DANCING THE DREAM
HISTORY
CHILDHOOD
When we want to know a person, slip into their minds and hearts and discover who they really are, where do we look? When we want to feel their heartbeat, traveling through days, weeks, months, years, decades, discovering their reoccurring themes, where do we look? When we want to understand their dreams and goals…their joys and sorrows, where do we look? Through the five decades Michael Jackson graced the planet, masses of people searched for answers. Some, like the media, have been obsessed with myth-making. Some have allowed themselves to be cheated by a media long since devoid of Edward R. Murrow integrity and standards.
“The speed of communication is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.”
Edward R. Murrow
It is easy to be seduced by those who want a quick answer, accepting words as truth simply because they are printed in a newspaper or magazine or seen on a T.V. screen. Those who really didn’t care benefitted from waves of sensationalism washing over them even when they didn’t think they were listening. The media has failed the public in so many ways with a philosophy that says, “We don’t have to prove it…we just have to print it.” The time when journalism wasn’t tabloid has long since passed. Instead, they have taken on the job of distraction, delusion and insolation. The philosophy lived by Edward R. Murrow…”DO EVERY STORY AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT.” disappeared with 24 hour news networks and the three major networks followed.
To the great good fortune of over half a billion people living on the planet, there exists the truth…places to look and study that reveal reality. Michael often talked of the artist being his art. He enjoyed creative discussions. He invited his FANS to spend time reading and listening to his autobiographical art. He has left us with enormous collections of music and lyrics and books and articles and interviews where he speaks to who he is and what he believes.
If someone was interested in my life and what I thought and why I made the choices I did, I would hope that they would turn to my voice. After all, who knows better than the person living the life. To those who might say that an autobiography is biased, I would simply answer…we have the choice of turning to agencies who have proven over and over again that they do not deserve our trust…or, we can turn to the man who lived the life and has shown truth in every part of it. The choice remains ours. I, for one of millions, CHOOSE MICHAEL.
Today, I offer four sources of truth describing Michael Jackson: MOONWALK AUTOBIOGRAPHY, DANCING THE DREAM BOOK OF PROSE AND POETRY, HISTORY PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE BOOK ONE, and the song, CHILDHOOD. Michael often referred to these pieces of his art as being autobiographical. IN MICHAEL’S WORDS…
MOONWALK
“As I begin to tell my story, I want to repeat what I usually say to people when they ask me about my earliest days with the Jackson 5: I was so little when we began to work on our music that I really don’t remember much about it. Most people have the luxury of careers that start when they’re old enough to know exactly what they’re doing and why, but, of course, that wasn’t true of me. They remember everything that happened to them, but I was only five years old. When you’re a show business child, you really don’t have the maturity to understand a great deal of what is going on around you. People make a lot of decisions concerning your life when you’re out of the room. So here’s what I remember. I remember singing at the top of my voice and dancing with real joy and working too hard for a child.”
DANCING THE DREAM
“BUT THE HEART SAID NO”
They saw the poor living in cardboard shacks, so they knocked the shacks down and built projects. Huge blocks of cement and glass towered over asphalt parking lots. Somehow it wasn’t much like home. even home in a shack. ‘What do you expect?’ they asked impatiently. ‘You’re too poor to live like us. Until you can do better for yourselves, you should be grateful, shouldn’t you?’ The head said yes but the heart said no.
They needed more electricity in the city, so they found a mountain stream to dam. As the waters rose, dead rabbits and deer floated by; baby birds too young to fly drowned in the nest while mother birds cried helplessly. ‘It’s not a pretty sight,’ they said, ‘but now a million people can run their air conditioners all summer. That’s more important than one mountain stream, isn’t it?’ The head said yes, but the heart said no.
They saw oppression and terrorism in a far-off land, so they made war against it. Bombs reduced the country to rubble. Its population cowered in fear, and every day more villagers were buried in rough wooden coffins. ‘You have to be prepared to make sacrifices,’ they said, ‘If some innocent by-standers get hurt, isn’t that just the price one must pay for peace?’ The head said yes, but the heart said no.
The years rolled by and they got old. Sitting in their comfortable houses, they took stock. ‘We’ve had a good life,’ they said, ‘and we did the right thing.’ Their children looked down and asked why poverty, pollution, and war were still unsolved. ‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ they replied. ‘Human beings are weak and selfish. Despite our best efforts, these problems will never really end.’ The head said yes, but the children looked into their hearts and whispered, ‘No!'”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP62X-K-pXc
HISTORY PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE BOOK 1
“I’M NOT PLANNING TO WRITE ANOTHER BOOK ANYTIME SOON. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW I FEEL,YOU CAN CHECK OUT HISTORY. IT’S A MUSICAL BOOK.”
DISC ONE…Michael chose songs from his catalog giving insights into his career.
DISC TWO…Newly Recorded Materialhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10VDok4KV_o
Social Justice Songs: Scream, They Don’t Really Care About Us,
Tabloid Injustices: Tabloid Junkie
Extortionists: This Time Around, D.S., Money, 2Bad
Environmental Anthem: Earth Songhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEGV8czGrq0
Children: Childhood Child Abuse and Neglect: Little Susie
Love: You Are Not Alone
Betrayal: Stranger in Moscow
Title: History
Covers: Come Together Smile
“My favorite songs are Earth song, Childhood and You Are Not Alone because I like songs with emotions and a message, and a sense of immortality. I like there to be some depth in the lyrics as well as a melodic simpleness that the whole world can sing them. That was my goal to capture that on those songs and I think I came pretty close. Wherever we went on a tour, people just loved them. I was pleased to have done that. The themes…It’s about people looking at their lives and taking any seconds of their well being and making something of yourself…creating a legacy so you can look back and look at what you have done. I always wanted that, that’s why I like working very hard.”
CHILDHOOD
“Our personal history begins in childhood and the song ‘Childhood’ is a reflection of my life…it’s about the pain, some of the joys, some of the dreaming, some of the mental adventures that I took because of the different lifestyle I had, in being a child performer. I was born on stage and ‘Childhood’, it’s my mirror…it’s my story.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lZ3IPVOi6Q
EARTH SONG
“I was feeling so much pain and so much suffering at the plight of the planet Earth. And for me, this is Earth’s Song because I think nature is trying so hard to compensate for man’s mismanagement of the Earth…and that’s what inspired it. And it just suddenly dropped into my lap, when I was on tour in Austria.”
DANCING THE DREAM
“DANCING THE DREAM is just a verbal expression of what I usually express through my music and my dance. I wrote DANCING THE DREAM. It is more autobiographical than MOONWALK. It wasn’t full of gossip and scandal and all that trash that people write, so I don’t think people paid much attention to it, but it came from my heart. It was essays, thoughts and things that I’ve thought about while on tour.”
Dear Friends, this is just a small part of all that is within our grasp as we search and share truths. I want to share more, but for now, I will come to an end. We all know the profound importance of PAYING MICHAEL FORWARD in truth. It is not acceptable for the myth-making media’s point of view to be that facts are for history books…they do not need to deal in them. WE ARE THE NEW MEDIA. I believe with all my heart that when Michael Jackson receives justice, we all receive justice. The truth will get us there.
I love you more!
Jude
HIS tory
MYstory
YOURstory
OURstory
thanks jude beautiful as always. love to all.
I love the way you write Jude! So much insight and clarity. Please keep up the wonderful work. xoxoxox
Serious read.. You have touched very painful theme, dear Jude. But what gives my heart some solace is the outcome: hell with the press, we are a new media! It is awesomely original and fresh suggestion, dear Jude! And I welcome it with my all. We, Michael’s army, should spread the truth about him based on the only reliable and solid source of information: MJ’s own words! with L.O.V.E.
Thank you so much for these wonderful insights of dear Michael.
I love this! Thank you so much for gathering all of Mike’s words and song lyrics. He truly did write who he was….he was a magnificent human being and a magnificent friend!
I love the comment about Edward R. Murrow. The media is indeed devoid of the standards and ethics embodied and upheld by that gentleman. (He devoted his newscasts to bringing down McCarthy).
Michael spoke about his songs in this epistle….he wrote what he felt, and what he wanted people to know! I don’t know another artist who ever did that, or does it now. Most songs are very light-weight and with not much substance. Michael’s songs had a great deal substance…and were meaningful!!! I hope there are more songs in his vault…wish he were here to write more of them! Love you, MIchael, to the moon and back!
Michael Jackson was a veritable fountain of knowledge….he read, studied, and observed the world! Nothing slipped by him…His songs were written from his experience and feelings. Also he wanted people to realize that the planet (for example) needed care..and we should be attentive to the abuse we were heaping upon it. Unfortunately, this administration and the people in it have been more than careless…and seek to destroy what was put in place…such as the EPA…and other organizations. Michael was a great thinker….and I so wish he were here today…he would have some answers….that, I know. But he is not here….so we all have to step up and act for him. Love you so much, Michael…words cannot express how much!