Eric Clapton’s “Stand and Deliver” Lyrics Meaning
We’ve seen a few senior artists, such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, step to the mic to drop new songs in 2020. And when they have done so, the tracks understandably tend to be deeper than what their younger counterparts are concurrently putting out. And Eric Clapton, at the ripe age of 75, is taking a similar approach. However in his case, he is not dropping the type of elder wisdom and reflection on his life’s course that we have come to expect from popular septuagenarian singers. Rather he is dealing with a very hot, trending topic, which is the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically he is taking a very-strong, even controversial stance. And this stance is against how the government has handled the situation, which is largely by putting masses of people on lockdown.
And for the most part, the singer’s gripe with this reality is two-fold. First and foremost, he perceives what’s going down as an infringement on civil liberties. Secondly, he is also concerned by how his own livelihood as a musician has been adversely affected. And why? This is because live musical performances (and even small gatherings) have been put to a halt.
Indeed this song was written by one Sir Van Morrison, who has taken it upon himself to speak out against how the whole “pandemic” is being handle. He speaks up on behalf of performing music artists who were basically put out of work by the pandemic response. And in terms of said rationale, he basically feels that the threat of the spread of the coronavirus via live musical performances is BS. And whereas such a sentiment is not expressed forthrightly in the lyrics, you can tell that Clapton is operating under a similar sentiment. Indeed the title of the song reads like a call the singer is making to the audience to actually “stand” up to those (i.e. the government) he feels are bullying us in the name of combating COVID-19.
Writing Credits for “Stand and Deliver”
As stated earlier, “Stand and Deliver” was written by Irish musician Van Morrison. And this is the first time he has created a song with Clapton.
A Charity Song
Money generated from the sale of this song will be donated to a charity Morrison setup called the Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund.
Summary
All in all, “Stand and Deliver” is succinctly put an anti-lockdown song, with a special albeit very brief emphasis on how the “unnecessary lockdowns” affect musicians.
Thank you for capturing the artists’ sentiments rather than just outright demonizing them.
So good to know that such brilliant people are so brave to claim that lockdown is something intolerable and violates all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
I guess everybody has the right to die – so exercise it if you chose. But no one has the right to endanger others lives. We are all feeling the pinch from this pandemic. I know I feel it economically. But I chose to be patient so all my friends and family will be around to gather again.
Love, Peace and understanding people. These icons from the 60’s should have learned that by now. It is not about “me”, it is about “us”.
Patience.
We sometimes spread flu and tuberculosis too. Our movements spread NOx and CO2. Our words sometimes spread fear. Our actions sometimes spread depression. The round of beer we offer spreads fat on the arteries of our friends. I presume all this must stop forever too? Where has the sense of proportion gone? Thank you Morrison and Clapton for trying to bring it back.
I am no fan of the present government since Jan. 20. If you think That confiscatory taxation and open borders is the answer, then you will get just that.
I really apreciate artists that have the guts to use their artform to make statements. That way they help to make discussion posible. In this moments, many hearts and minds are overheated due to steady mediatic bombardment on all sides which makes it difficult to interchange thoughts and opinions. But at least some have the pride to express themselves. And I am convinced that Clapton would much more prefer to play the guitar at home rather than be the centre of public discussion. But he has to do it as his younger fellow musicians do not stand up and deliver nothing. What a generation of wheenies we are.