It’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it: I debunk my Heroes. Part 2: Marvin Gaye/Save the Children

This hurts. This really hurts. You see, Marvin Gaye’s a personal of hero of mine. In a lot of ways. Here’s a few of them: I love the way that at the peak of his success with Motown he went off in a completely new musical direction and in effect invented socially conscious soul. I love the way he stood up to Motown’s boss Berry Gordy and refused to record another record for him until Gordy released What’s Going On. (Gordy hated the album, said it’d kill Marv’s career, doh!) I love the way What’s Going On is a prototype concept album exploring issues such as Vietnam, the environment, urban blight, and of course, I love the way it’s grooves are coolly funky like a summer street party going on late into the evening. But oh gosh, what exactly was going on with the track ‘Save The Children’?

There’s no doubting Gaye’s sincerity about ‘saving the babies’, it’s just that it’s so at odds with the rest of the album’s deeply heartfelt spiritual power; the transcendent ‘What’s Going On’, the tender, delicate ‘Wholly Holy’, the powerfully haunting ‘Inner City Blues’. I have a theory. It’s well known that Marv liked a puff or two of the old herb when he was recording. Must’ve been some serious ‘shit’. I mean, how else do you explain these lyrics:

Live life for the children

Oh, for the children

You see, let's save the children

Let's save all the children

Save the babies, save the babies

If you wanna love, you got to save the babies

Marvin, I’m still crazy about your music, and I’ve never skipped any track of yours except this one, hope you don’t mind.