“Mind Playing Tricks on Me” by Geto Boys Makes Me Grateful to Be Catholic

"Mind Playing Tricks on Me" by Geto Boys

I was listening to the 1991 Geto Boys song, "Mind Playing Tricks on Me." I like the song.

Content Warning: If you plan to listen to the song, please note that "Mind Playing Tricks On Me" includes explicit language, slurs, taking the Lord's name in vain, and references to severe paranoia, street violence, gun use, and suicidal thoughts.*

It's a tragic song. It immerses listeners in the suffering of the speaker, i.e. the singer. The song "became that first vulnerable gansta rap song." said NPR's Rodney Carmichael. 

So much suffering

"At night I can't sleep, I toss and turn, candle sticks in the dark, visions of bodies being burned..."

The speaker is suffering in a zillion different ways. He goes through a litany of stresses, including suicidal thoughts, fear for his safety, insomnia, graphic visions, parental responsibility, loneliness, and romantic regret. 

The speaker is suffering from his involvement in sin:

"I feel I'm being tailed...Is it that fool that I ran off the block...Or is it that n**** last week that I shot...Or is it the one I beat for five thousand dollars..."

Christian hope

Thankfully, the speaker is not without hope. He's a Christian and he puts his hope in God:

"Every sunday morning I'm in service, praying for forgiveness, and trying to find an exit out of the business, I know the Lord is looking at me..."

I can't help but think about how many avenues the speaker could access for hope and healing if he were Catholic: 

1. He could go to the Sacrament of Confession and KNOW he's forgiven.
2. He could spend time in Eucharistic Adoration to help with, well, everything...but especially his anxiety.
3. He could receive sustenance with the physical body of Christ in the Eucharist.
4. He could pray the Rosary when he can't sleep.
5. He could pray to offer his sufferings for assorted intentions.
6. He could befriend saints relevant to his challenges, e.g. St. Dymphna for mental health, St. Michael the Archangel for protection, St. Joseph for his responsibilities as a father. 
7. He could go to Mass every day, instead of having to settle for church only on Sundays.
8. Don't even get me started on what the Divine Mercy devotion would have to offer him! 

The list is gloriously endless!

Gratitude

When I first heard the song—before I was Catholic—I felt sorry for the suffering speaker and I felt gratitude for the peace and quiet I experience in my own life.

Now listening to the song—as a Catholic—I feel sorry for the suffering speaker, I feel gratitude for the peace and quiet I experience in my own life...

And I feel especially grateful to be Catholic.

*Content warning generated by AI.

Reference

Carmichael, Rodney. "Stressed Out: How 'Mind Playing Tricks On Me' Gave Anxiety A Home In Hip-Hop." NPR, 29 May 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/29/726615663/geto-boys-mind-playing-tricks-on-me-anxiety-american-anthem.