We probably all know that one person on Facebook or other social media that posts song lyrics for every status update. It’s become a joke, an archetype of the kinds of people you run into on the internet. Even if you think it’s corny, you have to admit this is the power of music and art — saying something we can’t. People do this because it puts into words feelings that they can’t otherwise describe. By extension, the lyrics give a view into the person posting them and what is meaningful to them.

In her short film called Lines, filmmaker Cecile Emeke explores this relationship between song lyrics and the people listening to them. She does so by speaking to five women about their favorite songs and what certain lines from the songs mean to them. This relationship can completely change over time and empower you, inspire you or help you find your voice.

After watching the video, I imagined if I’d been interviewed and what I would talk about. I considered some possibilities and then thought of the song “Your Child” by Mary J. Blige. I was listening to that before I could even fathom a relationship (it came out when I was 8). I was listening to it later as a teen, before I could understand why it made me so mad watching Cheaters or any other TV show in which a woman is cheated on and blames “the other woman” instead of her partner. Looking back, what I really liked in this song was that Mary was breaking the pop-culture mold of women turning against one another for entertainment. Why attack someone who was possibly betrayed too, instead of focusing on the person who made a commitment to you? In a world that doesn’t support women supporting each other, it taught me to have valid, legitimate reasons for doing so before I think to criticize another woman.

Is there a song that did something like this for you? Tweet us with your lines, we want to hear! Follow Cecile Emeke as well to check out her future work.

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Cecile Emeke

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