The story of creation & the meaning of the song “Blood // Water” – Grandson. Every person at least once in his life thought about the meaning of the song. You have probably been in this situation as well. What to do in this case? Looking for lyrics or translation of a song? However, sometimes this is not enough to penetrate the essence of the song, to understand what feelings the author wanted to convey. Sometimes, to get to the point, you need to find out what prompted the author to write this song. Now we will try to figure out what is the meaning of the song “Blood // Water” by the author of “grandson”.
The story of the creation of the song “Blood // Water”
The author of the popular single “Blood // Water” is Jordan Edward Benjamin, known under the pseudonym “grandson”. Jordan was born in America, spent his childhood in Toronto and after graduating from university was going to become a teacher, but dropped out for a musical career and moved to Los Angeles. In 2015, he began releasing music, later signing with the record label Fueled by Ramen, which resulted in the release of the single “Blood // Water” in 2017, which highlighted the topic of political corruption. This single was included in the album “a modern tragedy vol. 1”, in which Jordan raises the subject of the political and social situation in America after Donald Trump became president. The song “Blood // Water” has deep undertones and is a protest against the Trump presidency. All 5 tracks included in the album “a modern tragedy vol. 1” show the dystopia in America, the rigidity and ruthlessness of its politicians.
The meaning of the song “Blood // Water”
To understand the meaning of this song, let’s look at the lyrics. The very name “Blood // Water”, translated into Russian meaning “Blood // Water”, attracts attention. Why exactly? What does this name say? We will find out by reading the lyrics of the song, but for a more complete disclosure of its meaning, it is worth watching the video. And the song begins with a chorus, the first line of which reads: “We’ll never get free”. The lyrical hero is in a world where freedom is just an illusion, and all people, one way or another, are slaves of the system. Most likely, this hero is the author of the song – Jordan. The chorus asks twice: “What you gon’ do when there’s blood in the water?” (“What will you do when the water is stained with blood?”). The emphasis is on water but why? Whose blood is this? We know the history of creation and on its basis we can make an assumption: some person, most likely a politician, commits illegal actions, which in the end can lead to sad consequences. And the blood in the water is the blood of those who suffer because of the crimes committed by the politician. Our lyrical lyrical hero informs him about this: “The price of your greed is your son and your daughter” (“The price of your greed is your son and daughter”). Perhaps the children will pay for the sins of their father, so their images are used in the song. Our lyrical lyrical hero informs him about this: “The price of your greed is your son and your daughter” (“The price of your greed is your son and daughter”). Perhaps the children will pay for the sins of their father, so their images are used in the song. Our lyrical lyrical hero informs him about this: “The price of your greed is your son and your daughter” (“The price of your greed is your son and daughter”). Perhaps the children will pay for the sins of their father, so their images are used in the song.
Turning to the first verse, we see the continuation of the conversation between the lyrical hero and the politician. The eyes do not lie, so the hero asks the criminal to look into his eyes and confess: “Look me in my eyes tell me everything’s not fine” (“Look into my eyes and tell me that everything is not fine”). Judging by the words of the lyrical hero, the politician does not lose hope of getting out of the vicious circle that he launched. But he is a criminal and will receive his punishment, his hero warns: “You thought you could go free” (“You thought you could free yourself”). One way or another, the corrupt system must be ruined, and the perpetrators must be punished, as the following words prove. “But the system is done for” (“But the system is ruined”), – the lyrical hero sees that the circle is closed, and the scheme by which the politician got money stopped working. Now the interlocutor needs to beware, because at any second law enforcement officers can come after him. “If you listen here closely” (“And if you listen carefully”), says the lyrical hero, “There’s a knock at your front door” (“You will hear a knock on the door”). This phrase ends the first verse of the song.
In the second verse, the lyrical hero no longer warns, but threatens the politician: “Beg me for mercy” (“Beg me for mercy”). And he even recognizes the danger of the act that the politician committed: “Admit you were toxic” (“I admit that you were dangerous”). The criminal, whose greed knows no bounds, poisons the hero for the sake of one more dollar: “You poisoned me just for another dollar in your pocket” (“Poisoning me for just one more dollar in your wallet”). “Now I am the violence I am the sickness” (“And now I have become the embodiment of cruelty, illness”), the lyrical hero is angry, because just recently they tried to kill him, he becomes more cruel and intends to destroy the interlocutor. He stops warning, waits for the moment when the police turn up, and is going to take matters into his own hands. An attempt to kill a lyrical hero is just a way to silence the one who who knows about the crimes committed. The hero will not be condescending to the politician, will make him answer for all his crimes: “Won’t accept your silence beg me for forgiveness” (“I will not accept your silence, beg me for forgiveness”). This phrase ends the second verse.
In the bridge, the protest is most clearly felt, because the lyrical hero takes the form of a people, a storm, an uprising, a flock: “I am the people I am the storm I am the riot I am the swarm” (“I am the people, I am the storm, I there is a rebellion, I am a flock”). This storm is directed at the politician’s crimes, calls him to account for all his actions. “When the last tree’s fallen the animal can’t hide” (“When the last tree falls, the animals will have nowhere to hide”) – crimes destroy a world and a system that has boundaries. When the boundaries are crossed and there is nothing left and money cannot fix the situation, then there will be an end to atrocities: “Money won’t solve it what’s your alibi?” (“And money won’t solve this problem, what’s your excuse?”). The question “what will be your excuse” is asked three times, which further emphasizes that
The song ends with a verse where the question is: “What you gon’ do when there’s blood in the, blood in the water?” (“What will you do when the water turns red, the water turns red?”)
Conclusion
Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency prompted Jordan Edward Benjamin to write a single called “Blood//Water” that was the epitome of protest. The song, through the eyes of its author, shows the cruelty and depravity of the corrupt system that has been established in America. However, is he the only one who thinks so? Certainly not. There are many dissatisfied with the political situation, which is what the lyrical hero shows, taking on the appearance of the people. He only becomes the voice of the many who call criminals in political office to account. “Blood in the water” in the song is a symbol of retribution, an end to crimes and the collapse of an imperfect political system.
I started to understand the lyrics from the part “the price of your greed is your son and your daughter” this song is so meaningfull.The part “what you gon’ do when theres blood in the water” means something like you accidently murdered someone by a lake or something and then you realise there’s no way to cover it up. Rich politicians can buy their way out of anything. This song also reminds me of the movie”Riverdale”.
This song is about the poisoning of a child by one parent against the other. Very common practice, and often ignored by the laymen and encouraged by the courts. The court employees have a financial incentive to remove a child from the higher earning parent. The final verse is the culmination of when some children figure out what happened. More children murder their mothers (specifically) than are kidnapped every year, but what do you see in the news??