Music Review: Tracie Spencer "This House"

Tracie Spencer

This House

Album: Make The Difference

Year: 1990

           The homeless epidemic worries  Tracie Spencer in the  proactive  “This House.”

          Impressionable synths open the single, setting a gracious tone.  A man in a weather-worn flannel shirt hauls a cart around the main street. At the light, she watches him as he crosses the street. She turns right and she sees a woman, her face unrecongnizable from the grime, asleep on the ground wrapped in old newspapers. (“Where do we go from here?/What must we do to make that change?/It's time to understand, understand one another/In a world so cold a place of disbelief.”)

            In the pre-chorus, on her way to work, she didn’t see any shelters. The churches seemed to be locked. The man and woman are someone’s family. Someone somewhere is probably wondering where they are. People will line up for fast food but not to volunteer at a soup kitchen. She thinks people need to stop looking at their wants and look towards others who would be grateful for a decent meal. (“Where will the people go without enough to eat/Let's not give up hope/We have to find a way/Search within our soul to make a better day.”)

           In the chorus, she says the people who live in the cities and suburbs have a responsibility to provide for those in need. The homeless deserve a second chance as much as any other person. (“This house is our house/Let's do it for the people/This house is their house/Let's give it back to the people/The people of the world today.”)

         After her shift, she heads to her car and sees the woman staring at her, wordless. She gives her some money. The world has broken the woman. Homelessness is a problem that is not just caused by one thing. The economy and stereotypes about mental health play a major role. (“I see hurt in their eyes/I hear the sounds of voices cry/It's time to open our eyes/Time to help one another/In a world so cold a place of disbelief.”)

            In the pre-chorus, the rain starts pouring down as she walks to her car from the restraurant. She pulls her umbrella up, shielding her from the rain. She thinks about the man and woman she saw this morning and how they are handling the weather. (“Where can the people go to find a place to sleep/Let's not give up hope we have to find a way/Search within our soul to make a better day.”)

         The chorus is sung again.

          In the bridge, she says all it takes is a couple of people with an idea and a desire to help. They homeless people she sees have no one. They are not the only ones in the city or the state. It’s a national problem. Something has to got to be done. (“You, me, we can make the difference/And you know no one, no one likes to be alone/We got to face it heart to heart/We have to make a brand new start/We got to change the tears to smiles/We have to go the exta mile/You, me, it's time we face reality (We can make the difference)/Give them hope and set them free/I think it's time we say goodbye/To all the homeless people's cry/We've got to take the time to search the mind to find/This house, our house (It's all in the hands of love)/I said it's all in the hands of love.”)

          The chorus is sung again to close the single.

               Spencer’s altrustic vocals are fed up with status quo. She cares about her community and would like to see its citizens thrive. Homelessness is a complex issue and she has just begun learning about it. All she does know is she’s frustrated with it and that if her community does nothing, they are destined to be a ghost town.

             The humanitarian “This House” asks for involvement without politicizing it.