I know that with a user name like Jazzmaniac this diary may come as a surprise to some people. I’m several times the age of the demographic who call themselves “livies,” but musical talent is musical talent and this young woman has a ton of it. She’s primarily responsible for her songwriting, she sings with remarkable breath control, phrasing, and pitch (no Autotune here,) and accompanies herself on piano or guitar.
Olivia Rodrigo, of driver’s license fame has released her first album, called SOUR. The deliciously angry pop-punk song Good 4U debuted at #1 on Billboard, making her the first female artist to ever have two songs debut in that position, and the first artist of any gender to have two #1 hits from their debut album. All very shortly after turning 18.
The closing song of the album, I hope ur ok, has not been released as a single, and I don’t know if it will be, but I very much hope so and I hope it becomes another huge hit because people need to hear it.
It is a devastatingly sad song of love from a young person to the kids she’s met in her short life who were burdened by issues that no child should have to deal with. Just as driver’s license struck a chord with anyone who remembers being a teenager in love and the importance of being able to drive, I hope ur ok will hit hard to anyone who has fallen out of touch with someone that they still think and care about and, well, hope that they’re ok.
The song serves as a stark example of the reality that while today’s young people are perhaps the most tolerant and inclusive generation ever, older generations...their parents….are often still brimming with hatred.
She begins
Knew a boy once when I was small, a towhead blonde with eyes of salt. He played the drum in the marching band.
His parents cared more about the Bible than being good to their own child, he wore long sleeves ‘cuz of his dad.
She continues
My middle school friend grew up alone, she raised her brothers on her own, her parents hated who she loved.
She couldn’t wait to go to college, she was tired ‘cuz she was brought into a world where family was merely blood.
and then
Does she know how proud I am she was created, with the courage to unlearn all of their hatred? We don’t talk much but i just gotta say….I miss you, and I hope that you’re ok.
Now the very first time I heard the lyric “her parents hated who she loved” I immediately took it to be a reference to the her friend’s sexuality. Since then I’ve realized that it could also apply to racism, religious bigotry, and many other things.
But here’s where things get really sad, and the ugly difference between generations becomes apparent: If you read the comments on this video’s YouTube page you will encounter entry after entry from young people who are gay, bisexual, transgender, etc., who have been ostracized and rejected by their own parents….the people whose love they should most be able to count on. Or they are hiding their orientation from their parents, living with fear and depression because they feel being true to themselves will result in just that sort of reaction from their parents. These comments are almost always followed by an outpouring of support and love for the individual, which I’m sure brings some comfort to them. But it’s not what they need. They need the love and acceptance of their parents. Of their family.
When I think of how marriage equality came to the United States I remember what a character of Hemingway’s said when he was asked how he went bankrupt. “Two ways,” he said, “gradually and then suddenly.” I know I wasn’t alone in thinking that we were still ten years away from it, and then, like a snowball whose momentum can’t be stopped, this fundamental right was expanded to people who had historically been denied it. And when this happened, other members of the LBGTQ+ community said “Now it’s our turn.”
In the Chicago area there is a high school that has been embroiled in litigation regarding a transgender student who wishes to use the locker room facilities corresponding to their new identity. In reading a newspaper article about it, I was struck by a quote from the school’s Principal, who said that it was 100% the parents who had a problem with this. “The kids don’t care,” he said (and I’m paraphrasing I’m sure). This is the most tolerant generation I’ve ever seen.”
I was heartened to hear that. But an extraordinarily talented woman of this young generation has chosen to remind all of us that as far as we may have come as a society, we still have a mighty long way to go until we’re all as tolerant and inclusive as her and her peers. And that in the meantime, older, less tolerant generations are still making life miserable for them.
Friday, May 28, 2021 · 5:59:09 PM +00:00 · jazzmaniac
Thank you to those here at DailyKos who rescued and republished this diary. It was about to scroll off the front page after only a literal handful of people got to see it. Thanks to you this powerful and beautiful song and the talented woman who wrote it and performs it reached, at this point, over 150 people. It never would have happened if not for you.