I started a counter when I began to write this piece to keep track of two things. At the same time, it helps put me in a feeling of zen because like Bradley eloquently put it “I’m going through changes. Listening to Bradley whine and almost beg at the end of the record immediately pulls me back to sitting on my bathroom floor crying at the news of my father passing. It’s Bradley’s delivery of the song and not so much the actual words that really make the difference and why it’s relatable for me and connects me to not only the song but memories of my dad. I’m talking first ballot practice player hall of fame.), or him telling me that everything is going to be okay. Whether it was doing yard work with him, looking over at him while I was stinking it up in Little League Baseball for some sort of approval or at least hoping he wasn’t sitting there in shame of his kid’s lack of ability to hit a ball in a game (Because I killed it in practice. I lost the best friend I ever had” being delivered by Bradley’s raspy but comforting voice instantly takes me back to countless memories of spending time with my father. If you grew up in the ‘90s then you know this was taken at a Walmart, K-Mart, Sears or Montgomery Ward portrait studio. I thought I had accepted my father’s death even though I never really put thought to how it, for lack of a better pun, changed me until I came across Charles Bradley’s cover. Matter of fact it’s as if prime Barry Bonds saw my face as a hanging curveball and fucking teed off on it and put into McCovey Cove but repeatedly. It’s as if someone bashed you in the face with a baseball bat, repeatedly. That pain becomes a brand new beast when it’s their mother or father. There’s a certain pain that one feels when they lose a loved one. My father died on Februand his passing left me with a hole that can’t be replaced. Those are the lines that Bradley referenced and for me, those are the lines that stick out the most. “It took so long To realize That I can still hear her Last goodbyes Now all my days Are filled with tears Wish I could go back And change these years” Bradley has also stated that for a while after his mother’s passing he had trouble performing “Changes” and making it all the way through the record due to the lines at the end of the song. At that moment, I unconsciously paired the song with the passing of my father.Ĭharles Bradley has stated in multiple interviews that he did the song for his mother, who he had reconnected with as an adult, as her health declined right around the time that he started to receive recognition for his music. Yet, it was somehow just as alluring and elegant. I was watching the video for it one day when it hit me how bleak and melancholy it is. That feeling of Bradley pouring his soul into the record is what made me love it so much and actually dig deeper into it. One day, I decided to figure out exactly who sang said song and instantly became attached.
The song felt familiar to me probably because it invoked the emotions and feelings of the old ’60s and ‘70s soul records that my parents would play in the house or in the car. While watching the show I would sit on the couch and belt out the song while resembling the meme of Shaq singing. I mentioned some people discovered Bradley’s version courtesy of the show Big Mouth I’m one of those people. Charles Bradley’s story in of itself is a very interesting story that is definitely worth reading, especially in relation to the contentious relationship with his mother.
Charles Bradley’s version centers around the passing of his mother. The original was in regards to Bill Ward’s, the drummer for Black Sabbath, break up with his wife. It evokes a certain level of soul, emotion and, in my case, relatability. The reason this piece focuses on Charles Bradley’s version breaks down to a few factors. If you were unaware of any of those facts? Well, there you go. Some people will instantly recognize it as a cover of Black Sabbath’s “ Changes.” A very small percentage will realize that Eminem sampled Black Sabbath’s “Changes” for “ Going Through Changes” from Recovery. We can speak on how such a heavy, ugly, and beautiful song is used for a cartoon show about puberty, highly offensive jokes, and hormone monsters but that’s a different conversation for a different day. The hook of the song may sound awfully familiar and that’s due to the fact that it’s used as the opening for the hit Netflix show Big Mouth. In order for one to understand the gravitas of this matter, one must first be familiar with the song that is mentioned.
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