This morning while driving my young daughter to a field trip, I popped Glee: The Power of Madonna into the CD player. I listened to a few songs before I started to wonder if this album was appropriate for young ears. Feeling doubtful – but not wanting to stop listening – I began to think of reasons why Madonna was OK for a young girl . After all, I grew up listening to the Material Girl – and I think I turned out alright.
It didn’t take long before I heard true wisdom in her lyrics, and felt sure that listening to the Glee Cast’s versions of her songs wasn’t going to do irreparable harm. In fact, I realized that some of the lines in her songs would make great jumping off points for in-depth conversations one day. For example:
- “Beauty’s where you find it (not just where you bump and grind it).” (Vogue) It’s up to us to find beauty and happiness in life – we can’t count on others’ ideas of what it might be. Is it possible to change our minds about what is beautiful and good over the course of our lives?
- “If I died tonight at least I could say I did what I wanted to do. Tell me, how ’bout you?” (4 Minutes) Are you using your life wisely and doing what makes you happy? Are there ever times when we shouldn’t do what we want? Should we ever delay our gratification?
- “Strong inside but you don’t know it, good little girls they never show it. When you open up your mouth to speak could you be a little weak?” … “When you’re trying hard to be your best, could you be a little less?” (What it Feels Like for a Girl) Do you think boys and girls are treated differently at home, school, soccer, church? Do you have different standards or expectations for boys and girls in your life?
- “You don’t need diamond rings or 18 karat gold. Fancy cars that go very fast, you know, they never last.” (Express Yourself) All I can say is that we should have listened to Madge 10 years ago. Maybe our country would be in a better spot financially if we had.
Other lyrics I’m missing? I’d love to hear them!