Words

The girls have gotten into the song Some Nights by Fun.  Up until last night they thought that the lead singer was a girl, but whatever.  It's fun to sing Fun. in the car, too, because Jack sings along with the "oh woah woahs" and he shrugs, palms up, when it gets to the part where he sings, "I don't know..."


Catchy, right?  And fun to sing.  Sadly, there is a big F-bomb in the last verse.

Well, that is it guys, that is all - five minutes in and I'm bored again
Ten years of this, I'm not sure if anybody understands
This one is not for the folks at home;
Sorry to leave, mom, I had to go
Who the fuck wants to die alone all dried up in the desert sun?

...and I've been censoring it out when it gets to that part in the car.

So Mary Grace asks me, "Mommy, why did they use that bad word in a song that kids would want to sing?"

"Good question.  Words have power, and that word is a very powerful one.  The singer is frustrated because the war in the desert has been going on a long time, and a lot of people think it's not a war that we should be fighting.  He uses that word because it conveys his anger and his frustration.  But it's not a polite word, and it's really not a word that little kids should use.  But it's been a long war, and he's angry.  My gosh, we've been fighting there since before you were born."

And that hit me hard.  I had to sit with that for a minute. My children have never known our country at peace.  That was heavy.

It's January, and they've been talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. at school a lot this month.  Claire chimed in and said, "Why don't they just solve their problems with words, the way Martin Luther King did, Mommy?"

"I don't know, kiddo.  Maybe they missed school that day."