Boy George samples Obama

I’m not sure what to make of this. 80s icon Boy George has recorded a song using a sample of the US president candidate Barack Obama. But, it’s hard to know what exactly the point is, or what he intends to achieve. “Yes We Can” is somewhere between a very private statement and a feelgood political tune. Bizarre. Let’s have a look at some of the lyrics

This is no time for indifference
don’t you know how truly blessed you are?

Is he talking to Obama or the listeners? It sounds like he’s talking to the American people, but he goes on:

please forgive me for crimes against myself, I’ll forgive your lack of faith

OK, it’s always good to hear a grown man ask forgiveness. But who has the lack of faith? Obama, the Americans or me? I also find the chorus plain cringeworthy.

Yes we can, make it to the promised land

Add to this a video that features cartoony renditions of Bowie and Amy Winehouse and you have one very confused listener here.

To find out more, I checked some sites and came across a quote on Britain’s The Guardian: “I was deeply moved and motivated by Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ speech and I used it as a metaphor for personal change because there have been huge changes in my own life this past year. ‘Yes We Can’ equates as ‘Yes I Can’ from my own personal perspective and like many people I am excited by the prospect of Obama being the first black man in the White House and the next President of America. Most politicians fail to live up to the huge expectations we have for them but Obama exudes a sense of calm and after the stutterings of George Bush I feel he is just what America needs.”

I can’t help comparing it to Will.i.am’s powerful rendition of the actual speech itself. I really respect Boy George, but this one is too bizarre – or to be more precise, it hasn’t been worked out enough. Am I being too harsh? Let me know