Monday, January 7, 2008

I Go On and On, On and On

Ohh, my, my, my
I'm feelin' high
My money's gone
I'm all alone
Too much 2 see, the world keeps turnin'
Oh what a day, what a day, what a day

Peace & blessins' manifest
With every lesson learned
If yo knowledge were yo wealth
Then it would B well earned
If we were made in His image
Then call us by our names
Most intellects do not B-lieve in God
But their fear us just the same.

On & On and On & On
My cipher keeps movin' like a rollin' stone
I go On & On and On & On
Alright till the break of dawn
On & On and On & On
My cipher keeps movin' like a rollin' stone
On & On and On & On
Got damnit I'ma sing my song

I connected my mp3 player to my stereo and my husband observed that I had exactly 8 songs by Erykah Badu on that device. I said "Hell yeah, she's one of my top 5", he shook his head... not wanting me to go into another LONG explanation of why she deserves such a standing. The above lyrics to On & On is the 'short' version of why she sits with me on my throne. Now, I didn't plan on making a blog about why she's important to me and I'm still not going to (gotcha!). But I will say that her music (lyrics), along with Jill Scott, Floetry, Meshelle Ndgellocello (ohh, I butchered her last name), Musiq Soulchild (and all my other neosoul favs) stay in heavy rotation in my home.

Sometimes when I don't understand my man, I listen to Teach Me by Musiq...

I was told the true definition of a man was to never cry
Work till your tired (yeah) got to provide (yeah)
Always be the rock for my fam, protect them by all means
(and give you the things that you need, baby)
Our relationship is (suffering) trying to give you (what I never had)
You say I don't know to love you baby
Well I say show me the way
I keep my feelings (deep inside I)
Shadow them (with my pride eye)
I'm trying desperately baby just work with me

Teach me how to love
Show me the way to surrender my heart, girl I'm so lost
Teach me how to love
How I can get my emotions involved
Teach me, show me how to love
Show me the way to surrender my heart, girl I'm lost
Teach me how to love
How I can get my emotions involved
Teach me, how to love





and like magic... I understand...

They validate my struggles... makes the blow easier to deal with when you know you're not unique in your problems. They celebrate the very things I celebrate... Black love, family, solidarity, individuality, peace, freedom, awareness etc. Somehow I feel... represented and feeling so, I must show appreciation by exposing those around me to their feel-good-ness.

Remember when your parents played all that blues... and you didn't understand WHY they liked that slow, depressing... umm... music? I remember, and to this day, can hear some older man singing about a man named 'Uncle Bud' who, to me, was perverse and embarrassing. My opinion wasn't important at the time... since I was a kid... but now... I understand. Though I don't know the message in the song, I'm sure the music was symbolic of something... something they were going through, something they felt... That something is what propelled my parents to play it... just as that 'something' makes me press repeat on my stereo... until he kids start singing along... then... well...

So... what songs/artists make you Go On & On?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love it,love it. You have the soul of a wise old woman. :-)

Poetic Genesis said...

Thanks sis!

Yasmin said...

What makes me go on and on...
Mary J. Blige
Goapele
Bilah
Anthony Hamilton
Jill Scott
Heather Headley
Aretha Franklin
Floetry
Erika Badu
Corinne Bailey
I like a lot of the same artist that you like.
xoxo

Angelia Vernon Menchan said...

G-Nice,
you went to work on this one, that's what I love about you...you really feel what you feel, how you feel it...music really is food for the soul...Anthony Hamilton, Jaguar Wright and Urban Mystic are doing it for me right now...

angelia

Poetic Genesis said...

Mary's my girl, Hamilton, Headly, Bailey...love 'em

I haven't listened to Goapele in a long time, gotta put myself in the corna for that!

Poetic Genesis said...

Mama Deep

Urban Mystic is the BOMB! I'm love Where Were You...

and

gotta be me or die...

love ya!

Jennifer C. said...

Too Many to list them all, but a few are Beyonce "Irreplaceable" and Corrine Bailey Rae, Jill Scott, Alicia Keys "No One" and a lot of music that represents me as a person. Not a mother, wife, daughter or child, but as a simple red-blooded human being who exists outside of her titles. I also go through my Erykah Badu days.

Poetic Genesis said...

JC

I listen to all those... especially No One by Alicia Keys... I listen to that every morning and every evening. Makes the hubby happy..lol

And Irreplaceable is my song when I'm mad at him...lol Good for letting out frustation... allows me to say things I REALLY don't mean but at the moment seem to be valid.

Like Mama said, it's food for the soul...

Lena said...

Vivian Green
Corinne Bailey Ray
Lauryn Hill
MJB
Chrisette Michelle
Alicia Keys
Chaka Khan

Gwyneth Bolton said...

Great post! I love Musiq Soulchild's "Teach Me" LOVE it!

Here's my abbreviated list:

Always Erykah Badu all day every day...She will forever get props for that first CD and the live CD and " Bag Lady" and "Love of My Life 'Ode to Hip-Hop' made me a fan for life.

Early and late Mary J. Blige... I kept buying her albums in the middle, but I wasn't feeling a lot of them. But once you're a Marry fan, your a fan for life. Although when I'm honest there is nothing like her first CDs and her latest two CDs for me anyway.

Fantasia

Keyshia Cole

And two ole school singers do it for me to this day even though I didn't understand their music when I first fell in love with it:

Betty Wright
Gwen Gunthrie

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