George Michael’s unexpected death yesterday left a melancholy pang this Christmas. Fans around the world played Wham!’s heartbroken holiday anthem “Last Christmas” in his commemoration, remembering how the pop star who made his mark throughout the ‘80s and '90s tapped into listeners’ emotions through his music.
From the PG-rated image of Wham! to sex-selling solo star, Michael powered his lyrics with honest, real-life sentiments. Get in your feelings with these five emo songs from George Michael’s catalog, and then read more of his lyrics here on Genius.
1. “Praying For Time”
This somber 1990 track takes a step back and looks at society—the gap between the haves and have nots. “It’s my way of trying to figure out why it’s so hard for people to be good to each other,” Michael told The New York Times in 1990. “Because of the media, the way the world is perceived is as a place where resources and time are running out. We’re taught that you have to grab what you can before it’s gone. It’s almost as if there isn’t time for compassion.” The deflated song feels just as relevant—and hopeless—in 2016 as it did when it was released 26 years ago.
The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much
But we’ll take our chances
Because god’s stopped keeping score
2. “A Different Corner”
Michael recorded “A Different Corner” in Wham!’s final days, but it was released in the U.S. as his first solo track. He spoke about the moody ballad back in 2014. “I think you can tell that ‘A Different Corner’ is genuinely the sound of a man who’s heart’s been broken,” he said. “I was 19 and the best critique I ever heard of that song was from a friend of mine who said, ‘It’s beautiful, pathetic, but beautiful.’”
On the track, Michael contemplates an alternate reality in which he and a lover had never met:
You are the only one to stop my tears
And I’m so scared, I’m so scared
Take me back in time maybe I can forget
Turn a different corner and we never would have met
Would you care?
3. “Jesus To A Child”
On this 1996 standout, George Michael sings about the death of fashion designer Anselmo Feleppa. The two met at a 1991 concert in Rio and fell in love soon after. But in 1993, Feleppa died of AIDS. “Jesus To A Child,” like much of Michael’s Older LP, deals with the singer’s tragic loss.
So the words you could not say
I’ll sing them for you
And the love we would have made
I’ll make it for two
For every single memory
Has become a part of me
You will always be my love
4. “You Have Been Loved”
Another ode to Michael’s self-proclaimed first love Anselmo Feleppa, “You Have Been Loved” takes on the perspective of Feleppa’s mother as she visits his grave:
That man
She loved that man
For all his life
But now we meet to take him flowers
And only God knows why
5. “Mother’s Pride”
George Michael released this anti-war anthem in 1990—in the midst of the U. S. Gulf War. The gloomy track would serve as the soundtrack to families of soldiers who were fighting abroad. Oftentimes radio DJs would play “Mother’s Pride” while taking calls from listeners with personal testimonies about loved ones in the military.
And all the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone
They make no difference
No difference in the end
Still hear the woman say your daddy died a hero
In the name of god and man
