Wrabel’s “The Village” Lyrics Meaning

Wrabel’s “The Village” is a song whose lyrics focus purely on members of the LGBTQ+ community and the challenges they face. In the song, the narrator tries their very best to let the addressee (who is apparently a member of the trans community) know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with them even though society has ostracized them and made them feel they are not on the right path.

Why has the addressee been ostracized?

It is made abundantly clear throughout the song, that the society is alienating the addressee simply because of their sexuality. Apparently society doesn’t understand why they have “chosen” to be a trans person.

And to make things worse, even the addressee’s family members who should be their pillar of support is sadly doing the exact opposite. The family members don’t understand why they have “chosen” to be this way.

Owing to all these challenges, the addressee is depressed and lonely. But the narrator is there to give them some hope.

Verse 1

In the first verse, we find out that the family member even warn the address about revealing their true sexual identity to their grandmother because she might just die out of sorrow. They even go as far as condemning the protagonist’s sexuality as “just a phase” which they are going to eventually outgrow.

Verse 2

In verse 2, it is revealed in detail how terrible life is for the protagonist in their community. There’s almost no day that goes by that the protagonist isn’t judged negatively. Members of their society gossip and spread wicked rumors about this beautiful transgender person. And on Sunday, when they eventually go to church instead of getting some relief, they are told in their face that they are a “young lost sinner” destined for Hell.

Chorus

In the chorus, the narrator comes to a conclusion that based on how the society is treating the protagonist, there is certainly something very “wrong in the village“. The “village” here represents the judging society in general.

The “village” has made life a living hell for the protagonist. And they have achieved that by constantly reminding them that there is something wrong with them. However, the narrator wants to reassure the protagonist that there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. They are beautiful and amazing as they are. If anything at all, it is the members of the society that are in the wrong. In the eyes of the narrator, the people condemning the protagonist are actually the ones who have something wrong with them.

What Wrabel has said about “The Village”

According to Wrabel, this song is a tribute to every single member of the trans community and the challenges they have to deal with on a daily basis. Wrabel composed this song shortly after President Trump after the administration of President Trump decided to revoke federal protections for transgender students in all public schools in the United States. These protections came during the President Obama’s administration. They allowed trans students make use of a number of facilities such as bathrooms that corresponded with their sexuality or gender identity. President Trump felt that these federal protections made no sense and decided to rescind them in early 2017 much to the utter shock of the LGBTQ+ community.

Wrabel (who came out as gay at the age of 23) was deeply disappointed in the Trump administration’s anti-trans stance, most notably the banning of transgender US soldiers. He therefore decided to write this song to let every person like him know that they are not alone.  

Wrabel has referred to this song as “the most important thing” that he has ever done. According to him, it is the closest thing to his heart.

Release Date

This track was released on 28^th July, 2017. Wrabel released it as a single.

Credits

Wrabel co-wrote this track together with Drew Pearson. Pearson has collaborated with major artists such as Phillip Phillips, Cody Simpson, and Kesha. Pearson produced this track.

Words from Fans

Overall, “The Village” has received overflowing positive responses from fans, with multiple trans fans sharing their personal stories and others empathizing with their struggles.

Many trans fans shared that they have gone through a similar situation depicted in the song. According to some of them, their families felt their identity was just a phase they were going through, refusing to accept them as a person, and abandoning them. And for those that have yet to come out to their families, they’ve shared the fear they have. They are afraid that they would not be accepted by their village.

On a happier note, one fan wrote that as part of a very conservative family, their father took about 2 years to accept them as they are. They went on to say that despite it being a very long time, with time and patience, things got better.