Free The First Book of Michael by Syl Mortilla Page B

lyric, “Because the blood inside of me / Is inside of you”. It is a reminder that regardless of our race, in sufferance we all cry the same coloured tears.
     
    In 1980, Michael mused,
     
    “You go to our concerts and you see every race out there – waving hands, and they’re holding hands, and they’re smiling, and they’re dancing – all colours. That’s what’s great. That’s what will keep me going.”
     
    The significance of a group of black men - products of the decade that brought an end to racial segregation in the United States - wielding their substantial influence cannot be understated. Their message was to encourage progression – that, in spite of their forefathers having suffered the torture and inhumanity of slavery, any ambitions of world peace involve every one of us moving forward, celebratory of our differences, but united. Accusations were levelled at The Jacksons that the video was a mass Jehovah’s Witness promotion and recruitment attempt. And that’s cynicism for you. Nonetheless, a connection does indeed exist between Christianity and peacocks: in the religion’s early incarnation, the peacock was utilised as a totem for immortality. This was due to the fact that after a peacock died, its feathers remained fresh and vibrant, in spite of the decaying flesh they covered.
     
    One of the jackets that Michael wore to perform ‘Jam’ on the Dangerous tour (the artwork on the associated album also incorporating an image of a peacock) - a song in which Michael took to the stage to strut and state - is reminiscent of the shimmer and sheen of the peacock’s feather. At first glance, both the jacket and the feather are made up of what are ostensibly solid colours; but with closer inspection, it is revealed that they are actually comprised of myriad, minutely varied colourations that integrate to appear as one. A comparable analogy can be used for the many layers that combine to create a song – such as the way the bassline from ‘I Want You Back’ emphasises the harmonies whilst complimenting the melody.
    As such, the peacock feather provides us with a perfect metaphor for the political and philosophical leanings of Michael. It is one that suggests that the growing individualistic nature of the people of the world - Michael himself taking individualism to its ultimate conclusion - in which the shackles of patriarchy are being dismantled, need not necessarily be an ominous thing. So long as the onus is on using one’s gifts and talents for the potentiation of the happiness of others.
     
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    Michael had mastered the soulful evocation of romantic love by the time he was a teenager. It’s no wonder he evolved to write love letters to planet Earth. Saying that, people often misconstrue that Michael’s mission to heal the world was a latter-day attitude that he adopted – a moral obligation he undertook as a result of the fame he achieved due to Thriller – but the truth is, that way back in the Jackson 5 , Michael was already singing such lyrics as “We can stand, despite all of the dark lies / And we can build a world that is right / We can be the children of the light”.
     
    Then, in the seventies, as soon as Michael was granted the opportunity to record his self-penned music, he wrote lyrics such as “All the children of the world should be / Loving each other wholeheartedly.” The idea of the use of childhood innocence to redeem humanity had been entwined in his soul at an early age.
     
    There is an absurd conspiracy theory promulgated by some that denies Michael the talent of songwriting. He remarked on this odd perspective,
     
    “People used to underestimate my ability as a songwriter. They didn’t think of me as a songwriter, so when I started coming up with songs, they’d look at me like: “Who really wrote that?” I don’t know what they must have thought - that I had someone back in the garage who was writing them for me? But time cleared up those