“This Song Saved My Life” by Simple Plan (2011)

Memories of Simple Plan

The first time I heard Simple Plan was way back in the 1st Q of 2003. Courtesy of my brother who had a diverse taste in music, I was exposed to many subgenres of rock, from pop punk to hard rock, from Audioslave to Marilyn Manson.

Though I had listened to “Addicted” and “Perfect” in 2003 and “Don’t Wanna Think About You” and “Welcome To My Life” in 2004, I only came to appreciate Simple Plan’s musicianship and songwriting prowess when I watched the music videos to “I’m Just A Kid” in January 2005 and “Untitled (How Could This Happen To Me)” in May 2005. If it was not for my classmate in biology who lent me a VCD, I would not have seen “I’m Just A Kid” and if I had not taken a vacation to my country’s capital, I would not have seen “Untitled”.

Get Your Heart On! (Image from de.lamusica.wikia.com)  

A long time would pass before I would love another song from the band. I had listened to “Jet Lag” featuring Natasha Bedingfield in the last quarter of 2013 and “This Song Saved My Life” just this month.

“This Song Saved My Life” is now my most favorite song from the group. A visit to Wikipedia tells me their album Get Your Heart On!, which was released in 2001 and where this song is track #11, tanked commercially, despite good reviews.

It breaks my heart to know that decent music acts such as Simple Plan can no longer sell records, especially in this age of social media. Damn these millennials for their poor taste in music.

Reflections on the music video’s theme

I can somehow connect the lyrics of the song to the storyline and theme of the music video. A lot of things – or memories – flooded into my mind as I watched the video over and over again.

Way back in 2005, I wrote an article on child labor for a media organization who partnered with a children’s rights advocacy group. A year later, I attended a lecture on workplace exploitation given by a worker’s rights activist, who revealed that most abuses against workers took place in the garments and construction sector.

A day in the life of a modern-day slave in a sweatshop

A colleague at work once shared to me that she was almost trafficked as a child. She got lost at a bus station. She happened to meet a stranger who claimed to know her parents. She could have gone with her, if not for a neighbor who spotted them. The stranger fled, leaving the child behind.

Should I also mention that in my country, there is a town that is a famous hub for child pornography? Search Cordova, Cebu, Philippines to know more.

After much reflection, I realized that not only child laborers, oppressed workers and other modern-day slaves are victims but also their employers, the human traffickers, and the modern-day slave traders and slaveholders.

In every political system… in every economic system, as long as greed, hatred and violence reign in the hearts of men, there will always be abuse and exploitation. There will always be victims. There will always be oppressors – they who do not know they are victims themselves too.

A call to action

I call on everyone to stand up against all forms of abuse and exploitation against all peoples.

I exhort everyone to argue within reason and treat people with respect, even if they differ in many ways.

It is time we make pornography, child trafficking and modern-day slavery history.

An undercover agent comes to the rescue.