Ages and Ages - Divisionary (Do the Right Thing)

From Divisionary (2014)

This underrated song is an anthem. It has several of my favorite song elements, such choir, repetitive song structure, and wall of sound.

Do the right thing, do the right thing
Do it all the time, do it all the time
Make yourself right, never mind them
Don't you know you're not the only one suffering

This is the central chorus of the song, and I think it is great for anthem. These are the four most important things for living a morally good life, in order. The first two are obvious. The third is almost as important - humans tend to live like those around them do, even if they know it’s not moral if they think about it. The last one is important because excuses and self-pity is a main tactic used to excuse yourself for not living up to the first lines.

The rest of the lyrics are to me just sort of filler, and don’t really work necessarily. For one thing I don’t really like the divisionary aspect, and lines such as

So if you love yourself, you better get out
Get out, get out, get out now

Also the chorus sings

I hear a higher calling
Better here than there I guess
So long, so long

“I guess”? Same energy as “If I was a sculptor. But then again no.”.

But never mind them. Just put the song on repeat and feel it.

There is a live version that may be even better than the album version. It is not as tight, and has more clapping, but it is slightly faster, and the children’s choir sounds amazing. It even has trumpets. I would recommend watching the video - as duda comments “The energy in this room is honestly beautiful.”