About "Segunda Mitad del Noveno" by Ruben Blades

So, the idea was to write our opinion about the song " Segunda Mitad del Noveno" by Ruben Blades. I listened to the song and read along with the lyrics; I ended up really liking this song!

This song by Ruben Blades, in my opinion , is made to express and tell the world of a situation that is very common in latin american countries , representing it with an analogy of something as dear to the latin culture as it is baseball, it's the sport that represents us and is very close to our hearts.

He speaks about a very sad yet true reality; when things come to their most important moment, when everything is to be decided people find themselves doing nothing, he refers to it as the bottom of the ninth inning at a baseball game when everyone is filled with expectation and hope even though they know that the game is basically decided ; also about how there is a lot of noise and excitement but no actions take place, this is something we can easily relate to our day to day life in Venezuela ; regarding the ongoing revolution there are lots of people who say they want to stop it and how we shouldn't be forced to live under the ruling of someone who fails at satisfying the countries' needs , but when push comes to shove no one does anything against it, we are left at the mercy of only one man who has taken all of the power to himself and people are just too afraid to go against it or they do it purely out of their own interest, not considering the future of the nation as a whole.

He speaks of how in times when there is need for people to wake up and stand up for what they believe in and what they want there is no one to follow, there are no leaders since anyone who had any real potential has left, and the youth nowadays are not strong in terms of will or mentality , and are not willing to take any actions in order to defend their ideals

He speaks about the feelings of the general population by dividing them into the bases of a baseball field, and how there is fear in first base, hunger in second, and rage in the third; these are all feelings experienced by the people here in Venezuela, there is fear in living everyday life , based on the high levels of insecurity and uncertainty, there's also fear in such simple things as making a living, no one knows where the economy is going or what can happen to any businesses or the company you work at from one moment to the next; we also experience hunger, with the economy getting worse everyday and poverty levels reaching new heights, added to the fact that even if you do have the acquisitive power it takes to feed you and your family there is no certain way of knowing you will be able to find everything you want or need ; last but not least when describing the feelings around the baseball field he speaks of anger ; anger wich we feel when we see how such a beautiful country with so much to give has become such a disaster; rage that is felt by the sense of impotence that there is nothing to be done in order to save something you love.

He later refers to the term "play ball" the phrase used by the umpire to signal the beginning of the game , in order to point the fact that it's all just getting started and we should take our stance and not leave our ideals aside, since " things are starting to get good" ; but then again he calls out for those heroes who are long gone , and knows they won't be coming back.

To summarize even though it's not my favorite type or genre of music I really grew to like the song , it made realize and think about the place I'm living in, and even though the lyrics might make you sad, somehow the simple yet honest vocals and background music do give a feeling of hope, humor and joy ; very representative of the latin culture.