This song I want to share today has two sides to it; it brings pleasure but also brings a bit of sadness depending on the moment and feelings the person is experiencing at the time of listening. The song is titled Common Person, and it's by Burna Boy, a famous songwriter in Nigeria.
When you're happy and listening to it, the beat, the lyrics, and everything about it bring melody. However, when you're feeling sad from maltreatment, perhaps from the world at large or from someone specific, the lyrics resonate differently and make you reflect on the way the world is.
The song portrays how the common person, someone without wealth or influence, lives their life, facing each challenge as it comes. Life can be very unfair, especially when money is lacking, which can make one feel like the whole world is against them.
My main reason for writing about this song is because it reminded me of what one of my siblings, a brother, went through when he stayed with one of our relatives in the city. He was mistreated to the core; he was turned into a servant. Many times, reports would come home about his treatment, but my dad would laugh them off, saying that his relatives couldn’t possibly be handling his son like that. My brother was basically doing everything in the house, overworked, and yet he endured. He continued to stay until he was accused of stealing, which was when my dad could no longer ignore the situation, knowing that none of us were involved in theft.
Finally, my brother was brought back from the city to the village to live with us. It was better for him to live in the village with his family, where he was loved, than to live in the city with people filled with hatred.
When he returned, we would ask him how he managed to cope with all the hard work and insults. He would tell us that he didn't mind because he saw the family, especially the dad and the mom in that house, as his own parents. They were paying his school fees, so he did all that was asked, though with pain; he tried to tolerate it. But the one thing he couldn’t bear was the false accusation of theft.
This song reflects exactly that experience. People will use you, mistreat you, and do all sorts of things because they see you as a “common person,” someone they assume has no future. But that’s a lie; everyone on earth has a better day ahead. Life will be harsh, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel. Even when they see you as worthless, just stay calm—things will get better one day.
For someone like my brother, this song would bring back memories of the hardship he endured at the hands of that family. But thank God, we are better and happier now.
Thanks!
Video source: YouTube
Photo source: Pixabay