Show Me (John Legend song)
Encyclopedia
"Show Me" is the seventh single from John Legend
's album, Once Again
. The song is produced by Raphael Saadiq
and Craig Street
and was released as a single in December 2007. The song is noted for its vulnerability and John has cited it as one of his favorites. Along with the release came a music video
tailored to fit the theme of the Anti-Poverty campaign which John started shortly afterwards.
and a crooning, hushed, and haunting vocals similar to the tone of Jeff Buckley
. Its beat is smooth and its lyrics are hopeful in prayer from a skeptical believer who wishes to find solace in a world with problems that are very real. It has also been compared to the music of Marvin Gaye
and Stevie Wonder
.
, the video portrays the day of a poor African child who faces difficult living condition and witnesses the relative ease of the life for a child in a higher developed country, with implications of lack of proper health care, education, public transportation, and proper agriculture. John follows him as a voyeuristic
specter which the boy seems to recognize momentarily, which implies that it is in fact the spirit and willingness of those who wish to help aid as some sort of real world overlooking guardian angels
. In an effort to escape the life he feels bound to, he mounts the wheel well of an airplane immediately before it ascends for flight.
The song is dedicated to Yaguine Koita and Fode Tounkara
, young stowaways
who died flying from Guinea
to Belgium
in July, 1999; as well as the millions who live in poverty. It was shot in Zanzibar
and Tanzania
in October, 2007.
in Tanzania.
John Legend
John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...
's album, Once Again
Once Again (John Legend album)
Once Again is the second studio album by American singer John Legend, issued by GOOD Music and Sony Music Entertainment on October 24, 2006...
. The song is produced by Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. Saadiq has been a standard bearer for "old school" R&B since his early days as a member of the multiplatinum group Tony! Toni! Toné! He also produced songs of such artists as TLC, Joss Stone, D'Angelo, Mary J...
and Craig Street
Craig Street
Craig Street, born in Oakland, California, is a noted record producer.Craig moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 11, but returned to the Bay Area for his high school years. He began playing guitar at age 14, playing in a number of Berkeley bands...
and was released as a single in December 2007. The song is noted for its vulnerability and John has cited it as one of his favorites. Along with the release came a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
tailored to fit the theme of the Anti-Poverty campaign which John started shortly afterwards.
Song Style
Noted as being a particularly unusual track on Once Again, Show Me opens up with a guitar riff reminiscent of Jimi HendrixJimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and a crooning, hushed, and haunting vocals similar to the tone of Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
. Its beat is smooth and its lyrics are hopeful in prayer from a skeptical believer who wishes to find solace in a world with problems that are very real. It has also been compared to the music of Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
.
Music video
Directed by Lee HirschLee Hirsch
Lee Hirsch is a documentary filmmaker. Hirsch is a graduate of The Putney School in Vermont. He wrote and directed the documentary Amandla!: A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony....
, the video portrays the day of a poor African child who faces difficult living condition and witnesses the relative ease of the life for a child in a higher developed country, with implications of lack of proper health care, education, public transportation, and proper agriculture. John follows him as a voyeuristic
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
specter which the boy seems to recognize momentarily, which implies that it is in fact the spirit and willingness of those who wish to help aid as some sort of real world overlooking guardian angels
Guardian Angels
The Guardian Angels is a non-profit international volunteer organization of unarmed citizen crime patrollers. The Guardian Angels organization was founded February 13, 1979 in New York City by Curtis Sliwa and has chapters in 15 countries and 144 cities around the world.Sliwa originally created the...
. In an effort to escape the life he feels bound to, he mounts the wheel well of an airplane immediately before it ascends for flight.
The song is dedicated to Yaguine Koita and Fode Tounkara
Yaguine Koita and Fode Tounkara
Yaguine Koïta and Fodé Tounkara were stowaways who froze to death on a Sabena Airlines Airbus A330 flying from Conakry, Guinea, to Brussels, Belgium, on July 28, 1999...
, young stowaways
Stowaways
Stowaways are a Portuguese band from Matosinhos, formed in 2001. The band is made up of Nuno Sousa ; Pedro Gonçalves ; João Carujo, and Sérgio Seabra . Fred on keyboards and João Covita on the accordion are more recent additions.In 2002 Stowaways were the winner of the 8th edition of the Termómetro...
who died flying from Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
in July, 1999; as well as the millions who live in poverty. It was shot in Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
in October, 2007.
Campaign
John began the Show Me Campaign to fight poverty in under developed countries. He promoted awareness by touring and visiting many universities and colleges in the United States by gathering the students and educating them of the issues he wished to involve them in. He has contributed by funding a project called Millennium VillagesMillennium Villages Project
The Millennium Villages Project is a project of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the United Nations Development Programme, and Millennium Promise....
in Tanzania.