The main thing that stands out to me about this thread is the fact that a statement made without a song to support it, is pretty much off topic because we're exploring the original question which is really two part - did MJ find love - and if so, was it in some way, "in the dark"
This isn't and shouldn't be about facts.
I feel like the essence of this thread is discovery and enjoyment?
I do know what you mean as far as not trying to pinpoint and I feel that for most of us its all about the lyrics.
For me, its just about connecting any dots that are (if any) to be connected and the irresistableness of suddenly noticing certain things.
Some songs its hard to conclude about completely - - simply because sometimes there are elements of a given song that seem to me to "cancel out" a direct connection, almost like "contradictions" within the same song,
for example,
in You Are My Life - while I feel there could be a parallel in the line, "You Are the Sun" and the whole song may well be prophetic, its also hard to conclude that its about someone he doesn't know (as of the releasing in 2001) because he also says, "you taught me by sharing your life" which seems to be a very finite reference to the past.
In the song The Way You Love Me he keeps repeating, "you'll see" as to indicate they have not as of yet connected physically whereas in For All Time he says, "with a tender touch you know so well"
well - how can that be, if he's talking to/about the same person -
its that type of thing that keeps me pretty much only focused on songs where there are no "contradictions" in terms within the same song -
so what I do is look for a consistant "storyline" where there are no contradicting terms,
such as in the fact that the same action of the woman he's talking about in Who Is It (the song
not the video lol) is the same action mentioned in You Are Not Alone, just mentioned with a different sentiment or expression,
or when I hear Can't Let Her Get Away, in addition to the song title suggesting what it obviously means, there is also a line that says, "I'll never let her be" both of which lines remind me of the words, "I'll never let you part" in Will You Be There simply because its saying the same thing.
Those songs are on the same album time-line wise so it makes sense they could be about the same person
now -
being that this is someone who "left" I notice in the next album, HIStory there is still talk about someone who "left" in You Are Not Alone
he also says she is "in his heart" just like in Will You Be There
- then being that in the next album, Invincible there is also a song about someone who "left" in Don't Walk Away and he expresses that this person is always in his heart
in Don't Walk Away he says, "even though I had to let you go, you will
always be" - and he also says, "you and me" just as he'd said in the adlib of You Are Not Alone, "
you and me - together" in addition to saying, "you are
always in my heart"
- imho the point of all that, goes back to Someone In the Dark, "you and I, could never
REALLY say goodbye"
so it would make sense to me that by the time 2004 came along and Someone In the Dark is on the Ultimate Collection, it only makes sense to me that as far as timeline goes, he may have put it on there, along with a song like, Fall Again to express the same thing in a different way, which in Fall Again he said, "I haven't left you alone" so it stands to reason that Someone in the Dark showed up on TUC, not so much because it was the year 2004, but because it was a reference to the past
and all this assuming any of it means...
... :lol: anything!!
Now while I'm talking about "meanings"
It seems that One More Chance could have been the result of a spiritual "revelation" he may have had as just prior to that time MJ seemed to be keeping company with men of a siritual orientation, and who were said to be assisting him and that is also the period in which he did the TV Guide interview where he mentioned the spirituality of his upbringing, so it seems he was in a very spiritual frame of mind, perhaps due to the other things he'd also been through during that period, and everyone knows that when we are "going through" is when we reach out to Spirit even more, and also toward TRUE love - so perhaps that is when he "connected" with the idea of giving the two of them a sure chance of being together by praying, meditating and then deciding to release that song OMC
With all this, I also feel we have to allow for a bit of "poetic license" because as Quincy said, "Michael
understands drama" and we all know what that means, :lol: our man is drama royalty as demonstrated in the multifarious ways he goes about expressing himself.
The more you try to force an idea or theory..
The moment you determined to make it the 'truth'..
It becomes stagnant, stale.
The miracle of it all DIES, because you don't allow it to flow; Letting it take you, where it wants.
agreed
True, and I hope no one is or would continue doing that because it would really throw things off in the thread.
Michael may have had a 'special someone' in mind.
He may have had several; depending on the time line.
He may have had his kids in mind.
He may have had family and friends in mind.
yes, interestingly, the timeline is one of the key elements of this thread
which makes it very interesting when a song from the past connects with a song from recent times - and at the same time - any number of people may have been in his thoughts intermittently throughout -
the most famous entertainer in the world has to know more people than anyone in the world - or so it would seem
The fun is in the fact that its all a big "eye opener" and at the same time, very difficult for me to be "conclusive" about certain things, especially with songs that contain two contradictory aspects
- as another example,
with You Are My Life, it is also on the same album with Butterflies which MJ had a remix done for which moddie777 (i think it was) mentioned the rap by Eve where she says, "all your life you've waited for this chick, nobody told you it would feel like this"
- well if that is the case then the person he's talking about in the line that says, "you taught me by sharing your life" would not be someone he's been waiting "all his life for" as of the releasing of that same album because if he's been "waiting all his life" and "feeling" a certain way as a result of it, then that person did not teach him by sharing their life
right?
actually, imho You Rock My World is one song wherein he suggests a number of things that could be considered as "contraditory" in terms within the same song making it hard to pinpoint what he's saying
, for instance - the song is called, You Ro
ck My World, but what he repeats in the song is You Rock
ed My World you know you
did,which suggests that he is responding to a person of the
past, then he also says,
stay with me (suggesting she is presently there) then also says...."
I'll be (suggesting future tense) all you need" -
so the only thing I can imagine about that is when he says "stay", he may be
talking about someone who is "with" him without being physically "with" him.
That would then make sense with what Eve says in the rap to Butterflies, and therefore suggests that all along this has been someone who he has had a "sense" (spititually) of being "with" him even though he's been "waiting" all his life for it to manifest
and whom he may have "rediscovered" or someone who "reappeared" during the big ordeal of 2003, thereby being an "answer" to his "reaching out" in the song, OMC
I hope this makes sense,If not, I hope someone will copy and quote which lines to further discuss, for clarity.
But remember to leave a little room for the unknown.
For the element of surprise.
If there is an "unfolding story" here, it will likely not be about anyone we're all familiar with anyway because, as MJ told Geraldo, when it comes to loyal friends, "you wouldn't know them" - and neither would we so it would be fruitless to even "go" there
I feel the "safest" thing we can do is stay away from interpretations.
To me the difference is that
an "interpretation" is the reader/listener's "version" of what MJ is saying, whereas the
lyrics themselves are strictly what MJ himself has said and when we use that information alone, it makes it more fun for the purpose of this thread imho.
What I feel the point of this thread is, is to figure out what he's saying - in some cases - seemingly, from song to song - not who he's saying it to,
For the most part I feel we've been doing pretty well. MJ's songs are like a train ride through a long tunnel ... as we enjoy the sights
or rather
the sounds
May the exploration and discovery continue...:dancin:
Its good to know these things, to maintain the quality of this lovely story you'e got us addicted to here so 