Music Challenge: Day 4
Day 4: a song that makes you sad
I remember the 1st time I heard Fantasia’s Free Yourself. She was singing on some awards show & must’ve brought every shard from her broken heart to the stage with her. She kicked off her shoes, literally—a la Mama Patti, & set about the business of sorting out just what had led her to that song. I didn't care about another song on the album, I bought it JUST for this song. I’m gonna be allaway lazy & not break out my CD jacket to see if she penned it or just fully identified with the lyrics. It don’t e’em much matter ‘cuz that night…on that stage…Girlfriend did that. It was 1 of those Roberta Flack moments where I felt the sista was singing my life with her words, killin’ me softly with her song. It was serious! By the end of the song I think me & ‘Tasia Mae were both in tears. Wild part was I was happily engaged at the time but still so thoroughly in tune with that feeling that I couldn’t help but go there with her. We walked barefoot, together, from the 1st note to the last.
Who among us hasn’t been there, hoping the other person would stop taking us through the motions & just admit that “here” wasn’t where they wanted to be? When you love it’s hard to walk away, even when every part of you but your body has already vacated the premises. Then we just stand still, in each other’s way, & block the good on the horizon. I know I’ve had to free myself before. I know I’ve had to encourage others to tell the WHOLE truth & free themselves too, even if it was from me. Now, as sad as the song makes me, taking me on a trip down memory lane, it still makes me feel GREAT by the end of it. Finding the courage to release your self from something painful, or just stagnant, is exhilarating. Difficult, yes, but exhilarating. When Fantasia gets to the final lines of the song, I’m all caught up in remembering the moment freedom became a reality & that weight was lifted. Free Yourself is a song I’ve listened to on repeat to remind me of what I need to do, what I’ve needed to do, what I hope not to need to do again because I’ll be more honest with myself as the signs of The End present themselves.
I’m glad not to be traveling this path currently, but Fantasia reminds me how possible it is to free myself should I ever need to again. It’s OK. So, here’s my little piece of sadness, turned empowerment. Enjoy…or…whatever it does to you or for you.
Watch me groove.
I remember the 1st time I heard Fantasia’s Free Yourself. She was singing on some awards show & must’ve brought every shard from her broken heart to the stage with her. She kicked off her shoes, literally—a la Mama Patti, & set about the business of sorting out just what had led her to that song. I didn't care about another song on the album, I bought it JUST for this song. I’m gonna be allaway lazy & not break out my CD jacket to see if she penned it or just fully identified with the lyrics. It don’t e’em much matter ‘cuz that night…on that stage…Girlfriend did that. It was 1 of those Roberta Flack moments where I felt the sista was singing my life with her words, killin’ me softly with her song. It was serious! By the end of the song I think me & ‘Tasia Mae were both in tears. Wild part was I was happily engaged at the time but still so thoroughly in tune with that feeling that I couldn’t help but go there with her. We walked barefoot, together, from the 1st note to the last.
Who among us hasn’t been there, hoping the other person would stop taking us through the motions & just admit that “here” wasn’t where they wanted to be? When you love it’s hard to walk away, even when every part of you but your body has already vacated the premises. Then we just stand still, in each other’s way, & block the good on the horizon. I know I’ve had to free myself before. I know I’ve had to encourage others to tell the WHOLE truth & free themselves too, even if it was from me. Now, as sad as the song makes me, taking me on a trip down memory lane, it still makes me feel GREAT by the end of it. Finding the courage to release your self from something painful, or just stagnant, is exhilarating. Difficult, yes, but exhilarating. When Fantasia gets to the final lines of the song, I’m all caught up in remembering the moment freedom became a reality & that weight was lifted. Free Yourself is a song I’ve listened to on repeat to remind me of what I need to do, what I’ve needed to do, what I hope not to need to do again because I’ll be more honest with myself as the signs of The End present themselves.
I’m glad not to be traveling this path currently, but Fantasia reminds me how possible it is to free myself should I ever need to again. It’s OK. So, here’s my little piece of sadness, turned empowerment. Enjoy…or…whatever it does to you or for you.
Watch me groove.
love this one. and i'm still in love with her live summertime performance.
ReplyDeletei love it too. i wanted to post it as well but it didn't match the challenge for today.
ReplyDeleteOMG Aweez this song is so much of everything I love about music!!!! Something I think a lot of these new "artists" have lost...connecting with a genuine emotional experience that transcends race, gender socio economic lines etc etc etc. Fannie sings this song with ever fiber of her being.
ReplyDelete