2020 sucked for many reasons and for many people. But as a result of being locked up in my house for several months, I found so many cool artists of whom I am now a huge fan. Most notably, I discovered Tenille Townes.
After my cousin recommended her music to me, I listened through The Lemonade Stand album and absolutely fell in love with the song Somebody’s Daughter. The rest of the album is truly excellent as well, but Somebody’s Daughter gave me hope and inspiration in more ways than the other tracks. Like who writes about that? Correct answer: nobody. So hearing an artist who’s signed to a major label sing about something so meaningful and yet frequently dismissed gives me hope for the music industry. It gives me hope that people do want music that matters. And it inspires me to support such musicians who seek to make a difference in the world through their art. To a large extent, Tenille Townes planted the seed in me for Through The Noise.
Alright, I’m done fanboying; let’s talk about the song. The overall achievement of this song is that it brings humanity to those experiencing homelessness. How crazy is it that there are hundreds of thousands of people who have no home in this country and yet we just keep living our middle class, or better, lives and make that reality into an elephant in the room? Except, it seems as though nobody is bothered by this elephant; I guess it’s because there’s plenty of personal comfort to get away from it. At best, we often become passively compassionate.
Somebody’s Daughter draws so many beautiful connecting pictures between the person on the sidewalk and us. She sings about how the woman she encountered probably had her own little lemonade stand when she was younger—just like we may have. She sings about how the woman probably experienced her first kiss while in high school—just like we may have. She sings about how the woman likely had big dreams for the future in her younger days—just like we may have.
The thing is, that woman without a home begging for money is very much the same person as you and I. She doesn’t have the same necessities that we have, but she experiences the same stress, dreams, and love that we do.
And yet for me personally, I’ve really struggled to allow myself to have that humanizing perspective. First, I’ve encountered so many people who’ve been critical of those experiencing homelessness. They say things like, “they did this to themselves”, “they’re not actually homeless”, and “stay away because you can’t trust them”. Granted, there’s some truth to all of those, but I’ve come to realize that those claims don’t accurately depict the whole impoverished population. Second, even without the cynics, living amongst those who just ignore the issue has put me in a state of self-questioning, wondering whether or not my empathy was well-placed.
Back to the song, I love how Tenille Townes narrates her thoughts that I very much relate to. It’s the natural response to question why someone is living on the streets, like in the song, “I wonder if she got lost or they forgot her, somebody’s daughter.” We don’t know why everyone who’s on the streets is currently homeless, the issue is simply too nuanced. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter; she’d infinitely valuable, as the title captures well.
If you relate to the questionings that I’ve had, let me just encourage you to refuse those doubts toward compassion! Also, I had the privilege to volunteer with a non-profit called People Loving Nashville last year and doing so really opened my eyes to the humanity of those experiencing homelessness and the relationships that can be fostered with those people. So really, just talk to them. There’s an element of safety that needs to be considered, but you’ll soon find out these people are not the sub-class humans that it feels like society has indirectly labeled them as.
This is honestly my favorite song on the playlist, but there’s so many other good ones as well on my God’s Heart playlist on Spotify. Please, take advantage of this playlist to fill your mind with compassion and love.