As the heading suggests, this museletter is about high-profile politicians. Kidding, it’s really about the fantastic song by Rag’n’Bone Man, Human. I attempted a finger-picked acoustic cover of it here:

In the Earbuds: Human by Rag’n’Bone Man

With his smooth, deep, and powerful crooning voice, R&B/Soul singer Rag’n’Bone Man sounds like he could be an American southern Black gospel singer – when in reality he is a heavily-tattooed white British man. It seems fitting that his lead single from his album of the same name, “Human,” is a plea for mercy from those who may judge by appearances and hold him to unreasonable expectations: “I’m only human after all, you’re only human after all, don’t put your blame on me.” The music video for the song shows Raggy (a nickname I’ve just given him) morphing into different shades of the huge palette that is humanity – male, female, young, old, and a wide array of ethnicities. Maybe the song is a call for us to stop putting blame on people simply because of how they look or what they believe, since “we’re only human, after all.” It is an earnest call to

Take a look in the mirror
What do you see?
Do you see it clearer
Or are you deceived
In what you believe?

The song “Human” is only one gem in a treasure chest of songs expressing heart-break, brokenness, longing, and hope in the voice of blues and soul.

In “Skin,” Raggy sings “We came so close and it was almost love…”

In “Grace,” he says “At the death of every darkness there’s a morning, Though we all try
We all try, We’re all one step from grace.”

In “Ego”, he goes on the offensive: “I hate to burst your bubble, but somebody’s got to…Ego – bang, bang, baby, down you fall, ain’t you mister know-it-all”

In a world of pop music where so much time is devoted to songs about partying, altering your consciousness with some substance, and seducing a mate, it’s so refreshing to hear an honest, booming voice facing the brokenness of life head-on with hopeful honesty – not just finding unhealthy distractions to cope with it.