John Legend’s “Preach” Lyrics Meaning
“Preach” is John Legend’s take on a number of disturbing social issues plaguing America such as made evident by the music video police brutality, random violence and mass immigration. In the song, John takes on the role of someone who is emotionally overwhelmed by the news of such events. Thus he faces the personal dilemma of whether to take a stand and try to do something to alleviate these matters or just let things continue as they are.
Ultimately he concludes that he can’t just go about everyday life as if nothing is happening. In other words he “can’t just preach”. He feels the need to do something. His soul is not content with being one of the types of people who always bemoans what’s going on in the world yet actively do nothing about it. He brings this point more to life in the second verse. In it, he specifically references the experiences of always hearing people talk yet not witnessing any actual change.
Conclusively, John realizes that, despite being as powerless as the next man, there is no benefit to lamenting over issues and doing nothing to correct them.
Facts about “Preach”
- Writer(s): John Legend wrote this song. However, he didn’t do the writing all by himself. He teamed up with songwriters Greg Kurstin and Sarah Aarons to write it.
- Producer(s): Greg Kurstin also produced the track in addition to co-writing.
- Release Date: “Preach” was released on 15 February 2019.
- Record Label: This track was likely released on the labels John normally works with, which are GOOD Music, Sony and Columbia Records.
- Interesting Stuff: The music video for “Preach” is the first to use YouTube’s new fundraising feature. What this means is that people who feel the track can take concrete action, just as the song suggests, can donate to a non-profit organization of John’s choosing via the music video’s official YouTube page.
Who sings the backing vocals on “Preach”?
Sarah Aarons not only co-wrote this song with Legend, but she also sung the song’s background vocals.
I’m not sure “mass immigration” correctly describes the issue Mr. Legend is concerned about. The video portrays the separation of children from their parents, most of whom are seeking asylum.