{"id":806016,"date":"2020-04-03T09:59:48","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T15:59:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=977994"},"modified":"2020-04-03T09:59:48","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T15:59:48","slug":"bill-withers-lean-on-me-is-a-song-for-every-crisis-especially-this-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/music-news\/bill-withers-lean-on-me-is-a-song-for-every-crisis-especially-this-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Withers\u2019 \u2018Lean on Me\u2019 Is a Song for Every Crisis \u2014 Especially This One"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When Bill Withers<\/a> wrote \u201cLean on Me<\/a>\u201d in 1972, toying around on a small piano with only the phrase \u2018lean on me\u2019 to guide him, he never could have expected the song \u2014 about a rural man\u2019s loneliness in the big city \u2014 would become an inspirational anthem to those rising up after tragedy, or a celebratory rallying cry of togetherness and resilience in times of trouble.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the devastating earthquakes in Haiti in 2010, \u201cLean on Me\u201d was there<\/a>. Following the Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, as channeled through Stevie Wonder<\/a>, \u201cLean on Me\u201d was there. And as the nation faces its biggest crisis in a century \u2014 the coronavirus<\/a> pandemic \u2014 \u201cLean on Me\u201d is there once again, a hymn for the self-isolated masses and a celebration of the medical professionals risking their own lives to save others.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the weeks since the COVID-19<\/a> outbreak forced nearly all American citizens to adhere to a \u201cStay Home\u201d order, social media has been deluged with \u201cLean on Me\u201d viral clips spanning coast to coast, from the U.S., Canada, and beyond.<\/span><\/p>\n

The West Virginia-born Withers once told Songfacts of \u201cLean on Me\u201d: \u201cThat\u2019s probably why somebody from New York did not write that song, or somebody from London, or somebody from a large city. It\u2019s a rural song that translates probably across demographical lines. Who could argue with the fact that it would be nice to have somebody who really was that way? My experience was, there were people who were that way.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Once again, \u201cLean on Me\u201d has crossed all demographic lines. In an apartment building in Dallas, quarantined residents opened their windows and sang \u201cLean On Me\u201d together (one of Rolling Stone\u2019s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time).<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n