THE LIONS DEN

I would like to introduce you to a man and also present a perspective of him using one of his songs. The man I am speaking of is Michael Jackson and the song I that I am going to try and interpret is called "The Man In The Mirror."
To look at this song as just another song would be just as wrong as looking at Michael Jackson as just another man. It would be overlooking his diversity, complexity and legacy.
Michael was a man who by most accounts never had a chance to be a child yet he always maintained an air of innocence, even as an adult.
His performances combined this seeming innocence with a sort of raw power and never seemed to disappoint the sold out crowds who attended his concerts.
His lyrics while seeming mundane at times bordered on the profound.
This is reflected in the very first lines of the song "The Man In The Mirror" where he sings "I'm gonna makers change for once in my life... He goes on to add later "Gonna feel real good, Gonna make it right." These words are words of transition.
At this point we have to ask ourselves, what is he transitioning from? Into who and what is he transforming?
At this point he use the day to paint a picture of his unique view of the day. We are offered a glimpse through his eyes.
He describes the feel of a cold wind, where it takes him as he wraps himself in his warm winter jacket.
It's ability to make him see the less fortunate.
The children "I see the kids on the streetvwith not enough to eat." At this point he also introduces the fact that on a warm day he would have ignored these things, he tells us "A summers disregard, a broken bottle top, a one man soul." In these words we are introduced to the fact that he is having a moment of recognition. He is speaking of the duality of it all.
Of the correlation between rich and poor.
This leads us into the chorus which opens with the words "I'm talking to the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways" in these words he fully brings to light the nature and type of transformation he is seeking.
Looking into the metaphorical mirror he is forced to confront his own worst enemy, himself.
He calls into question his self love " I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love." It's seems as if the things that he has been confronted with have opened his eyes. He asks himself how he could have ignored these things, the pain of his fellow man and woman.
"Could it really be me, pretending that they are not alone?"  He alludes to the people he sees as objects to draw an accurate description of how he sees their pain. "A willow deeply scarred." As emotions "Somebody's broken heart and as "A washed out dream."
He issues a beautiful but stern warning that you "Can't close your mind.
This leads us to see that this song seems to be about rebirth, growth and the ability we as humans have to change things if we would only try. It is also a song of inner turmoil and strife because change is never easy.
Especially when the person being changed is one's self.
Michael Jackson.
A complex man with a complex message.