By Cozette Calderon
Ren Gills, a Welsh artist who was diagnosed with Lyme disease, is known and loved for his songs that analyze social issues through the use of stories. He is an unsigned artist, yet he continually gains millions of views for his music videos. His most recent release, Money Game Pt 3., is raising attention.
“Money Game Pt. 3” examines social expectations that are tied to consequential mental health issues. The concept of the song is a story that follows a boy through his life, but Ren makes a statement: We all fall into traps of the world. This article is not an explanation of each lyric, but it is a detailed analysis about how a song can resemble the world, and what that might look like for us.
Starting from the beginning, Ren sets the theme of greed. He focuses where greed begins and is reared, which is in the childhood home. Though greed is common among children, it’s a quality some never outgrow:
“Let me tell you a story about a boy named Jimmy
1 years old and his first words were “Mine, mine, gimme!”
Ren chronicles the boy’s life, year by year. At age five, we see the epoch that sets the course of Jimmy’s life:
“2 years old he was walking, 3 years old walking quickly
4 years old he was running ’round the pavements of the city
5 years old and his daddy told him “Listen here, son
You gotta learn to be a man, a man who works for what he wants.”
“Toxic masculinity” is a common phrase nowadays, and it may be the first concept one thinks of when one reads such a lyric as, “Listen here, son. You gotta learn to be a man, a man who works for what he wants.” And, while there’s an argument that Ren is confronting how masculinity is taught to young boys, if we remove the “man” part of it, the idea fits the whole of society. To make rent, we must work. To buy food, we must work. To find something enjoyable, we must work. To better ourselves, we must work. Yes, in this context a father is talking to his son, so the lyric is directed towards a male. However, as we see later, Ren states how this story is a “version of me, a version of he, and a version of she.” This cements the idea of Jimmy being the symbol for us as humans, meaning we must look at the narrative with a broader perspective to properly apply it to the world—to ourselves, as well. This is why the line, “Listen here, son, you gotta learn to be a man, a man who works for what he wants,” is able to be applied to all of us.
Some have experienced the pressure of a parent placing burdensome expectations on them. Others have placed such expectations on themselves. Even if one cannot relate to either driving experience, one can still relate to the necessity of working, which is a burden in itself—a pressure that motivates actions. This is the starting point that Ren stresses:
“6 years old and he’s reading, writing, top of the bunch
And when he’s 7, his progression made him student number 1
8 years old and he’s praised for unusual grades
9, his parents pay for private school to nurture the flame
10, 11, 12, 13, he ascends and ascends
His daddy tells him “Son, money is the means to all ends”
14, solving complex mathematical equations
15, IQ 150, still elevating
16, he develops complex software code
That detects weaknesses in cyber security protocols
17, and he sells vision keeping a share
Not yet an adult, but he’s practically a millionaire.
18, and his daddy tells him “Now you’re a man
This world don’t give a damn about you, so take all that you can.”
There’s a lot we can discuss in this verse, but my goal is to show the main idea that reflects our world: success is the most important part of life.
The majority of the population is not like Jimmy with an IQ of 150 or soon-to-be millionaires, leading us to question, “I can’t relate to being the smartest person. I’m not a millionaire. How does this song make any intelligent comment on my life?”
The point of this song isn’t to just tell a story—it’s to be a mirror. Jimmy being intellectually advanced adds to the entertainment factor, and this element allows us to find some connection to such a character. We have all excelled at something, perhaps even just for a day. That pressure of continually trying to finesse your actions to ‘one-up’ your own accomplishments is a stressor—a constant antagonist. Then, once you finally reach the goal you had set, it seems as if nothing changes because ‘there’s always something slightly wrong’ or ‘something better that can be happening’. This forces one to never stop the practice of piling expectation after expectation onto one’s shoulder, which drives one to extreme measures—like we later see with Jimmy.
This idea of expectations leads to the line, “Take all that you can.” Some think about the world as a place of materialistic items meant for them and only them because some see no value in patience or generosity. If the change isn’t for the good of me, me, me, why should I change? Or, sometimes, it’s the thought of I must be the best or I’m nothing that causes people to take as much as they can because it gains notoriety. This verse illuminates the journey of selfishness that plagues humans. It’s the corruption of expectations and hopes into burdens, even if they lead to success, that turns one from the ability to reflect. Such corruption leads to close-mindedness and self-importance, enabling one to continue the ‘climb to the top’.
“19, he turns a profit stocks and shares invest in product
20, double-down deposits, 21, his income rockets
22, he learns that truth is just an obstacle to wealth
If you manipulate the data, then a lie will sell itself…”
We begin to witness the downfall of Jimmy. He’s constantly chasing what society, represented by his dad, has told him to. It has led him to great success, but that success devolves into a spiral of greed and temptation, as evident by the following lyrics:
“24, he makes the Forbes list, they’re applauding his name
25, and his daddy tells him, ‘listen here son
While you are sitting in your palace, that don’t mean that you won’
26, a business shift he switches business to arms
27, dealing nuclear and shells in Iran
28, inside the Senate money bought him a seat
29, a role of the council in the president, sweet
Now he’s 30 and his daddy says ‘You’re losing the race
You’re just a servant to the king, not even in second place’
31, a big maneuver for his daddy’s approval
Moving imports over borders from the exports out of Cuba
32, moving grams, growing kilos to tonnes
He’s 33, filling warehouses with powder and guns
34, turf war with nobody to stop it…”
This is the devolution of Jimmy. If no one cares about him, why not do everything he wants? There’s no reason to stop a bad decision or action if the only goal is money. There’s no moral boundary that one won’t cross if one believes no one cares because it means one only has themselves to care about. One will find that their actions are not for the good for the whole, but the good for oneself.
“35 and he gets a call, “I’m sorry son
It’s your father, had a heart attack, I’m sorry, he’s gone”
36, getting pissed up, abusing his product
37, eyes glazed, disposition demonic….getting reckless and hungry for power
Daddy’s words still driving him to kill and devour
He makes a move against the cartel, but the strategy’s flawed
They retaliate and leave him in a hospital ward
A bullet buried in the vertebra and one in the leg
The doctor sighs and says “I don’t think you’ll be walking again…”
Ren is successful at showing the pattern of the world: make a mistake, apologize, make the same mistakes until it’s too late to change. He does this through his use of parallelism. He starts the story with a boy named Jimmy whose first words were “Mine, mine, gimmie.” Now, that story continues, but Jimmy “curse[s] the words Mine, mine, gimme,” which are words he so adamantly lived by because of his father’s and society’s influence.
Ren has created a world, shown great success, then scribes the devolution of a man who is consumed by temptation, greed, and yearning, and now all there is left to do is to show the resolution of such a story:
“Let me tell you a story about a boy named Jimmy
He was 40, and he cursed the words “Mine, mine, gimme”
41, he wasn’t walking, 42, not walking quickly
43, never running ’round the pavement of his city”
Jimmy’s life has changed, and along with that comes personal, fortuitous realization:
“44 inside his palace with a mountain of gold
But the riches turn to rubble when perspective evolves
Weighing heavy on his conscience is the value of gold
A Lamborghini for a life, trading money for souls
Jimmy followed the code inside the land of the free
Put your hand inside the cookie jar, take more than you need…”
Jimmy feels the weight of his guilt, taking more than he needed, hurting others for his benefit. As humans, it can be a natural instinct to survive. That may include backup plans that have greed ingrained in them. The more we have, the more likely we are prepared. For example, we can look at academic tests. The more studying one engages in leads to a larger vault of knowledge, which will help one score higher. The need to collect can be seen in having more food, as well, because it means you can survive longer without starving. However, sometimes we do and take things unconsciously without thinking how it affects people. This is why the line, “Put your hand inside the cookie jar, take more than you need” is telling of society. Do we need 25 pairs of shoes? Maybe we can give a few pairs to people in need. Perhaps we can spend more time with family instead of stealing an hour of our lives by watching Tiktok. We always want more and more, and sometimes we cannot recognize when more has become so insignificant that it is like adding a drop to an ocean. The ocean life might appreciate it, but we are to blind to see any effects on others—all we know is that it doesn’t change anything for us.
It’s important to recognize the commentary hinting at capitalism, shown with “Jimmy followed the code in the land of the free.” America is nicknamed “the land of the free”, and it’s often considered to be a country that is controlled by the dollar. This idea of money trumping others is not exclusive to capitalism to America—we see this in many capitalist societies. France is also an example of a country that prioritizes money over other’s stability.
After granting their African colonies independence, France offered an “optional” program for the countries to join for trade. The program was called “les colonies françaises de l’Afrique.” The countries involved had their currencies changed to the CFA franc, and even though countries have moved away from calling their currency that, their currency can still be considered the CFA franc because they are a part of les colonies françaises de l’Afrique and the exchange value has not changed. The issue with this is that CFA francs are not equal to the euro. This means that France can buy items from the countries involved in les colonies françaises de l’Afrique, yet underpay them for what the items are worth. France’s involvement with countries has blocked economic growth and true independence: African countries involved with CFA are required to “deposit 50 per cent of their foreign exchange reserves in a special French Treasury ‘operating account.” Keep in mind that France also controls many of the mines in les colonies françaises de l’Afrique, meaning profitable and valuable resources go straight into their pockets.
The point of this example is not to scorn any countries because that is not what this article dives into, but it is to explain what Ren comments about isn’t just America’s faults—it’s a commentary on how no country is guiltless when it comes to trying to make a profit, often over the goodness of its people. That ideology becomes a societal value because that’s what people are bred into.
Regardless of political standing or government ideology, Jimmy has given into his inner faults that are embraced by societal values. By looking the best, acting the best, being involved in something for the title (“money bought him a seat in the senate”), it has turned his life into a downtrodden experience. Still, Ren reminds us:
“And his is example is exaggerated versions of me
And it’s a version of him, and it’s a version of she
And it’s a version of you, there’s no escaping the blame
The way we live is parasitic, fuck the money and fame…”
We’re invested in Jimmy’s life, and we’re at a climax of despair, but this is why Ren adds his perspective. He tells us that this isn’t just a story, but that we are, in a sense, living it. It’s a reminder to not get wrapped into just the passion of the song, but to look inward and see if we find elements of the story in our own lives. He reveals his personal commentary on society:
“This ain’t entertainment, this is real life
The way we live is lunacy, community, it declines
Hyperpolarized, always fighting, then we divide.
Truth is less important than the money that we designed?
Money’s an invention, politics from our invention.
They all come from peoples ideas, did I mention?
Borders? Our invention, law and order, fuel the tension
That leads to people killing each other. My solution?
Everything is subject to change
We can build utopias if individuals are taught to use their brains
But if we teach kids in school to always be sheep
And put ourselves before the herd if there’s more money for me
Then there’s no future I see, where the humans survive
We’re parasites inside a Petri dish with cannibal minds
Mold grows upon a surface, it consumes till it dies…”
His ideas are clear, and the main idea we can pull from such lyrics is that we humans create society. The reasons we’re angry, we made it up. The reason we suffer from laws that are unfair, we made them up. We are a society, which forms the boundaries we have set.
We are one person in billions. It’s easy to feel that emptiness. If one person leaves, another will replace them and nothing changes. If we become stuck in that mindset—“the world don’t give a damn about you” mindset—we become useless or, worse, a tyrannical human in society. Just a small ripple can cause massive change. Sometimes it takes a war, and other times all it takes is “please” for laws, rules, and ideologies to change. But if we fall into the traps that we have set for ourselves:
“…our fate could be the same, so here’s a story for the wise…
He is everything he wants, he has fortune and fame
He’s a fortunate fool with an unfortunate fate
With a 45 caliber aimed at his brain
45 – a fitting number, ’cause his age is the same
Hears the words of his father; “Such a damn shame”
Then he presses on the trigger of a money game.”
Perhaps by writing this song, Ren gives us the map to avoid the traps we cluelessly stumble into.
Resources:
https://genius.com/Ren-money-game-pt-3-lyrics
beniciapaw.com 