I was watching the Edinburgh Final Push concert on BBC3 last night and I was greeted by the Sugababes singing ?Stronger?. It was an amazing version displaying brilliant harmonies and excellent voices by three young once young girls, and now young women. Here are the lyrics:
I?ll make it through the rainy days
I?ll be the one who stands here longer than the rest
When my landscape changes, rearranges
I?ll be stronger than I?ve ever been
No more stillness,more sunlight,
Everything?s gonna be alrightI know that there?s gonna be a change
Better find your way out of your fear
If you wanna come with me
Then that?s the way it?s gotta be
I?m all alone and finally
I?m getting stronger
You?ll come to see just what I can be
I?m getting strongerSometimes I feel so down and out
Like emotion that?s been captured in a maze
I had my ups and downs
Trials and tribulations,
I overcome it day by day,
Feeling good and almost powerful
A new me, that?s what I?m looking forBridge
ChorusI didn?t know what I had to do
I just knew I was alone
People around me
But they didn?t care
So I searched into my soul
I?m not that type of girl that will let them see her cry
It?s not my style
I?ll get by
See I?m gonna do this for mechorus x 2
ohohohohohohohohohohohohoh
The song really effected me and I was thinking back to things that have happened and things that are happening. Much of this had been brought on by the points raised by ?Live 8? and the ?Make Poverty History? campaign. I know that a few concerts and wristbands are not going to solve the problems but I?m a firm believer that once you recognise you have a problem it?s the first step to overcoming it. I felt that we had finally brought a major injustice into the popular mainstream, and that the wheels were being set in motion to solve it.
It had been an emotional day following an emotional week, and after the jubilation surrounding London?s successful Olympic bid, I felt we were turning a corner after what has been an awful start to the 21st century (September 11th, Iraq, the tsunami, continuing world famine, increased global warming, I could go on but it?s too depressing) and ?Stronger? showed that we can all overcome adversity, pull together, and make a difference. It seemed everyone wanted the same thing. This feeling inside me only lasted till this morning.
I sat watching the news this morning and my optimism for the future was fading from me. I felt sick inside and was hoping (I can?t believe I?m saying this) that it was just a tragic series of events that had occurred in our capital. It seems that this is not the case and terrorists have yet again had blatant disregard for human life and done something very bad.
I just wish it would stop. Sorry to all the victims and their families.
it isn?t going to stop though, is it? no matter how many CCTV cameras we install or how many ID cards we are going to have to carry.
pessimistic, but realistic, unfortunately.
I hear you adem, and I feel exactly the same way (well, without the sugarbabes bit anyway?)
We can?t let this deflect us. As Bob Geldof said the other day, the G8 had better do something about making povery history, or we will remember and tell them to fuck off at the next election.
It?s the indiscriminate nature of the killing that really gets me. They don?t give a shit who they blow up to make their point. Which is what exactly? There was someone on the radio this morning harking back to the ?good old days? (my words, not his) when terrorists had objectives and made demands. This lot just seem to want to kill us and destroy our whole way of life, knowing that ultimately we cannot protect ourselves.
Fuck them.
And as Lord B says ? as if ID cards are going to help.
ST (feeling defiant now)