Friday, June 29, 2012

SONGS and QUOTES ABOUT BULLYING

DISCLAIMER:  
These are popular songs based on bullying that many teens listen to today.  Even though these songs have a strong message to convey they may be disturbing to some. 
(I have amended this article slightly and added links and videos.)
"10 BEST SONGS ABOUT BULLYING"
By: Lee Grayson
Break Studios Contributing Writer

The ten best songs about bullying involve both sides of the situation. Bullying is usually not something you want to admit or that you've been the victim of, but both situations have lead to some very good tunes. 

 01."Adam's Song" by Blink-182. 
The ten best songs about bullying, suicide and a period of deep, dark depression includes this tune by a California band formed in 1992. Although the inspiration later turned out to be based in fiction, this song struck a chord with folks who claimed to be victims of bullying, including folks involved in the Columbine High School disaster. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MRdtXWcgIw
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam%27s_Song
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2050
http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/blink_182/adams_song.html
02. "Don't Laugh at Me" by Mark Willis. 
Country singer/songwriter Willis' song has the same title as the tune by Peter Yarrow, but the words and 
meaning are a bit different. Willis' tune talks about a kid with glasses and braces and the teasing he endures 
at school. The tune then moves to the more universal themes of folks physically challenged. The theme is we all 
have baggage,  it's just that some of us have it on the outside. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVjbo8dW9c8&feature=fvwrel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv9fN0-062k&feature=related
03. "Miss Invisible" by Marie Digby. 
Released in 2008 on the album "Unfold," "Miss Invisible" makes the list of the ten best songs about bullying due to its lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g5ZaV7ueAs
http://www.lyrics007.com/Marie%20Digby%20Lyrics/Miss%20Invisible%20Lyrics.html
http://www.yourchords.com/168096/Marie-Digby/Miss-Invisible-Chords/

04. "Stole" by Taylor Kelly Rowland. 
A top ten hit in the United Kingdom in 2003, the lyrics of "Stole" focus on the isolation and failure of others to welcome people at school who feel they are on the outside. The ultimate result for Rowland's group is suicide. It's a depressing song with a message for everyone else. 
http://lyrics.wikia.com/Kelly_Rowland:Stole
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssQpr9TPJTk
05. "Hero" by Superchick, sometimes known as Superchic or Superchic[k]. 
The 2002 tune from the Christian-based group features the ballad-type story of folks pushed to the edge by exclusion and consider suicide as an option. The song is a call to others to step up and help these people to fit in and welcome them into their own life. The tune appeared on the "Last One Picked" album where the title sets the theme of bullying and exclusion by others. 
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Hero-lyrics-Superchick/C726E6E870713D9948256D2D0024FD08
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI3PBGEGjrk

06. "Thoughtless" by Korn. 
A tune on Korn's "Untouchables," "Thoughtless" focuses directly on bullying. The video has a short of Carrie's revenge with the revenge turning to violence in later visual renditions of this tune. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVPvzX-AeSM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtless
http://www.elyrics.net/read/k/korn-lyrics/thoughtless-lyrics.html
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2382

07. "Don't Laugh at Me" by Peter Yarrow. 
Inspired by Yarrow's own personal experience of lack of acceptance of alternative lifestyle choices, this song, one of the ten best songs about bullying, is specifically designed to be used in schools in an effort to open discussion about diversity and acceptance. The message is we're all different and bullying is not an option in dealing with the differences in others. Yarrow uses his own experience about coming out late in life due to the fear of bullying about his sexual preferences. 
http://www.learningtogive.org/lessons/unit187/lesson1.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZkdTLOv97A

08. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day. 
A tune that first appeared on Green Day's 2004 album "American Idiot," "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" moves listeners to evaluate their place in the world. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard_of_Broken_Dreams_(Green_Day_song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxfpMGLMZ7Y
http://www.heartwoodguitar.com/chords/green-day-boulevard-of-broken-dreams/
http://www.metrolyrics.com/boulevard-of-broken-dreams-lyrics-green-day.html
http://greenday.wikia.com/wiki/Boulevard_of_Broken_Dreams

09. "Bullying the Jukebox" by Bouncing Souls. 
A variation on the human theme, this group takes out their evening angst on a jukebox by the type of songs that get played throughout the evening. The chorus claims that all the songs the group likes are cool, while songs everyone else selects are junk. Same theme, just a bit more superficial than the other songs on the list. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMmXrWo_qeg
http://www.metrolyrics.com/bullying-the-jukebox-lyrics-bouncing-souls.html

10. "Why's Everybody Always Pickin' On Me?" by Bloodhound Gang. 
The 1996 tune appeared on "One Fierce Beer Coaster" LP and follows the life of poor Jimmy Pop over the course of the ridicule he receives at school. The music video explores the disease of katagelophobia, the medical condition of extreme fear of being the focus of ridicule from others. 
http://www.metrolyrics.com/whys-everybody-always-pickin-on-me-lyrics-bloodhound-gang.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why%27s_Everybody_Always_Pickin%27_On_Me%3F
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xiep44_bloodhound-gang-why-s-everybody-always-pickin-on-me_music

References:
Whitburn, Joel. "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits." 2004- 2009
http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-best-songs-about-bullying.html
OTHER SONGS:

ANTI-BULLYING QUOTES

 "He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." 
~Raymond Hull~

 "Always be a first-rate version of yourself, 
instead of a second-rate version of somebody else."  
~Judy Garland~

 "We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others 
that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."  
~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld~


 "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are."  

~E.E. Cummings~

 "Never be bullied into silence.  
Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  
Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself."  
~Harvey Fierstein~

 "Learn to... be what you are,

and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not."  

~Henri Frederic Amiel~

"No man can climb out beyond the limitations of his own character." 

~John Morley~





"There is just one life for each of us:  our own."  

~Euripides~





"Never apologize for showing feeling.

When you do so, you apologize for the truth."  

~Benjamin Disraeli~

 "If God had wanted me otherwise, 

He would have created me otherwise."  

~Johann von Goethe~

"Wherever you go, go with all your heart."  

~Confucius~





"Be who you are and say what you feel, 
because those who mind don't matter 
and those who matter don't mind."  
~Dr. Seuss~

 "No creature is fully itself till it is, 
like the dandelion, 
opened in the bloom of pure relationship to the sun, 
the entire living cosmos."  
~D.H. Lawrence~

 "It is the chiefest point of happiness 
that a man is willing to be what he is."  
~Desiderius Erasmus~

 "Like the sky opens after a rainy day 
we must open to ourselves.... 
Learn to love yourself for who you are 
and open so the world can see you shine."  
~James Poland~

 "Be what you are.  
This is the first step toward becoming better than you are."  
~Julius Charles Hare~

 "We all wear masks, 
and the time comes when we cannot remove them 
without removing some of our own skin."  
~André Berthiaume, Contretemps~

 "You must have control of the authorship of your own destiny.  
The pen that writes your life story must be held in your own hand."  
~Irene C. Kassorla~

 "Is life not a hundred times too short for us to stifle ourselves."  
~Friedrich Nietzsche~

 "You were born an original.  
Don't die a copy."  
~John Mason~

 "It is better to be hated for what you are 
than to be loved for something you are not."  
~Andre Gide~

 "Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, 
and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul."  
~Michel Eyquem de Montaigne~

 "Why try to be someone you're not?  
Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required."
~Robert Brault~

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