“I Rise” by Madonna
Madonna’s “I Rise” begins with a fragment of a speech by Emma Gonzalez, a gun control advocate who survived the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. This intro coupled with verse lines about bulletproof and running from guns gives it a political feel.
Madonna is mainly encouraging her audience to rise above adversity and people who try to hurt them. She shares how strong she is though she has endured many things while emphasizing in the pre-chorus that she can’t break down now.
The singer continues to show the people who try to hurt her how resilient she has grown to be since she has managed to survive every ordeal and run out of tears. She goes on to spur herself and her audience on how to embrace freedom by explaining certain notions.In that regard, she advises that people can only hurt you if you either allow them to, or you overly love them.
The song ends with a call to action, urging her audience that they’re going to unite and get back up together.
Madonna, in a statement shortly after the release, revealed that she wrote “I Rise” as a way of giving a voice to all marginalized people who feel they don’t have the opportunity to speak their minds. She added that as 2019 marks the 50th Anniversary of pride, she believed the song will encourage individuals to be themselves, speak their minds and love themselves.
