This has not been a good week for celebrities, as we got up each morning to hear on the news or read the papers that one of our favorite singers, favorite actresses, favorite game show hosts, and favorite paid programming' announcers had just died. And just as we are preparing to celebrate our Nation's birthdate of Independence .
And although I will mourn the loss of each one, my heart aches most at the loss of the Man in the Mirror. Michael's 1988 spiritual rendition of this heart-rending song still flows through my head when I think of this great talent. I liked many of his songs, but this was my favorite, for I felt (hoped) that he was truly feeling what he was putting into such beautiful verses.
The words had so much meaning, but as the years that followed and trouble plagued the young man, I wondered if he truly listened to his own words, as he seemed to express feelings straight from the heart. I wondered what he really saw in the mirror. Did he see a man that needed to change, wanted to change? Or did he think he was laying out the life of someone else? And I wonder now if he died a happy man, a changed man? I hope he did. I'm not sure that he didn't deserve to. I didn't know his heart. But my feelings tell me that he didn't deserve some of the ridicule and harsh treatment that seemed to come his way at every turn. After all, even an icon is just a man.
"Man In The Mirror"
by Michael Jackson
I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .
As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere
To Go
That's Why I Want You To
Know
I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change
I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish
Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No
Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not
Alone?
A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
They Follow The Pattern Of
The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place
To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With
Me
I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Then Make A Change
I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His
Ways
And No Message Could've
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And
Then Make That . . .
Change!.
Another man, many years before Michael Jackson sang his grammy nominated Hot 100, also expressed his feelings toward the reflection looking back at him from the looking glass. That man was Dale Wimbrow. This is his version of the man in the mirror. This is another great poem of what it means to see through the outer shell of a man to the inner most person that lies beneath and what is in that person's heart and soul. Enjoy.
The Guy in the Glass
by Dale Wimbrow 1934
When you get all you want and you struggle for pelf,
and the world makes you king for a day,
then go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what that man has to say.
For it isn't your mother, your father or wife
whose judgment upon you must pass,
but the man, whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back from the glass.
He's the fellow to please,
never mind all the rest.
For he's with you right to the end,
and you've passed your most difficult test
if the man in the glass is your friend.
You may be like Jack Horner and "chisel" a plum,
And think you're a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
If you can't look him straight in the eye.
You can fool the whole world,
down the highway of years,
and take pats on the back as you pass.
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
if you've cheated the man in the glass.
We will miss you, Michael Jackson.
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