What is the story behind Melissa Ethridge's song Silent Legacy?

Answer 1

While "Jenna bear87" made a valiant effort at interpreting the "poetry" of Silent Legacy, I'm afraid the dots she connected to make that story weren't on the page to begin with. I'm guessing (and not trying to be condescending) that the "87" in her screen name is the year of her birth and so her frame of reference is (I'm happy to say) of a world where, for the most part, the "Silent Legacy" has abated to an extent. Thus fulfilling the hope expressed in the final verse and has not been passed on to the next generation.

Silent Legacy is Melissa Etheridge's coming out anthem appearing on the CD "Yes I Am", the release of which coincided (approximately) with her own public coming out. "Yes I Am" is a rhetorical answer to the question "Are you gay?" stated with pride and no fear. "Silent Legacy" is a metaphor for the homosexual "closet" which through silence is passed unknowingly from one generation of homosexuals to the next.

When the lyrics are read through that prism, the dots connect perfectly to create a very powerful and emotional depiction of the pain associated with growing up in this closet; knowing you were gay in a time when it was unthinkable for gay men and women to even acknowledge it to themselves much less to their friends and family. It is to music what Brokeback Mountain is to movies - very simply - a depiction of the self-destructive pain of life in the closet.

I'm not going to look at every single line to craft a story, but rather look at the lyrics more generally, through this prism. I assume the character in the song is a woman because, Melissa is a woman, but it is really gender neutral throughout and applicable to any gender. But I will use "she" and "her" as my pronouns.

In the first verse, it seems there's a troubled teenager (why?) remembering a time, which after doing something wrong, her parents talked to her about why "stealing matches" was wrong. But now (for some reason), at this point in life, that reasoning is absent in this relationship (again, why?). The loneliness she now feels (imagine the reality of all her other friends being straight, starting to have boyfriends, natural sexual exploration) is again echoed in the third verse as "The natural progression Is the coming of your age, But they cover it with shame and turn it into rage.". This is further amplified by not being able to talk about it with ANYONE in her life. Of her parents, she thinks if she tells them "They will never understand, They will wonder where did THEY go wrong" and she imagines them saying "How could you be so selfish, Why can't you get along (like everyone else - just be like everyone else)". This was a typical belief of people in the closet because it was a typical reaction as recently as the 80's, and 90's.

Then we get to the chorus - "And as you pray, in your darkness for wings to set you free, You are bound to your Silent Legacy". This is the first mention of the title words in the song. SILENT because nobody knows this about me, I don't know anyone else in the world like this, no one does. It's not talked about, I alone am like this and there is no one I can trust with this - SILENT. And LEGACY - something passed on to the next generation (of gay men and women - the antidote of which is coming out or the closet - referenced in the last verse) But in the chorus she speaks of the feeling of being bound to this silent legacy.

The next 3 verses continue with this teenager's angst at the world around her and her own natural inclinations, searching for answers, craving affection, and so forth, each adding more detail to the pain of this existence, building and building, both musically and lyrically, into a crescendo where all the pent-up rage and shame, that is part of this experience, is finally and gloriously released. Ah - peace at last.

The final verse is open to interpretation, maybe the teenager (Melissa) is now grown and possesses the wisdom that comes with age in general and coming out in particular, leaving all of the shame and rage behind and accepting the awesome responsibility of "refusing to pass down" and ensuring future generations of gay children don't have that experience, thus ending the silent legacy.

In the Intro of the song, it takes us to the "one room hotel" which is the home the child grew up in but unfortunately did not feel like a home life should. "Once they gave you answers" to "Where did they go wrong" was directed to the parents. Then of course, "why can't you get along" is directed towards the relationship between the daughter and the parents.

In the first and second verse, the child is seeing how other parents and families are, where the parents were very loving and they would give advice on life and emotional support. The child is angry and upset because you want the 'loving' parents who listen to your every need, rather than teaching their daughter right from wrong. They automatically judge her every mistake. So this child is struggling with life and understanding. The parents were 'ashamed' of the mistakes the daughter had made and they would turn their shame into rage.

In verse three, the child is looking for answers but the parents are not helping the child with advice on life. Every time the daughter did something wrong they would feed her full of guilt rather than sort through the mess and misunderstanding.

In the chorus, the "silent legacy" is the fear and not knowing about life.

In the final verse, the child is now a mother herself and wont pass onto her child a life of fear, but to tell the child that life is a beautiful thing and it should not be feared and that everyone makes mistakes and to learn from them and not to be ashamed of them or even your personal choices on life. You are your own person.