"Show Me" is the seventh single from

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

's album, '' Once Again''. The song is produced by

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...

and

Craig Street Craig Street, born in Oakland, California, is a noted record producer. Street moved with his family to Los Angeles at the age of 11, but returned to the Bay Area for his high school years. He began playing guitar at age 14, and was in a number ...

and was released as a single in December 2007. The song is noted for its vulnerability, and John has cited it as one of his favorites. Along with the release came a

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

tailored to fit the theme of the Anti-Poverty campaign which John started shortly afterwards.

Song Style

Noted as being a particularly unusual track on ''Once Again'', Show Me opens up with a

guitar riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based on ...

reminiscent of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

and crooning, hushed, and haunting. Its beat is smooth and its lyrics are hopeful in prayer from a skeptical believer.

Music video

Directed by Lee Hirsch, the video portrays the day of a poor African child who faces difficult living condition and witnesses the relative ease of the life for a child in a higher developed country, with implications of lack of proper health care, education, public transportation, and proper agriculture. John follows him as a

voyeuristic Voyeurism is the Sexual attraction, sexual interest in or Human sexual activity, practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, Human sexual activity, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. ...

specter which the boy seems to recognize momentarily, which implies that it is in fact the spirit and willingness of those who wish to help aid as some sort of real world overlooking

guardian angels A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role i ...

. In an effort to escape the life he feels bound to, he mounts the wheel well of an airplane immediately before it ascends for flight. The song is dedicated to Yaguine Koita and Fode Tounkara, young stowaways who died flying from

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in July 1999, as well as the millions who live in poverty. It was shot in

Zanzibar Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small Island, islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

in October 2007.

Campaign

In 2007, John began th
Show Me Campaign
to fight poverty in underdeveloped countries. He promoted awareness by touring and visiting universities and colleges across the United States. He donated funding to

Millennium Promise Millennium Promise or The Millennium Promise Alliance, Inc., is an American non-profit organization incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and is a founding partner of the organization, Malaria No More with the stated goal of ending ...

, an organization with the stated goal of ending

extreme poverty Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, ...

References

Sources

External links

Show Me Campaign

Official Site
{{John Legend 2008 singles John Legend songs Songs written by John Legend 2006 songs Songs written by Raphael Saadiq Songs written by Estelle (musician)