We just finished watching this past Sunday’s episode of Mad Men and I was flipping through the cable guide when I saw a Paul McCartney and the Wings concert was playing on Palladia. Yes.
Something about me you might not know, but when I was in 6th grade—in 1993—I was in love with Paul McCartney. Beatles McCartney. Wings McCartney. It didn’t matter.
I loved going over to my Grandma’s house to watch vH1 in desperate hopes of catching one of their music videos. That’s right! No Vimeo or Youtube.
I reminisced about middle school me while watching the concert and surprised myself—yet again—by how many of the songs I had memorized by heart.
This led to me turning off the TV to pull up one of his albums on rdio. Off the Ground it was.
The first song begins and ends and the second song begins and I’m singing along with the words I’ve known by heart since I was eleven and I realized—only 20 years later—what those words really mean.
Looking For Changes
I Saw A Cat With A Machine In His Brain
The Man Who Fed Him Said
He Didn’t Feel Any Pain
I’d Like To See That Man Take Out That Machine
And Stick It In His Own Brain
You Know What I MeanI Saw A Rabbit With Its Eyes Full Of Tears
The Lab That Owned Her Had
Been Doing It For Years
Why Don’t We Make Them Pay For Every Last Eye
That Couldn’t Cry Its Own Tears
Do You Know What I MeanWhen I Tell You That We’ll All Be
Looking For Changes
Changes In The Way We Treat Our Fellow Creatures
And We Will Learn How To GrowWell I Tell You That We’ll All Be
Looking For Changes
Changes In The Way We Treat Our Fellow Creatures
And We Will Learn How To Grow
When We’re Looking For ChangesI Saw A Monkey That Was Learning To Choke
A Guy Beside Him Gave Him Cigarettes To Smoke
And Everytime That Monkey Started To Cough
The Bastard Laughed His Head Off
Do You Know What I MeanWhen I Tell You That We’ll All Be
Looking For Changes
Changes In The Way We Treat Our Fellow Creatures
And We Will Learn How To GrowWhen We’re Looking For Changes
We’re Looking For Changes
We’re Looking For Changes
We’re Looking For Changes In The Way We Are
A song entirely about animal testing, abuse, and cruelty. I’m trying to remember what I thought this song was about? Did I think it had something to do with the cartoon cat in the Paula Abdul video?
It’s hard to say but I’m so happy I had the chance to be reminded of this song and experience it from my current perspective.
Do you have any moments or memories that surprise you like that? xo