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"Speechless" Inspiration?

lotrmj

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hi, how can you explain me this?
VIBE: Tell me about the inspiration for "Speechless". It's very loving.
MJ: You'll be surprised. I was with these kids in Germany, and we had a big water-balloon fight - I'm serious - and I was so happy after the fight that I ran upstairs in their house and wrote "Speechless". Fun inspires me. I hate to say that, because it's such a romantic song. But it was the fight that did it. I was happy, and I wrote it in it's entirety right there. I felt it would be good enough for the album. Out of the bliss comes magic, wonderment, and creativity.
VIBE Magazine Interview(March 2002)

Anthony: Absoluteluy. Now we have Vernay who writes to us from Newark, Delaware, the good ole USA, and Vernay says, "I'm so pleased with the new album but I was particularly touched by Speechless. What was your inspiration for this song?"
Michael: Speechless was inspired to me by, um, I spend a lot of time in the forest. I like to go into the forest and I like to climb trees. My favorite thing is to climb trees, go all the way up to the top of a tree and I look down on the branches. Whenever I do that it inspires me for music. There are these two sweet little kids, a girl and a boy, and they're so innocent; they're the quintessential form of innocence, and just being in their presence I felt completely speechless, 'cause I felt I was looking in the face of God whenever I saw them. They inspired me to write Speechless.
Online Audio Chat(Oct 2001)


o_@
 
:huh:

I hope it's the little boy and girl, because I'd have a hard time listening to Speechless and picturing a bunch of kids and MJ throwing water balloons around...
 
Both of those explanations sound like they're cuts from other interviews/conversations that he's had millions of times...wouldn't be surprised if they were both made up. But what is 'online audio chat'? Is that a transcription of something that he's definitely said before now? x
 
The online audio chat was an interview on the website getmusic.com. I don't know if it was live or not. But yes, he did say it. The water balloon fight in Germany is new to me until now.
 
MJ is walking inspiration. both episodes of innocence sound like plausible explanations for such a beautiful song. besides..i have a hard time picturing anything..i don't want images to interrupt my ears listening to it. lol
 
Both quotes involve the fun and innocense of children, and in the second quote, nowhere does he say the waterbaloon fight never happened, so there's no discrepency. He's always cited his tree as an inspiration for where he writes lyrics, so nothing new there. Did he write the melodies on the spot, and the lyrics later in his tree, or vice versa, and in the end, does it matter? He's always maintained children inspired Speechless. . . . I like the song a lot.
 
I believe the song he's referring to about the kids walking in the forest is actually "The Lost Children" not speechless..I'm relatively sure. You can also hear the kids walking through the forest at the end of the song of the lost children..I've heard both interviews in which he made those statements, they were live interviews over the phone. And I'm relatively sure the water ballon fight was in reference to speechless and the forest kids was in reference to the lost children..
 
^ I agree. @ Joeymjfan

I just love the song anyway :wub: it's sweet as to why he was inspired to write it. It's just a beautiful song.
 
Yeah, there's no real change in his explination. He's talking about a certain group of children who inspried him to write it. The second one just sounds like he left out the part about the water ballon fight, but it was the same kids. Michael's so cool for being the way he is.
 
I felt completely speechless, 'cause I felt I was looking in the face of God whenever I saw them. They inspired me to write Speechless.
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I always felt that the song speechless was about being being in Gods presence

I believe both explanations are speaking of the same incident - each telling a different
part of what happened during that time with the children he spoke of.
 
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It's a wonderful song no matter how he got the inspiration!! :)
 
mj created to many stories and just forgot which one he was gonna use lol its P.R like the kids in th streat taught me the moonwalk
 
elusive moonwalker said:
mj created to many stories and just forgot which one he was gonna use lol its P.R like the kids in th streat taught me the moonwalk
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Yeah :lol: Sometimes he has said too many different things and can't really remember the different stories and just comes up with a new one! :lol:
 
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