There are songs that I have listened to over time but didn't have much meaning to me. While there are songs that I have also listened to, and the more I listened, the more I got entertained and got the message that was passed across because it felt like the singer had opened a private diary and shared what was inside. That was exactly how I felt while listening to Mockingbird by Eminem.
Mockingbird was part of Encore, an album he dropped in 2004. And this particular song, I can say, sounds softer and more reflective than the controversial side of Eminem because it told a deeper story.
It was deep in a way that he sang about his family, from his little daughter, Hallie, to her childhood, to her mother, to his career, and to the difficulties that surrounded her childhood. I have listened over and over, and each time, it always hits harder than I imagined.
I feel anything I listened to the song, what always makes it different and so emotional wasn't what Eminem says, but how truthful he said those things, backing it up with documented clips while he sat in an empty room to watch those clips.
From what I listened to and what he said, Eminem in this particular song, he started with his daughter, the struggle his family was faced with, the separation between his family, money, his career, and his ex-wife getting arrested, her release, encouraging his daughter, and what younger children can witness even though the parents didn't plan for it to happen.
Unlike the usual Eminem I know, he didn't hide behind his usual dish lyrics filled with aggression; this time, he was more of a father trying to give her daughter a detailed explanation of what happened during her childhood, knowing fully well that he was pained and what happened was beyond what he could have controlled. And that sign of vulnerability was what gave Mockingbird more weight.
Looking at the title he gave the song, it perfectly fit everything the lyrics talked about because he communicated so deeply, and he associated it with the innocence of her daughter's childhood in a reassuring way, even though he made it clear that he cannot undo those moments to magically go away. And that is something I like about the song. No pretense because two parents can do much love for their child, yet they fail to make the home happy for such a child. And just like Eminem did with looking for an excuse, he communicated his feelings through words.
While I switched to the video of this song, I got the picture more clearly in a way that he used the live and real-life clips of his family that he saved rather than using some staged videos. What gave the song a more reflective atmosphere was the piano melody and the soft rhymes he used as backup as he allowed the story he was telling to be the center. And the fact that he did use too many instruments that would overwhelm what he was trying to sing because the song was already overwhelmed with emotions made it more emotional.
The lyrics were so personal, but they also deserve some reassurance for those whose family might be going through rough times while they have kids involved, because Eminem sang Mockingbird simply as a father trying to speak to his daughter.
Some do call him Eminem the provocateur. But away from that, he was Eminem the father because he told the truth in a memorable way that her daughter would continue to appreciate him for.
Screenshot images for YouTube
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Originally posted through scrobble.life/music.
