I realized quickly when I knew I should/
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man/
Or whatever that means.

I always thought the title to the 4 Non-Blondes classic “What’s Up” was “What’s Going On?” Apparently, they changed it because it was the name of an already very famous song. Linda Perry was the lead singer and guitarist for 4 Non-blondes. They were a bit of a one hit wonder, but Perry became a super successful songwriter, mostly covered by other females. We will see her name on this list again.

“What’s Up” is a song about disillusionment. Part of the disillusion may be due to her age. She mentions she is 25 and trying to figure things out—as all young people are trying to do at that age. But she points out that there are institutions that seem to be keeping her away from the good life, and she hopes for a revolution.

She doesn’t name these institutions, but we can imagine what they might be, and it can be whatever we feel holds us back. This is what makes it such a relatable song. Perry is looking for her lot in life, it is not coming, and it is making her scream to the heavens “what’s going on?”

What’s Up Lyrics

25 years and my life is still
Tryin’ to get up that great big hill of hope…
For a destination.

I realized quickly when I knew I should,
That the world was made up of this brotherhood of man.
For whatever that means.

And so I cry sometimes when I’m lying in bed,
Just to get it all out what’s in my head.
And I, I am feeling a little peculiar.

And so I wake in the morning and I step outside,
And I take a deep breath and I get real high,
And I scream from the top of my lungs
“What’s going on?”

And I say, hey-ey-ey
Hey-ey-ey
I said “Hey, a-what’s going on?”
And I say, hey-ey-ey
Hey-ey-ey
I said “Hey, a-what’s going on?”

written by Linda Perry