Analysis Of My Own Little World By Matthew West

The song “My Own Little World” was written and performed by Matthew West for his fourth studio album The Story of Your Life in 2010. In a video interview, West notes that before writing the songs for this album, he asked fans to send in stories about their lives, their struggles, and their joys. West then took these letters to a secluded cabin in Tennessee and read each and every one of them, looking for inspiration. The idea behind this particular song came about when West realized that even though he was supposed to be alone in his song-writing cabin, he was still surrounded by people through the stories they had given him. He recognized that he was part of the blanket we call society and that he could have a profound effect on those around him, no matter where he went (West).

The lyrics specifically mention the social problem of homelessness. The focus seems to be more on the homeless individual, without blaming a source (such as economic inequality or a domination system) or putting the problem into a larger societal context. While this approach may not be beneficial for ultimately solving the problem, I appreciate the personal touch this song creates. Homelessness is a large enough phenomenon to be
addressed on a societal level, but we still need to retain sympathy for the individual as a human being, not just count them as a statistic.
While West is obviously distressed by this social problem, I think this song puts more emphasis on protesting people’s callous reactions, rather than homelessness itself.
West challenges us to ask ourselves “what have I been doing” when we ignore those around us who are in need. He makes his audience open their eyes to their own hypocrisy by judging himself; he is not afraid to admit that he is also a perpetrator of this attitude of ignorance. In both the song and his video interview mentioned earlier, West mentions that he is just as likely as the average person to turn a blind eye to those around him. “My Own Little World” is an acknowledgement of this fault and finally offers a sense of hope as change begins to happen when your world becomes “population
two”.
I chose this song because it speaks to the feeling I get when a see a person with a sign or someone sitting out on the curb of a restaurant. As a child I use to make the excuse that I had no power to have my parents stop the car or that I couldn’t personally help them. But now that I’m an adult, I no longer have those excuses and yet I still find myself hesitating to reach out to people. I think this song helps me remember that while I may not be able to “fix” these people’s lives, even small interactions on the individual level can have a profound effect.