Sing For The Moment

These ideas are nightmares for white parents

Whose worst fear is a child with dyed hair and who likes earrings

Like whatever they say has no bearing

Its so scary in a house that allows no swearing

To see him walking around with his headphones blaring

Alone in his own zone, cold and he dont care

He's a problem child, what bothers him all comes out

When he talks about his fuckin' dad walkin out

Cos he hates him so bad that he blocks him out

But if he ever saw him again, he'd prolly knock him out

His thoughts are whacked, he's mad so he's talkin' back

Talkin black, brainwashed from rock and rap

He sags his pants, 2 rags and a stocking cap

His step-father hit him so he socked him back

And broke his nose, this house is a broken home

There's no control, he just lets his emotions go

Come on...

In this verse, we learn of the troubles that 'rebels' are put through during their relationship with their parents. Eminem depicts the life that a child who doesn't conform would experience, and how his parents are not able to accept him because of all that he stands for. As this kid with hearings walks around the house blasting his music while being "brainwashed from rock and rap", we are informed of how his father got so upset with his child that he hit him. However, there was so much mutual anger between the two that the child decided to hit his father back, and eventually speak his truth.

They say music can alter moods and talk to you

But can it load a gun for you and cock it too?

Well if it can, then the next time you assault a dude

Just tell the judge it was my fault, and i'll get sued

See what these kids do, is hear about us toting pistols

And they want to get one, cos they think the shit's cool

Not knowin' we're really just protectin' ourselves

We're entertainers, of course this shit's affecting our sales

You ignoramus. but music is reflection of self

We just explain it, and then we get our cheques in the mail

It's fucked up ain't it, how we can come from practically nothin'

To bein' able to have any fuckin' thing that we wanted

It's why we sing for these kids that don't have a thing

Except for a dream and a fucking rap magazine

Who post pinup pictures on their walls all day long

Idolise their favourite rappers and know all they songs

Or for anyone who's ever been through shit in they lives

So they sit and they cry at night, wishing they die

Till they throw on a rap record, and they sit and they vibe

We're nothing to you, but we're the fuckin' shit in their eyes

That's why we sieze the moment, and try to freeze it and own it

Squeeze it and hold it, 'cos we consider these minutes golden

And maybe they'll admit it when we're gone

Just let our spirits live on, through out lyrics that you hear in our songs

And we can

In this verse, Eminem shows his understanding of the blame and guilt that the entertainment industry has on them for corrupting the minds of future generations with derogative lyrics and nasty material. He realizes that parents perhaps don't like what he and the music industry are all about. Parents blame the industry for altering their kid's minds and for changing the way of the future. Eminem states "Just tell the judge it was my fault, and i'll get sued," because he realizes the power music has, and how parents would likely want to point their finger at him, which would inevitably put him at fault for something he actually didn't do.

The power behind Eminem's "Sing for the Moment" is incredible. Eminem's lyrics are oustanding as they raise many levels of awareness and show the authority music has as a mode of rhetoric to explain faults in today's culture.