The song Wings is about more than just a pair of shoes. The song is about wanting to fit in and the lengths people will go to fit in. I believe some people will do everything in their power to be like everyone else. The song is very deep and very sad. Society makes one feel the need to have the most up to date product on the market to feel “cool” so that they can fit in and feel comfortable. “Got to show ’em, so exclusive / this that new stuff.” Not only do products have to be expensive, they have to be exclusive. “I’m an individual, yeah, but I’m part of a movement.” The obsession with social status has created a movement. “My movement told me be a consumer and I consumed it / they told me to just do it / I listened to what that swoosh said.” Macklemore is recognizing the fact that he is an individual, but his individuality is designed and shaped by the larger group of people he identifies with. That group dictates what is cool or not, and if he is to fit in, he has to follow along. Macklemore starts to reflect back to when he was a kid and his obsession with his image. By buying a pair of expensive shoes a person feels like they are buying a new life in a sense because shoes are used for walking and by buying new shoes, it is like were buying a new path for life. “So much more than just a pair of shoes / Nah, this is what I am / what I wore, this is the source of my youth / this dream that they sold to you.” People become so convinced that these shoes define who one is as a person that the show can start to drastically change ones life. As one reflects on their own past, one will realize some of the foolish things they became obsessed with just to fit in. “For a hundred dollars and some change / Consumption is in the veins / and now I see it’s just another pair of shoes”.
Macklemore realizes that society made people obsessed with consuming these products for ridiculous prices just to fit in but in reality all they were is another pair of shoes that he would eventually just throw away for the next great thing on the market. People become so caught up in the moment that they forget to recognize what they are complying with. Overall, the song Wings is about society trying to convince people what they should be and how much they should pay to be seen as “cool” or “popular” by society’s standards and how as a kid Macklemore was willing to spend basically any amount of money on shoes that would make him “cool”. The song really opens up ones eyes to the reality that people will do just about anything to be popular. You can live life as a fallower or you can be a leader.
