In 1975, Swedish pop group ABBA released their third studio album which was simply named after the group. One of the songs on this release was 'SOS', which became the group's next major hit since winning the Eurovision with 'Waterloo' the year before. 'So, when your near me, darling, can't you hear me? S.O.S.!' often comes to mind whenever these three letters are mentioned.
But we're not here to talk about ABBA (at least not today). Almost twenty years later, another song by the same name was released by The Family International, or more specifically, the Family's musical wing Heaven's Magic for their album entitled 'New Worlds to Conquer.' As mentioned in my previous post, this is the first song (and music video) to feature on one of the many VHS tapes that cult members would distribute door-to-door in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Caution! If you choose to listen to this song for yourself, be warned. It's a very catchy tune and will likely remain stuck in your head for some time. As with most earworms, this is not a bad thing in and of itself, but can be quite irritating. So, if you're a person who has a weakness for catchy 80s and 90s music, you might want to give this one a miss. Otherwise, you can watch and listen to it by clicking here.
Over all, the song itself is quite decent as far as music is concerned. As with most cults who write their own songs, the purpose of these music videos is two-fold: (1) spreading their beliefs in an appealing and enthralling manner, which in turn will help to (2) win over new members. As we'll see in practically all of these musical messages from The Family, the style and genre of these songs usually correspond with what was considered popular at the time; with younger generations, ranging from teens to young adults, as the main target audience.
Getting to the song itself, S.O.S. (or 'Signal of Distress' as per the album) begins with a cacophony of robotic and other technological sounds and beeping noises. The music video opens up with a bunch of office workers typing on their computers, one of which has a large pixel S.O.S. floating across the screen. We are then shows a montage of more computers, television sets and arcade games (anyone feeling nostalgic yet?)
Just as the incessant beeping and typing noises reach the 20 second mark, the music kicks in and the irritating racket from before slowly begins to fade out. The video now shows a few robots and other devices before finally focusing on our main character: a young lady with black hair and a pink blouse.
This is where it gets interesting: the male chorus line is "Di-di-di, da-da-da, di-di-di" and then repeats it again in a lower note. So what? you might think. But remember, the song's title is S.O.S. And how is this signal usually broadcast? Yep, morse code is the key (· · · – – – · · · ) Very clever if you ask me.
The young lady, let's just call her Yuko for convenience, sends out her "signal of distress" (depicted as a rapidly revolving red triangle) which is then picked up by, what I assume to be, a group of angels in heaven who have their very own computer. The pillars are decorated with love-hearts and the set looks more like a cheap Ancient Greek space station rather than a heavenly domain... (But we'll give them an extra point for creativity just to be fair). Anyway, the angels identify the signal as coming from Japan, possibly as a reference to that nation's status as one of the most advanced and technologically adept civilizations in the world. Furthermore, a Japanese version of the song was also produced by The Family. And apparently, Japan was one of their main missionary targets outside of the US. But that's neither here nor there. Back to the song.
While Yuko shakes her head in frustration, the female singers take us through the first verse, the lyrics of which are worth taking a closer look at:
Everybody's gone computer crazy / Boy, it won't be long they'll be replacing / man with machines that talk and can think.
Everything is cold and calculating / far away from where love originated.
What can I do but reach out to you / By the impulse of love / a computer-gram to you!
While these lyrics are being sung, we see some robots performing simple tasks such as pouring orange juice or pushing a VHS into a tape recorder. Using her stylus, Yuko writes a large S.O.S. onto her screen just as the verse leads into the main chorus.
S.O.S.! [Di-di-di, da-da-da, di-di-di]
My signal of distress / S.O.S. / It's time that we confess
L-O-V-E, Love! / Can't live without you!
At this point, six workers (three men on the right and three women on the left), begin to move in a stiff and robotic way (although, the women are noticeably more flexible than their male counterparts). A large screen in the middle shows some computer-generated imagery (not unlike those old screensavers from the 90s). In a very explicit manner, the three men then bow down in front of the computer, which currently shows a robot on the screen.
In the next verse, Yuko is now crying with despair and beats down with her fist. The computer screen simply responds with a large question mark.
What machine can heal a heart that's broken? / What machine can understand me?
What can I do when I am blue? / Send out a signal of love from me to you!
As Yuko's co-workers continue their robotic dance moves, help is now on the way. The angels have traced the signal all the way back to her workplace. Time for a quick bridge and a message from The Family:
Love has outlasted man's machines, / what's new today goes out of style.
Love may not make the world go 'round / but it sure makes the trip worth while!
As the robo-workers continue to show off their moves for the chorus line, one of the angels is personally commissioned by her superior to help Yuko. Unseen by the young man who just entered the building, the angel guides him in Yuko's direction and then disappears again. The man (Adam? Let's just go with Adam) greets Yuko and when she sees him, her frown instantly turns upside down. Could it be love at first sight?
As the song comes to its conclusion, the three female workers wrap their arms around their male colleagues and kiss them on the cheek. With the robotic spell now broken, both the men and women break out into beaming smiles. And what about Yuko and Adam? Well, from what it looks like, Adam tells his new girlfriend to ditch this joint and run off with him. Whereto? Your guess is as good as mine. (My guess, by the way, is right back to Adam's "Family" in Huntington Beach, California. But that's just a wild hunch...)
Final Thoughts
When I first came across this song (thanks to Cathy Don't Go), I couldn't get it out of my head for ages. Like I said at the start, it's an earworm. And for a good reason too. The tune is catchy, the visuals memorable and its message resonates with the listener. Or at least it should resonate, unless you happen a soulless phone, computer or TV addict (which sadly is not a rarity in this day and age).
Pardon me, 'soulless' is a bit of an exaggeration. No. Actually, it is an exaggeration. As a human being, God gave you an immortal soul when He breathed life into your tiny little body at the moment of your conception. You are therefore a creature created by the Creator. But not just any creature. A child of God. And better still, a beloved child of God. So beloved in fact that the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, your creator, became incarnate and was Himself born into the world with the purpose of redeeming you. Or to put it another way, He came down in response to the world's signal of distress with the sole purpose of saving your soul (see what I did there?).
Unfortunately, we now find ourselves in a time in history where humans (once again) have fallen for the serpent's lies; especially the one about being like God (Genesis 3:5). As St Paul eloquently declares in his Epistle to the Romans: "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator..." (Romans 1:25). But worse then that still, idolatry is not enough anymore. Fallen man has since moved on to 'autolatry' - self-worship. A brief (yes, make sure it's very brief) look at the likes of Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and every other social media and phone app available, will show you as much. People have become obsessed with themselves. And now, to top it off, we also have aspiring oligarchs and technocrats such as Klaus Schwab and Yuval Noah Harare of the World Economic Forum who brazenly tell us that now it is time for humanity to move on from mere creativity to becoming creators of life itself. "Living machines" or "breathing robots" - whatever they choose to call them. Say hello to the new postmodern Dr Frankensteins. (Too bad Mary Shelley didn't live to see them...) Looks like someone needs to revise Genesis 3, 6 and 10. And the whole Book of Revelation for good measure.
As for me and mine, to quote the great prophet Joshua, a figure and forerunner of Christ, we will serve the Lord and will keep sending up your "signals of distress" to Him in the form of prayers - the fastest S.O.S. there is. And in His Divine Providence, the Lord will see us through our exile in this valley of tears, come what may. To finish off on a note about the song: love has indeed outlasted man's machines, all of which will one day will return to the dust, just like their inventors. Our love, while it does "make the trip worthwhile", may "not make the world go 'round..." But God's love does. And that is a type of L-O-V-E, Love! that we cannot live without.