Joan Osborne - One Of Us | The story behind the song | Top 2000 a gogo
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Musicians Joan Osborne and Eric Bazilian tell the story behind 'One Of Us'. A short documentary by Top 2000 a gogo from 2018 (Dutch Public Television).
![JOAN OSBORNE -- (WHAT IF GOD WAS) ONE OF US [REVIEW]](/img/n.gif)
After all of these years, it still gives me the chills. Amazing back story, how it basically fell out of the writer's hands an mouth. Still one of the best songs of the 90s.
Me too, chills after all these years.
word
Divine intervention….
I am Catholic and very religious and I can't for the life of me see what is offensive about this song. I always interpreted it the way Joan said - like the Good Samaritan. I never knew that people were so angry about it. P.S. She was really beautiful in that video.
This song is HIGHLY offensive, it trivializes and minimalizes G-d, comparing Him to a slob. I hated this song from the minute it was on the radio.
My catholic grandma was confused by it at the time, but my dad and I explained it to her.
EPA18 Typical overly judgmental Christian; always seeing the negative to put themselves up on a pedestal compared to the the hedonic masses. You hear that line yet ignore the “god is great” lyric that is inescapable on the quickest of listenings of this song. Never mind trying to interpret a more subtle meaning like maybe god is in all of us in the lyric that you lambast.
I think it's 'pointy' here and there. 'Nobody calling on the phone...' - letting a grownup ask kid's questions. It could be interpreted as making God a silly character. Yet that is not forbidden in the country I live in, and I think it shouldn't be, either.
It is also poignant in another sense. The loneliness ascribed to the God in the song now befalls many; dethroning God has promoted the individual into a deity. Existentially adrift and ultimately alone, whereas the God I believe in is never alone, but relationship in him/herself. Relation which he wants to share.
@@EPA18 please read the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. "Whatever you do to the least of these you do to Me". People can look past a poor person they see as a slob. But if we feed and clothe that person, we are feeding and clothing Christ Himself.
People getting offended by something that challenges their morals is to be expected, but I never understood people getting death threats for something like this. It's insane.
The world is uglier than you can imagine. Not to bring politics into it, but per most polls, 80% of the religious right support Trump. He could be the best president in the world and it still baffles me how the righteous would support someone that has cheated on his wives, many divorces, paid off hookers, and all of the other supposedly bad things per the bible. Hypocrites, all of em.
You hate Trump, you hate Christians, you hate right wingers... and yes, you did bring politics into it. Christianity NEVER condemns someone for their past - even a serial killer can repent and believe - yet
you call people who you disapprove of 'hypocrites' using your own measure of right and wrong...
@@AnnabelleJARankin "Christianity never condemns someone for their past."
No, but CHRISTIANS do.
@@bechtoea Most of us only have a vague understanding of just how horrible human beings have been to one another for the entirety of our existence. And too many of us refuse to evolve.
@@gabe_s_videos Wise words. Most of the evil in this world has been caused by the very religions that are supposed to save us.
I remembered this song gave me a fresh perspective when I heard it for the first time and I remembered God walked among us in Jesus.
I don't have religious beliefs but have always loved the song, and the sentiments expressed in this video are exactly what the world needs more of today.
But God wants is to share love each other
One of my favorite songs ever. It requires you to reexamine how you treat other people.
My dear father bought this record for me for a Christmas gift in the 90's. [It's] a great album, and I cherish that record because of how I received it. Cheers !
They made a much more powerfull song than they intended thats for sure.
Its a masterpiece.
Such a powerfull song and such a powerfull message!
100%
Why do you think they didn't intend as much depth? It sounds like they both put a lot of thought and feeling into it.
Not only is this story amazing. This piece was so well edited. You guys did an amazing job with this one.
Joan is such a great singer, I wish she had more hits.
The Hooters are one of the most talented bands of the past 40 years. Love all the works of Eric & Rob.
It always seems the very best songs come together very fast! A gift from above if you will.
yeah from god wink xD
I won't 😅
Disease is not from God. Take a look in the mirror and there's your answer.
@@cynthiameans heyyyyyyyy, no need to get personal 🙂
Yup
In Hindu, is the saying: "Treat everyone you meet as if it is God in disguise, because you never know."
Hebrews 13 : 2 Be not forgetful not to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.
@@lapalad -nice., i am constantly amazed that some good words were left in the Bible and not edited out, though most rarely notice.
Which is terrible. You're not treating people with respect because thats how everyone should be treated regardless, you're only doing it because they could be god.
I'm christian and i believe that saying. As Jesus walked on this earth, he felt what it was to be human. An outcast, a nobody, a carpenter's boy walking from one place to another. But when he spoke, it caught everyone's attention and saw what he can actually do. A GOD among men wrapped in flesh.
Matthew 25: “Whatsoever you do for the least of my people…..so you do unto me”. But this guy that wrote this is telling us NOT to believe in a higher power. In particular he had in mind the God of Christianity when he wrote it if you listen to him at the end. He tells us we have only science. I nearly lost my breakfast. My oldest son says the same thing about science so often that I wanted to puke when I heard it roll out here.
I am an american christian from tennessee, raised a Baptist I seriously doubt one of my fellow christians had any issue with the lyrics of this song.
That is so true ,It is the media that doesn't want God mentioned at all ever!
This song is sooooo special. I have an eclectic taste in music and this song struck me when it first came out. I had 3 young daughters and thought this song was clear in it's topic. We had raised our daughters without faith and this song hit home. Thanks for sharing it's origins. Keep on rockin' in the free world!
"be excellent to each other" Yeah, 'nuff said
Great song! And even covered by Prince who I admire big time. Double great!!
Lovely to see Joan Osborne talking about this. It's one of those TH-cam music videos I go back to every so often.. it's a real brain flea of a song!
Prince recorded this song. It's on his album, Emancipation, released in 1996 :)
I LOVE THIS SONG. Thank you so much you two. And thank God too I guess.
Guitar rules this song😊
I was raised Catholic which drove the faith in God OUT of me, because Catholics are basically. do as I say not as I do....but when I heard this song I felt, well this version of God I might actually get behind. Somebody just riding the bus with me and seeing how we really live.
well if you know the truth which is Jesus Christ and that's a personal relationship with Jesus traditional Catholicism is not born again Christians at all they actually go quite a bit against the Bible there's too much idolatry that's practiced in the Bible for any kind of tree, no repeat of players no Mass none of that stuffit's against what God teaches in his Bible in his word, that's the whole reason behind the Reformation the 500 Reformation for Martin Luther why he did what he did thank God he did too and the 95 Thesesbecause they were doing things legalistically and that's not what God's word says God's authority of God comes from his word alone not from any churchand it's not about religion it's a personal relationship with Jesus Christ personally the Bible says You must be born again
I know what you mean. Basically the Bible cured me of Christianity because of its dark, primitive folklore version of God. The real god God is love: no torture and execution required to accept humanity. Cheers.
@@Great_WOK_Must_Be_Done WRONGwrong you don't know the real God gave the god of the Bible is very much a god of love but he's also a god of wrath of God of judgment a gun of torture was going to send you to hell because you sent herself to help by denying his truth right now you do not know the truth you do not know the god of the Bible the god of the Bible has to be a god of love and also is a god of wrath otherwise he wouldn't be just"""""""""" just like when a when a judge on Earth has two sentence a killer or rapist he can be loving as she can be loving but they have to be just have to do just us and be just that's the way God has but it's even higher with God he wouldn't be a just God and he would be contradicting his own character if he didn't punish the guilty so he is a god of love but he's also a god of wrath very much so you clearly do not know the god of the Bible and because of that you're going to perish in Eternal damnation the guy you're believing in is a god of your own imagination existthe god of the Bible is the one you're going to stand before and that God is very much a god of love but he's also a god of wrath and it got a judgment you will face it and there's no escaping it let that sink in
@@Great_WOK_Must_Be_Done the god of the Bible is not required to do anything he does what he wants to do he runs the show you don't see anybody could say God but you have to have the right God the god of the Bible y'all way is the only God that you will stand before the god that you will be accountable to and that God will punish the wicked he will store of his wrath upon you get to know the right. Otherwise you're going to perish anyways you're too stupid to know the truth
@@gn3101 Blah, blah, blah.
It’s a great song and a great piece of writing because it make you think and wonder. And as all good writing, it “means” what it means to you. Not what it means to Joan, Prince, or even Eric. You, and everyone who has heard the lyrics. Different meanings, every one. I love it for that.
Thank for making this. I love hearing about songs and their meaning and how it was written from the songwriters. Please keep it coming. This is fantastic and insightful!
Thank you!
Always liked his song. My band is now doing this. No other band in Georgia is doing this...makes us stand out...Thanks for the Song !!
i love the song. its amazing. and joan Osbourne does a great job singing .
Was nominated for the Grammy Record of the Year. Should have won. Great performance by Joan.
This song will never go out of style.
That demo sounded great for a four track cassette recording.
One of the best songs ever written.
The greatest songs have magically appeared just like this
I LOVE your channel....short bytes about the writings of songs...and they are some of my favorites, as well. Thank you for your efforts. I have subscribed, and I'll continue to share your videos.
Great story. AndJoan nailed it .
How does any song with a lyric that says "God is great," offend anybody?
Deca Cards52 well there is 7 billion people.
Some get offended by a smile.
Some get offended by fill in the blank.
I go to church every Sunday all my life.
I love this song so much.
Depends what meanig it has to people. If youve grown up where you relate god to love, then you love it.
If you grew up and associate god with fear and hate and rejection, then god is great wouldnt make sense to you.
Hmmmm.... Your judeo-christian god loves me unconditionally but will condemn me to an eternity of torment if I masturbate. Can it get more offensive than that? I could do good works my entire life without committing a single "sin", but according to your god, I will suffer an eternity if I fail to grovel at his feet in worship. Given all of the misogyny, genocide, hypocrisy, and justification for slavery in his book, I would spit in his face if he actually existed and I met him/her/it. Your whiole religion and religion in general is offensive.
I doubt it did. There had been plenty of Christian Rock bands at the time singing about God over a rock track. I also doubt she got death threats. If she did, it was from one crazy person, rather than a slew of certain people. But you have to stoke the flames of controversy if you want to make a mark, even if it's fake.
@@canucanoe2861 Get a woman (proper), if you can. God wants it.
It’s a beautiful song lyrically- and musically... Prince covered it and he rarely covered anyone so that’s a lasting testament to how important this song is
Prince... WROTE THIS SONG! Joan covered Prince.
I love Joan Osborns music,this one in particular. ❤️❤️❤️
A brilliant song. Thank you for writing it.
God did become one of us. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:1, 14
I always wondered why the god of the bible sanctioned slavery yet made a big fuss about people eating shellfish and wearing mixed fabrics.
Be excellent to each other eric bazilian inspirates me each day with his words.
I replayed your songs all the time!
I love this channel! It is amazing to hear about the process behind these wonderful songs. On another note, this woman reminds me of Agnetha from Abba and this man reminds me of Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo ;)
Eric Bazilian was a member of the 1980s band The Hooters. They had several hits and members have written hits for others. This being one of them. :)
Jim Cuddy came to mind immediately.
Sarah is also Swedish.
Yes! I kept looking at him like I knew him from something else but I couldn't put my finger on it. Jim Cuddy Clone 100%.
This song will last forever!!!
Forever is a long time. Eventually everything will turn to dust and disappear, including this song.
Astonishing origin story. Thank you for sharing. Great interviews. And of course, a beautiful composition.
Joan is so incredibly intelligent and articulate.......I hold her in a very high regard...........
I studied at Penn, and Eric & Rob came back to campus in the early 90s to give a talk... Eric signed my Physics textbook (he was a Physics major) and i still have it!... I'd be honored if some 90s fans would take a listen to my low-fi acoustic piano & vocal YT performances of IF GOD WAS ONE OF US and BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY by the Verve in tribute to 2 standards of the mid/late 90s era. Live acoustic with no autotune or digital editing. Peace out and stay safe in the '020s.
I have never heard this son before. Very interesting concept. I am enjoying this channel which highlights how songs often come from the weirdest of situations. I am not religious in any way so the son is not emotional but it is catchy.
just amazing
I bought this album because I loved the Hooters... great songwriting.
...Cool ! Now I love it even more ...thanks .
The album Relish that this song came from is fantastic! One of us is only a tiny portion of what Joan Osborne is capable of as an artist! Her version of man in the long black coat is epic!
Another great story, thank you guys!
A very talented guy.
I distinctly remember purchasing this on cassette single from Woolworth's all those years ago. Back then, my hifi woke me up in the morning, not an old mobile. As such, to echo a highly regarded TH-cam channel - where this tune was concerned, it was ReligionForBreakfast. A worthy drop off point after the left field spirituality this tune very much conjured in me.
Where the tape is now, Heaven only knows? Quite literally! But it stands the test of time pretty well, doffing my figurative cap to its silver jubilee - well earned
... one of my faves... timeless...
I love those other versions of the song.
I really liked the guitarst's voice on the demo. :)
Now I want to hear Brad Roberts cover this. I love his rich vocals. :)
I love that entire album. She is marvelous. With this song, she was also the messenger. Why threaten Joan? How can someone be so intimidated, so terrified by an idea opposite as to hate the messenger? Monotheists need that single omnipotent creator being to fill in all the blanks. To have a ready response for how and why. But seriously, what if? What if the Divine is in you? All around you? In every human? In all aspects of Nature? Do you want now to threaten me?
"Joan of Arcadia" brought me here...and keeps me here. From a less in-your-face-you're-wrong/fake time.
Great song, great artist... Magic in a studio...
Great story. Love the song.
Beautiful words Joan !
Very cool vid about one of my all time favorite songs
Amazing!!! Love you Guys!
I love the sound of Joan's demo...
Cool Paisley Park beanie Joan! Prince played this song a lot.
He put his version on the 3 cd album Emancipation and it's the only cover version he ever put on one of his albums.
I couldn't agree more.....Be Excellent To Each Other....& Party On, Dudes!
Wow what a heartwarming storey and tune x
I heard it first on MTV, and it was great to hear it and I wondered who wrote it so I yahooed it powered by Google! Hooters !!! I thought so…Still think SEETHER could take it to number one ☝️
God was one of us...and we crucified Him.
Yes in the form of Jesus Christ his son who's also the second person of the Trinity and also God
Except God never was just "one" of us. God has always been "all" of us, including the animals and the trees.
@@stonew1927 WRONG!!!!! wrong that's not the god of the Bible the god of the Bible is Yahweh god of the Bible is higher than our ways his ways are higher than our ways he is king of kings and Lord of lords you got the wrong God the god of the Bible is the window stand before you clearly don't know the truth Jesus is the truth read John 14-6
@@gn3101 Yea, you keep believing what you've been conditioned to believe. You're like a passenger on a sinking ship hanging on to the life boats that have never been released into the sea, so afraid to swim on your own and see life for what it is. You are brainwashed, closed off and close minded, so sure and secure in the chip that's been prgrammed into your brain, and on top of it the biggest hypocrite of all, condemning and judging others who don't follow YOUR version of reality, which really has nothing to do with reality. And I tell you that believing in God and a spiritual being. Stop your nonsense and cramming your religious beliefs down people's throats. It's all a lie. God bless you on your journey. I will not respond or read whatever blather you post here. Aloha
@@stonew1927 tell him I got news for you in school you this is not about being conditioned okay you're calling Jesus a liar there's all kinds of proof Jesus predicted his own death and Resurrection when he turned took on the form of a man he is always existed John 1:1 in the beginning was the word and the Word was God and the Word was with God that's John 1:1 Jesus is known as the word he's also known as The Great I Am"""" he predicted his own death and Resurrection when he had to take on the form of a man to die for your sins and mine and then he defeated deathdefeated death fulfilling over 300 prophecies alone those are historical facts not conditioned historical fact that means they happened in history OK you can deny it all you want and suppress the truth but you were going to face the god that you're denying and buy you denying him you don't have the power to deny him you can get to know him and say you don't believe him all you want it doesn't it doesn't make it less true it's still true outside of your beliefJesus is the truth he said I am the way the truth and the life no man cometh to the father but through me John 14:6 and he proved it by defeating deaththat's the whole message of the Gospel you idiot and you were going to face that guy that you deny that's the biblical God The One and Only God you're making a God in your own image of its happy with you and that God doesn't exist the only God that exists as a 1 from the Bible that's a fact whether you believe it or not is a fact God's truth is based on who he is not based on what you think his is based on who he is
Very Nice !!
God has a name and its Jesus!
all time favorate....
Touching
It’s the perfect way to write a song in my opinion . Let it flow out of you. Don’t think too much
I've made my living writing music for 30 years (nothing as good as this I might add)
Your best work is usually the easiest.
another great one thx.
The Good Samaritan. You're right, Joan. That was Mother Theresa's take on it.
Robb Powell can’t tell if this is sarcastic or not
God is great. God is good.
So are Thor, the Easter Bunny, Micky Mouse and thousands of other made up figures.
You can see he's so proud of his child. And he's right. Not many people can say "I've made a hit song".
Joan is right. One of Us doesn't sound like any of the other songs on Relish. Great song and Joan does the definitive version. What the song is about is up to the person who hears it.
What a great story!
One of the great song
He quoted Bill & Ted!!! What a Man!
Be excellent to each other! 🤘
Great song... God is one of us and all of us, but still none of us. All at the same time!!! I think
I’m a practicing Catholic and I love this song
And I love the pope. LoL
The songwriter and the singer has different interpretation of the song, cool.
It is a song on Pantheism, wonderful. Eric Brazilian with flashes of Spinoza in him :D
great song!!!!!!!!!!!! historic
I do like this song although I’m not religious in the slightest. It’s very beautifully constructed and performed and very well-produced
Prince-
enough said
Saludes desde la REPUBLIC DEL EL SALVADOR 2022
HI JOAN. THIS SONG WAS AND IS STILL VERY AMAZING. THANKYOU. LOVE FROM DEAN HARROP IN AUSTRALIA
Oh, now I know why its so different from most of her recordings. I always said to myself, she never sounded like that on her other songs, much higher register and place for "One Of Us"...
I didn't know Harold Hunter was in the music video (@ 3:53). He was a professional skateboarder and known for his role in the movie KIDS (1995) Directed by Larry Clarke and Harmony Korine. He later died of a cocaine overdose. Pretty cool looking back through all of this.
Bill & Ted, the best religion. APPROVED
Genius . . . !!!
It was popular on Dubai radio :)
She’s aged so much, I feel old!
I'm a huge fan of Eric Bazilian and the Hooters from way back in the 80's. They're my hometown heroes here in Philadelphia. I simultaneously have great affection for "One of us" and can see how people would be offended by it because the lyric " just a slob like one of us" is provocative. It has the audacity to bring the divine down to earth and doesn't give the Creator just due. As a person whose formation was Catholic and Christian, I don't think that threatening violence was the appropriate response, but I can see how people would consider the song blasphemous to some degree. Later in the interview, Eric comes out with his scientific, materialistic, yet squishy "be excellent to each other" quote and it lays out plainly his opposition to the Judeo-Christian view of god and faith many people held at that time.
Eric seems to be morally superior to the mythical god of the bible.
This song has always spoken to me as I believe that God is the sum total of all of us--having a human experience. Something that our 5 senses can never capture. In the same way that we cannot see colors that insects can see, or hear things that bats can hear there are things beyond our human experience. Things that "study science" will never fulfill.
Geez, from thumbnail I thought she'd transitioned to a man.
Me too!
Just read my mind! Thought the same.
Me too! I'm glad I'm not the only one.
lmao