I don't recall "Pearl in the Shell" getting a proper US single release, though it did have one in the UK, so I could still hear it on a few of the alternative or college radio stations. Yes, I could always play it on vinyl, but there was something so wonderful about hearing a beloved song being broadcast over the airwaves, perhaps because I was pleased to know that other people were also listening along.
It is still one of my favorite Howard Jones tunes, yet I grappled with my understanding of the lyrics for a time. Too many teachers at school would berate me for not living up to my potential, or for failing to have sufficiently ambitious dreams, and I was suspicious that Mr. Jones was joining in on the scolding session.
Well, it all really depended on the sincerity of those dreams, didn't it? It wasn't my dream if it only ended up involving what other people told me to do. They said I should read great books so I could get into the best college, or play an instrument so I could win a seat on a respected orchestra. What if I found my joy and my purpose in reading or playing for rather different ends?
I suppose it never occurs to some people that a noble life doesn't have to be about impressing anyone else. A fear that often hindered me from following my actual dreams was the prospect of disappointing those folks who merely measured me by my worldly success.
—4/2007
A few words of commentary from Howard Jones:
And the song itself:
Howard Jones, "Pearl in the Shell" from Human's Lib (1984)
And the tear flows on for nothing
And the fear goes on shadows
And the tear flows on for nothing
Under his nose was a dream come true
Been there all the time and he almost knew
And the fear goes on shadows
And the tear flows on for nothing
And the fear goes on shadows
And the tear flows on for nothing
Under his nose was a dream come true
Been there all the time and he almost knew
Thoughts of people in misfortune stopped him doing things well
His duty was to use it—left his pearl in the shell
I had a professor (who shall remain nameless) all but openly mock me in the classroom in front of other students for saying my plans after college were marriage and being a mother, and that I didn't have any set career aspirations. It cut a little deeper than it should have; it's a hard thing for a twenty year old to hear that they're selling themselves short.
ReplyDeleteSlightly different perspective, my husband (who's an educator) was VERY irate at a guest speaker at his workplace (a high school in a low income area) who told the students that they were selling themselves short if they didn't try for an ivy league school or if they became mothers too young or chose to stay home with them. A lot of his students were pretty upset by that speaker too; this woman had effectively called a lot of their dreams trash or "settling". (These comments, btw, were in a "pull out" session for female students. My husband only heard about them because his students were upset enough about them to talk about them in his class).
Figuring out if you're doing something for good reasons, for the right reasons, is hard enough without that garbage added.
Thank you very much for sharing this. Is it any wonder we treat people like mere pawns when we are taught that only the prestige and the money matter?
DeleteWhen you worship a certain type of ambition, those who don't have it become really easy to dehumanize.
Delete