So Much Damage

Massive Attack featuring Tracey Thorn “Protection”

“Protection” is a love song, but more specifically, it’s empathy song. A lot of love songs are selfish, or myopic. They get caught up in neuroses, or tangled up in obsession, lust, fear, insecurity. But this is a gentle and thoughtful song with a warm elliptical groove in which Tracey Thorn sings about how love can’t solve another person’s problems, but it can alleviate pain. It’s an expression of humility and selflessness. She offers herself as a human shield in the chorus, knowing full well that she’s only offering symbolic relief. It’s bittersweet, but so genuine and pure that it can choke me up. The third verse is particularly interesting as the gender pronouns switch around, and the notion of masculine and feminine qualities are deliberately blurred into mutual vulnerability and a shared sense of responsibility to look after each other. And that’s true love.

Buy it from Amazon.