You’ve probably noticed that pronouns have become politically loaded. It’s become more common for people to declare themselves non-binary and ask that people use “they” instead of “he” or “she” because they don’t want to be assigned a gender or its attendant roles.
I admit it irks me sometimes, particularly when I’m reading an article that includes this. I often backtrack to see who the second person is — did I skip over something? — only to realize that no, it’s being used to refer to an individual. Until now, “they” was always a plural pronoun.
Or was it? I’ve always liked this Chris Isaak tune from his 1995 album “Forever Blue.” It topped out at No. 45 on the Hot 100, but I was hooked on its throwback Roy Orbison sound. Yet it wasn’t until it popped up on a playlist the other day that I realized Isaak uses “they” as a singular pronoun throughout the entire song. I’ve never seen anybody take note of it.
The lesson: I never even noticed until pronouns were turned into a point of contention, so it isn’t the usage itself that’s gotten people stirred up.
The song’s backstory sounds like a Roy Orbison song of its own. According to Isaak,
I had just broken up with someone and hadn’t been out of the house much. A friend of mine was having a party and as soon as I arrived I realized I didn’t want to be there. The house had this big walk-in closet in the hallway, so I went in, shut the door, and sat down underneath the coats. There was a guitar leaning against the wall in the back. I started tuning it up and wrote “Somebody’s Crying.”
Isaak’s take on his composition:
Most of us are as terrified of love as little kids are terrified of the world. Little kids come up to you and say, “I know someone who loves you” or “I know someone who likes you.” They say it like, I’m not going to really come out and say it. And for adults, it’s probably the same way. They never really get beyond that fear.
It’s true. Heck, lots of adults are even scared by pronouns.
