby
PROBABLY one of the best if not the greatest footballer of all time just played his final match.
Rest in peace, Diego Maradona.
I was fortunate to be able to see Maradona at the peak of his footballing career during the 1980s. He was a delight to watch. Superb ball control and dribbling skills. An excellent passer. Great shot selection. And above all, an intelligent and wily footballer.
There is only one Diego Maradona. The closest but not quite is fellow Argentinean FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. Even then, Maradona still towers over Messi with his 1986 World Cup win for Argentina while Messi, now at his peak, still has to win one for Argentina.
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On the other hand, the University of the Philippines (UP) just lost its credibility as an institute of higher learning with its “no fail policy”. Cowards and “sheep” beholden to a failed and obsolete ideology.
I pity the majority of students and faculty who go there primarily to study and teach but held hostage by the ulterior motives of the pseudo communists.
UP’s “no fail policy” just killed an infamous institution and cottage industry, the “Recto diploma mill.”
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During the Senate hearing on the so-called red tagging, Mr. Teddy Casiño of Bayan said they do not consider the internationally declared terrorist group New People’s Army (NPA) an enemy, which is akin to saying that they don’t consider rapists, murderers and extortionists as criminals.
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“Le Affair Bolet” blatant violations of COVID-19 protocols are some things Leni Robredo’s handler and PR people just can’t seem to sweep under the rug.
By the way, Debold Sinas’ mañanita happened in his residence. Meanwhile, Leni Robredo goes around shaking people’s hand and hugging kids in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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And we segue to our title. “The Way It Is” is a song by American rock group Bruce Hornsby and the Range. It was released in September 1986 as the second single from their debut album
“The Way It Is”.
Written by Bruce Hornsby, it made explicit reference to the Civil Rights Movement.
Musically, the song is characterized by two long piano solos. The song has been sampled by rapper E-40 for his song “Things’ll Never Change”, by 2Pac for “Changes”, and rapper Polo G for “Wishing for a Hero” in 2020.
Here’s a more detailed narrative on the song’s meaning shamelessly lifted from that free online encyclopedia a.k.a. the internet:
The opening verse recounts a story taking place at a line for welfare that illustrates a divide between the rich and poor.
The chorus presents several lines insisting that social ills are “just the way it is” and repeatedly suggests resigning oneself to them as a fact of life — however, the chorus ends with the author rebuking this attitude by insisting “but don’t you believe them.”
The second verse recounts past social issues from the voice of someone supporting racial segregation. The author responds in a narrative voice, insisting his view that if those who make laws took them into careful consideration they would be convinced that laws enforcing principles like racial segregation are morally wrong.
The song reminds the listener that it was at one time argued that racial segregation was
just the way it is”, and suggests that legislation and what the author views as progress on current social issues should be pursued without regard to those who insist “some things will never change.”
The third verse recounts the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as a victory in the civil rights movement, but insists that more is needed. In particular, the verse highlights individual prejudice and employment discrimination as an enduring form of racism.
The third chorus suggests that it only feels like “some things will never change” when we wait for social problems to change themselves rather than taking steps ourselves to actively change them.
As mentioned, the song “The Way It Is” has also been sampled by several artists from a different musical genre and we’ll focus on one as it has also focused on relevant social issues: “Changes” is a hip hop song by the late 2Pac (Tupac Shakur). The song makes references to the war on drugs, the treatment of black people by the police, racism (explicitly the reconciliation between the black and white people in America), the perpetuation of poverty and its accompanying vicious-cycle value system in urban African American culture, and the difficulties of life in the ghetto.
That’s life once it passes you by. It will never be the same./PN
