Music Review: Berlin "Like Flames"
Berlin
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Like Flames
Album: Count To Three & Pray
Year: 1986
Terri Nunn believes the disadvantaged will one day have a voice in the stalwart “Like Flames.”
Diligent whistling and Nunn crying out “like flames” opens the single, setting a rebellious tone.
In the first verse, she says people listen to secondhand stories about person who is about to be homeless or going hungry. They’ve seen imporverished people on television, screaming for help. People know it happens and they hope it won’t be them. People block it out, thinking it’s just the media exploiting a small group of others for ratings. The destitution and fight to survive each day eventually wears the people down and they die without notice. On the next street, a restraruant flourishes with people talking about their significant others, achievements, and homes.
In the pre-chorus, she says legislators changed laws, eliminating services that people used to fund pork projects. Compassion, which was once prevalent, is now seen as unprofitable.
In the chorus, she says the disadvantaged ones will not go away. One catasphroic day, people will be forced to view their living conditions and something will have to be done. Income gaps, unemployment, and discrimination are social problems that will always exist.
In the second verse, she says they have been cut off from society, called losers and freeloaders. She says they will have power someday. They would remember each rejection and call for help left unanswered. They see their numbers grow. They watch as people in positions of authority crumble, toppled by sex scandals and hypocrisy. They shout for change, hearing opposition the other side to quiet down.
In the pre-chorus, Nunn adds people will make the same mistakes and become corrupt. It’s a known fact that the world is cruel and the days of kindness are over.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, people are desensitived to the problems circling them. They’ve become a passive audience in own their lives, choosing to stay in dire situations instead of getting out. Then, one day, it will hit the person square in the eye and show them the path they should’ve headed down. They live in fantasies and shut out the real world. Once they realize the fantasy is only in their mind, their lives are half over.
A defiant guitar solo follows.
The chorus is sung twice to close the single.
Nunn reads the articles in her newspapers and hears the soundbites of politicians promising jobs and the American Dream. But when she walks to her job, she sees rundown homes and empty businesses. It troubles her to see people victimized and then get blamed for not having the opportunities to rise above. She hopes one day the people will protest and let themselves be heard.
Her gutty, lion-hearted vocals call for change. She sympathizes with those in need and incensed with their binding silence. Nunn’s speculator range and flexibility to fit it into the rock genre is notable. She can rock as hard as she dances. While some singers can do one and not the other, only a select few can do both really well (namely Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson).
The resistant arrangement thwarts and provokes to get its message across, breaking the status quo and stomping it into into tiny pieces.
The political “Like Flames” handles the social message with care and lets the listeners decide what they feel.
Album: Count To Three & Pray
Year: 1986
Terri Nunn believes the disadvantaged will one day have a voice in the stalwart “Like Flames.”
Diligent whistling and Nunn crying out “like flames” opens the single, setting a rebellious tone.
In the first verse, she says people listen to secondhand stories about person who is about to be homeless or going hungry. They’ve seen imporverished people on television, screaming for help. People know it happens and they hope it won’t be them. People block it out, thinking it’s just the media exploiting a small group of others for ratings. The destitution and fight to survive each day eventually wears the people down and they die without notice. On the next street, a restraruant flourishes with people talking about their significant others, achievements, and homes.
“Something you've heard, somewhere you've seen/Too real to ignore/You've chosen not to believe/From the black of their pain, to the white of their fear/In the dust they die/While Eden lies near.”
In the pre-chorus, she says legislators changed laws, eliminating services that people used to fund pork projects. Compassion, which was once prevalent, is now seen as unprofitable.
“ The freedom bought, changed hands, was sold/This heat of love has turned ice-cold.”
In the chorus, she says the disadvantaged ones will not go away. One catasphroic day, people will be forced to view their living conditions and something will have to be done. Income gaps, unemployment, and discrimination are social problems that will always exist.
“ We just can't escape it/Like flames reaching out from the sun/We can't defeat it/Like flames reaching out from the sun.”
In the second verse, she says they have been cut off from society, called losers and freeloaders. She says they will have power someday. They would remember each rejection and call for help left unanswered. They see their numbers grow. They watch as people in positions of authority crumble, toppled by sex scandals and hypocrisy. They shout for change, hearing opposition the other side to quiet down.
“From the garden of love, been banished too long/And the balance will shift/Between the weak and the strong/Once they would beg and they would plead/But now they demand/Divided by those that need/And those that command.”
In the pre-chorus, Nunn adds people will make the same mistakes and become corrupt. It’s a known fact that the world is cruel and the days of kindness are over.
“The freedom bought, changed hands, was sold/The heat of love has turned ice-cold and/We never learn but we know too well/Heaven's died and gone to Hell.”
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, people are desensitived to the problems circling them. They’ve become a passive audience in own their lives, choosing to stay in dire situations instead of getting out. Then, one day, it will hit the person square in the eye and show them the path they should’ve headed down. They live in fantasies and shut out the real world. Once they realize the fantasy is only in their mind, their lives are half over.
“Now you watch but you should have run/Like flames that leap from the base of the sun/And you dream you're free but you'll awake/Too much too late, too much too late.”
A defiant guitar solo follows.
The chorus is sung twice to close the single.
Nunn reads the articles in her newspapers and hears the soundbites of politicians promising jobs and the American Dream. But when she walks to her job, she sees rundown homes and empty businesses. It troubles her to see people victimized and then get blamed for not having the opportunities to rise above. She hopes one day the people will protest and let themselves be heard.
Her gutty, lion-hearted vocals call for change. She sympathizes with those in need and incensed with their binding silence. Nunn’s speculator range and flexibility to fit it into the rock genre is notable. She can rock as hard as she dances. While some singers can do one and not the other, only a select few can do both really well (namely Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and Kelly Clarkson).
The resistant arrangement thwarts and provokes to get its message across, breaking the status quo and stomping it into into tiny pieces.
The political “Like Flames” handles the social message with care and lets the listeners decide what they feel.