trip.

For those who know me, there ought to be no mystery as to why I'm feeling a little saddened today.

For those who don't know me that well, I should explain that I am one of the those eccentric Michael Jackson fanatics, the kind that my parents were quite worried about me at one stage.

So it's with deep deep sadness that I woke up hearing the terrible news of Michael's death this morning.

But I'm troubled in another sense... one man's death grabs the whole world's attention, meanwhile death and dying is all around us due to injustice, starvation, lack of sanitation.

But as I reflect, I think about many of Michael's songs, lyrics and poems... not the Billie Jeans or Thrillers - But the songs generally less glamorous and known that point us to some element of truth.

Here are the lyrics and video of two my absolute favourites. I won't comment on them, as I think they say enough in and of themselves.

They say I'm different, they don't understand
But there's a bigger problem that's much more In demand
You got world hunger, not enough to eat
So there's really no time to be trippin' on me

You got school teachers who don't wanna teach
You got grown people who can't write or read
You got strange diseases - ha! but there's no cure
You got many doctors that aren't so sure
So tell me why you wanna trip on me
Why you wanna trip on me - stop trippin'

We've got more problems than we'll ever need
You got gang violence and bloodshed on the street
You got homeless people with no food to eat
With no clothes on their back and no shoes for their feet

We've got drug addiction in the minds of the weak
We've got so much corruption - police brutality
We've got streetwalkers walking into darkness
Tell me what are we doing to try to stop this

So tell me why you wanna trip on me
Why you wanna trip on me - stop trippin'

RIP Michael and the "Children of the World"

peace.

nh