18-Year Old, Ray Goren’s Song, “Oh Lord” is Divine
Meet Ray Goren. An 18-year old singer-songwriter from New York who’s making ripples in the music industry. He recently appeared on NBC’s new series, Songland, produced by Adam Levine. Songland gives songwriters the opportunity to perform in front of world-renowned judges and if their song is chosen, a star artist takes their song and releases it worldwide.
Ray Goren was one of those songwriters, and his song, “Oh Lord” was absolutely stunning. As I listened to him sing, I was trying really hard not to cry because he has the voice of a literal angel and the song was beautifully written.
“Oh Lord” is a soulful piano ballad that opens with a rap that comments on corrupt politicians and lies in the news. These are such powerful words and coming from someone so young, it is truly inspirational.
“A nation divided, the world is colliding
Look out the window and people are dying
Turn on the news and you get lies and the blues
’Cause ain’t a person out here speaking the truth
It’s all opinionated propaganda run by politicians
They tell you what you wanna hear then do something different
Ain’t it funny that they friendly when they tryna get votes
Ain’t it funny they change over when the ballots are closed”
When he begins to sing in the chorus, his voice is so rich and smooth, similar to that of John Legend. He cleverly uses a I-vi-IV-iv chord progression to give the harmonies a very bluesy tone. He uses lots of runs in the melody inspired heavily by gospel music.
The song is so eye-opening and refreshing, combined with his perfect vocals, creates an emotionally-touching piece of art. The second verse is more like a call-to-action. He talks about the death of innocent people, wars, and terrorist bombings.
“I’d like to think that peace will come, guess it’s not in our nature
All these weapons of mass destruction pose a real fucking danger
To innocent children, innocent wives
And it’s in life’s they might be taking in the relative future
Don’t be surprised if one day
We wake up and we all see nothing but smoke
And moments later, all the people in the world start to choke
I guess it’s karma, ’cause in Germany, that shit already happened
Cause in Syria, we haven’t taken action
We’re watching history repeat itself in the utmost evil fashion
I hope these words inspire some sort of chain of reaction
And give the people of this world some sort of satisfaction”
I’ve been inspired by Ray Goren’s words and I hope that you will be too. It’s time for us to realize that we need to change where the future is going.
