Was there ever a time in your life that you let differences between you and someone else get in the way of love? Many people might think that having differences between one another is a valid reason for love not to exist, but in Collin Raye’s song, “Not That Different,” he states otherwise.
Throughout country music there have always been songs written about love and relationships. Within this genre you tend to hear both the positive and negative sides of love, but rarely do you hear both incorporated into one song. “Not That Different” is a song I grew up listening to because my dad used to be a big fan of Collin Raye. Ever since hearing this song, it has stuck with me throughout the years due to the fact that its message doesn’t have to be strictly related to just relationships; it can be interpreted on a broader scale of love between any two people. When you break this song down, its overall message talks about how people can have so many differences, yet we still are all the same. As you will see, Collin Raye presents a message to all of us that we should look past the differences with others into their personalities that lie underneath.
Within the lyrics of this song, Raye states, “We’re from two separate worlds,” but “I laugh, I love, I hope, I try/I hurt, I need, I fear, I cry/And I know you do the same things, too.” Raye continues the song by stating that these factors are “What they had in common” and that they are “Strong enough to bond them for life.” But, the line that really ties the entire song together is when he sings “So we’re really not that different, me and you.” Despite the fact that this song is particularly about Raye trying to convince a woman to look past their differences and to love him, people can still take this powerful message of the song and apply it to loving people around the world regardless of the bigger differences people face in life.
Throughout history, people have always let differences in race, gender, religion, skin color, sexual orientation, etc. affect how people treat one another. But it is important to know, despite these differences we have in comparison to other people around the world, that we all share similarities deep down inside…we are all still human. I have always found this song to be one of my favorites because of its compelling message on how love can overcome stereotypes, socioeconomic and political boundaries. Therefore, I think that this song is important for people to hear and to understand so that our world can continue to grow in a positive direction and turn away from its corrupt and judgmental state.
Sierra,
I thought this post was very thoughtful and important. I love that you took such a signifiant issue in society today and applied it to country music. I think it is important for people to note how country music plays such a large role in conveying the meaning of so many different issues to the public through the medium of music. I like that you were able to look deeper into the lyrics of this particular song and apply it to real life situations that almost anyone can relate to. I think this is something that country music is especially known for allowing the listener to do. I also completely agree with you about how love can overcome all boundaries and issues, not matter how different people may seem to be.
This is a great post and very timely! You have picked a topic that many would shy away from just because of the controversy that often goes along with it. Typically when people think of country music they think of conservative conservative conservative in big red flashing lights just because of its regional southern location, but Collin Raye’s song definitely defies that. He makes it so much more simple and easy, looking past the physical differences and focusing instead on love. This was a great post and very interesting. I enjoyed reading it!
I enjoyed reading your post and especially liked this song (it’s been added to my spotify)! I always enjoy a good love song and examining how the message in them can apply more broadly is an interesting exercise. I also have found that country music artists will typically have a song or lyric that states what this song does – we’re not all that different. I think this is probably the case because the country music community seems to me to have a laissez faire attitude that I would hope translates to all things.
This was so easy to read and what I mean when I say that is that it was attention-grabbing. I think mostly because it relates to a lot of what we here being preached by significant civil-rights activists. Like everybody else is saying in the comments, it grabs your attention because it’s current (or at least for me since I heard W. Kamau Bell speak last week about racism and diversity). Point being, very good job in drawing the reader in, sometimes the topic can be very attention-grabbing without an introduction.
The format of this post and the way you wrote about this song is wonderful. I enjoyed how you tied everything together into this piece. It’s cool to see a different take on how this song is meant to come across as something uniting. In today’s society, differences and diversity in beliefs are causing so much uproar within politics and the world. It’s sad that people can’t, like the sticker you posted, just coexist together in peace. I hope we can all find a way to come together, knowing we all share this big planet and are all essentially just people separated by our different beliefs and riches. If we put those things aside from how we judge each other, there would really be nothing to judge on. I have a new respect for this song after reading about it in this post.
Watching this video again today, I was struck by the fact that the video is set on a park bench in Manhattan, apparently within view of the Statue of Liberty. Like y’all have pointed out, the song speaks to the humanity that all people who are different share in common. I think the video seems to be speaking specifically to the conversation we’re having as a people about immigrants, though. Let’s post this video on the Facebook wall of Donald “They’re criminals & rapists” Trump.