A Unique Musician

Recently I came across the music of an independent artist – India.Arie.  My niece, who was visiting from the US, introduced me to her music.  What fascinates me about her are the themes she chooses to explore and her bold lyrics.  India.Arie writes a lot about growth, positive change, respecting yourself and others. In Wings of Forgiveness, she writes,

**I’m only human,

let’s shake free this gravity of resentment

And fly high.

You’re only human,

let’s shake free this gravity of judgement

And fly high on the winds of forgiveness.**

These lyrics are so powerful and meaningful.  Here are some titles of her songs, There’s Hope, I see God in you, Growth, This Too Shall Pass and Wings of Forgiveness.  She also writes about racism and prejudice in her songs, Brown Skin and I Am Not my Hair.

One of my favorite songs of hers is Slow Down.  In her chorus she writes,

**Slow down baby, you’re going too fast

You’ve got your hands in the air, but your feet on the gas

You’re about to wreck your future

Running from the past

You need to slow down**

In today’s music world, lyrics are most often about love, passion or sex.  One seldom finds songs with lyrics that are empowering and inspiring.  Even India.Arie’s love songs are unique in that they are enriching and meaningful.  In Complicated Melody, her first verse starts:

**If he were a color, he’d be deep dark forest green

If here were a car, he’d be a long stretched limousine

With room for all of humanity inside

Cos he is so giving and he is so wise**

In one of her shortest songs, Outro: Learning, India.Arie reveals what the highest expression of love is:

**The highest expression of love is to give without expecting

The highest expression of love is to accept without exception

I have so much to learn**

These few sentences are the complete lyrics of her song.  I can’t help but smile and get goosebumps when I hear her songs.  I love her courage to be different and to break away from the normal trends in music lyrics.  I am inspired.