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HIStory

THE STORY BEHIND ' HIStory '

This is the thesis statement of the entire double album. It is more than just a song; it is a sonic museum. In this track, Michael Jackson places his own life story alongside the greatest figures of the 20th century, creating a musical montage of human struggle and triumph.

The song opens not with music, but with a crackly, vintage-sounding interview. We hear a voice asking: "How many people are you going to take?" And a child replies: "I don't know... quite a few." This is followed by a reporter describing the date: "November 26, 1922."

This introduction sets the stage perfectly. It references the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922. The "Boy King" who was buried with his treasures and forgotten, only to be rediscovered and worshipped centuries later. Michael is drawing a direct parallel to himself a "Boy King" of pop music, surrounded by gold, whose true legacy might only be understood by future generations.

Musically, the song is built on a sample of monumental proportions. Michael samples "The Great Gate of Kiev," the final movement of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. This classical piece is famous for its bombastic, triumphant brass section. It sounds like the opening of a royal coronation or a military victory parade. By using this as the foundation of the track, Michael elevates the song from a pop track to a national anthem. It gives the song a sense of weight, permanence, and Russian grandeur (fitting the album's Eastern European military aesthetic).

To provide the vocal texture for the song, Michael recruited the biggest R&B group of the 90s: Boyz II Men. The group was signed to Motown Records (Michael's old label), making it a symbolic "passing of the torch" moment. However, they don't sing a verse; they act as a Greek Chorus. Throughout the song, Boyz II Men provide the lush, harmonic backing vocals and the chant: "Keep on... keepin' on." Their voices add a layer of warmth and soul to the otherwise rigid, military beat of the track.

A Collage of Voices The bridge of "HIStory" is arguably the most ambitious sequence on the album. The music drops out, and Michael presents a collage of historical audio recordings. He creates a timeline of human achievement and tragedy, inserting himself into the narrative. The samples include:

Charles Lindbergh (The Spirit of St. Louis flight report).
Hank Aaron (Breaking the home run record).
Robert F. Kennedy (A speech on civil rights).
Martin Luther King Jr. ("I Have a Dream").
Neil Armstrong ("One small step for man").
Muhammad Ali ("I am the greatest!").
Lou Gehrig ("The luckiest man on the face of the earth").
Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret (A broadcast to children of the Empire).
Thomas Edison (Reciting "Mary Had a Little Lamb").

By placing these voices in his song, Michael is arguing that his struggle and his art belongs in this lineage. He is suggesting that like Ali, King, and Kennedy, he is a figure who will be judged by history, not by the tabloids of the present day.

The chorus contains the core philosophy of Michael’s later life: "Every day create your history / Every path you take you're leaving your legacy."

It is a message of existentialism. Michael is saying that we cannot control what people say about us, but we can control what we create. He urges the listener to stop being a victim of circumstance and start being the author of their own story. The lyrics also touch on the futility of war ("How many victims must there be?"), linking his personal battles to the wider suffering of the world.

Interestingly, the album version of "HIStory" is often overshadowed by its remix. Tony Moran created a remix known as "Tony Moran's HIStory Lesson." This version completely removed the military beat and replaced it with a high-energy house/dance beat. The remix became so popular that it arguably eclipsed the original track in clubs. It reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Club Songs chart. When Michael performed the song live, he often leaned into the energy of the remix rather than the album version.

"HIStory" served as the closing number for the HIStory World Tour (1996-1997). The performance was a spectacle of nationalism for the "Kingdom of MJ." Michael would appear on stage surrounded by soldiers waving the flags of every nation he visited. The screens would flash images of the historical figures mentioned in the song. At the end of the song, Michael would stand on a lift and ascend high above the audience, looking down like a statue coming to life, while the "Great Gate of Kiev" sample blasted at maximum volume. It was the definitive image of the era: Michael Jackson looking down on the world, secure in his legacy.

The song "HIStory" is the glue that holds the album together. It explains the title, the concept, and the statue on the cover. It is Michael’s demand to be taken seriously not just as a singer, but as a historical figure. It asks the audience to look at the "long game" rather than the short-term scandals.

LYRICS of HISTORY

He got kicked in the back
He say that he needed that
He hot willed in the face
Keep daring to motivate
He say one day you will see
His place in world history
He dares to be recognized
The fires deep in his eyes

How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many struggles must there be
Before we choose to live the prophet's plan
Everybody sing...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty

Don't let no one get you down
Keep moving on higher ground
Keep flying until
You are the king of the hill
No force of nature can break
Your will to self-motivate
She say this face that you see
Is destined for history

How many people have to cry
The song of pain and grief across the land
And how many children have to die
Before we stand to lend a healing hand
Everybody sing...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty
Every day create your history
Every page you turn you're writing your legacy
Every hero dreams of chivalry
Every child should sing together in harmony

All nations sing
Let's harmonize all around the world

How many victims must there be
Slaughtered in vain across the land
And how many children must we see
Before we learn to live as brothers
And leave one family oh...

Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty
Every day create your history
Every page you turn you're writing your legacy
Every hero dreams of chivalry
Every child should sing together in harmony

A soldier dies
A mother cries
The promised child shines in a baby's eyes
All nations sing
Let's harmonize all around the world