Eric Clapton is known for his fierce opposition to vaccine mandates in COVID panicdemics. This song was forgotten during the bustle and chaos of Christmas season. Now that things have calmed down, it’s well worth taking into consideration. “Heart of a Child” is an achingly beautiful tune bringing powerful testimony about, and against, the human toll of COVID far separated from the virus itself.
Atop a gently rolling acoustic bed laced with Clapton’s soulful, melodic genius, the lyrics begin with stark clarity:
Get down, gunboy!
Don’t blow your life away
The song continues, Clapton imploring a young man grieving in COVID-enforced isolation his own father’s (and a friend of Clapton’s) passing to remember his young daughter, not depriving her of her father via suicide. The video’s compelling visuals are shadows of life scenes cast on different walls, then erased, an unmistakable attack on the aforementioned enforced isolation.
COVID is rarely reported. The song highlights the negative impact that avoiding human contact with people out of fear can have on their mental health. Young people are particularly vulnerable. According to an American Institute for Economic Research article last year:
Back-of the-envelope calculations show that 2018 deaths are lower than 2019 deaths per 100k2020 witnessed one more death in the under-5 age group, 1.5 additional deaths for those 5-14 years old, and an astounding Additional deaths of 15 to 24-year-olds. The death rate per 100k for this age group increased from 106.4 in 2019, to 131.7 in 2020. That’s An increase of 23% — and Covid only accounts for 1.2% of total deaths in ages 0–24 years.
Here’s a hint: the root problem isn’t stock issue teenage angst.
It is telling that those entrusted with the “science” are noticeably reticent to make definitive statements on the matter, instead clinging to New Age-ish powderpuff fluff:
This ongoing pandemic may have serious consequences for the mental health. In addition to suicide, it could also increase the death rate. Despite this, humankind’s resilience to any kind of disaster is remarkable throughout history. Positivism and hope are two of the most important markers for coping. They often emerge from cooperation, optimism, and mutual support. Global strategies, collaborative research and collective responsibility might hopefully enhance the efforts against the ‘dual pandemic’ of COVID-19 and suicide.
Sure, it makes me want science to be trusted.
A few days ago, in my story about John Ondrasik’s “Blood on My Hands,” I mentioned how the protest song is making a comeback, only this time around, conservatives are leading the charge. Eric Clapton’s “Heart of a Child” is in the same vein. Although it doesn’t directly address government overreach or incompetence when confronting COVID it makes no mistake that it addresses human suffering directly resulting from these failings. Andrew Breitbart, the late great Andrew Breitbart said that politics flows from culture. Artists are a gift that artists offer to those who live in the world and not among it. Share the music and spread the word. Spread the word. Song can be used to win hearts and minds.
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