Growing up with “Why Can’t We Live Together”
I first heard Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together” when the song came out in the early 1970s. I was old enough (barely) to understand that the 1960s had produced a generation of art that expressed longing for the love and harmony that Timmy Thomas sang about in the simple refrain, “Everybody wants to live together/Why can’t we live together?”
My paternal grandfather spoke derisively of “hippies” (where I first heard the word) — their unkempt lifestyle, drugs, and commie-loving ways. In “Why Can’t We Live Together,” I heard the aching post-1960s optimism that my grandfather never mentioned. I doubt he even heard the optimistic ideals although I do not blame him for that. He clung to his own truth and filtered out what he did not want to hear, and in that regard he was like most everyone I’ve ever known for my entire life. In fact, he was a loving, generous man who enriched my life in many ways and was also a product of his time in some ways.
“Why Can’t We Live Together” also resonated on a more personal level. I was already experiencing trauma caused by family strife and other things. I didn’t blame anyone for that, and I am glad I did not. Had I pointed fingers and refused to forgive, I would have lived my life forever defined by and trapped by trauma. I am grateful that back then, there was no social media-induced pseudo-therapy to feed me self-victimizing lies. I found other ways to deal with dysfunction, like leaning into music, including songs like “Why Can’t We Live Together” with its gentle call for harmony, which seemed so out of reach for me when I was a kid. I related to his message, which was not a statement, but a question unanswered, as it was for me.
This song was also my entree into bossa nova. Timmy Thomas used an early rhythm machine set to a bossa nova-style percussion pattern, which is evident within the first 30 seconds. He performed “Why Can’t We Live Together” as a one-man band, using a Lowrey organ, his own vocals, and a rhythm machine (specifically, the Maestro Rhythm Master and the “Latin: Mambo” preset from the Lowrey AR-4 drum machine). This use of a drum machine in place of live drums was groundbreaking at the time and contributed to the song’s distinctive, haunting sound.
“Why Can’t We Live Together” became a hit, reaching №1 on the Billboard R&B chart and №3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973. It also charted internationally and was later covered or sampled by artists including Sade and Drake. Thomas would go on to have a successful career as a session musician, writer, and producer. He would never have another hit like “Why Can’t We Live Together,” but that one song made its mark and became his signature moment.
Meanwhile, my personal tool kit became a lifelong journey of self-discovery through music. I have songs like “Why Can’t We Live Together” to thank for that. As a result, although trauma has definitely shaped me, it does not define me.
