11/13
i'm thankful for lauryn hill's mtv unplugged, which i've been listening to a lot the past few days. i'm thankful for the liquid clarity of her nylon string guitar, the rich fingerpicking and the snaps of her strums. i'm thankful for false starts and rhythmic hiccups, for the moments when you can hear her smiling. i'm thankful for the ragged sweetness of her voice, floating above the rhythm of the instrument. i'm thankful for the looseness of the songs, how she will hang on a line and repeat it, over and over again, making it resonate and dance through the air. i'm thankful for the whole album, but especially for "i find it hard to say (rebel),"
and for the hard-won hope of the closing pairing of "so much things to say" and "the conquering lion." i'm thankful for her joyful laughter at the very end of "the conquering lion." i'm thankful for one of the spoken interludes on the album, where she says this:
"You already are the standard. What are you trying to fit a standard for? We were each created to be individual standards, you know. And we’re trying to fit into a standard? It doesn’t make any sense, you know. So now I’m just, you know, after all that, I’m just ready to be me. And it’s a lot to work through, you know, because all of us have hidden in these little boxes purposely, because of parts of ourselves that we were unhappy about. And it’s because we didn’t understand, you know, because there’s all this social doctrine that says, you know, that the infinite God, with all this expression, who created every single one of us, absolutely different, on purpose, wants everybody to fit into the same suit. But like, you know, that’s deception. That’s deception."
"I find it hard to say, that everything is alright
Don't look at me that way, like everything is alright
Cuz my own eyes can see, through all your false pretenses
But what you fail to see, is all the consequences
You think our lives are cheap, and easy to be wasted
As history repeats, so foul you can taste it
And while the people sleep, too comfortable to face it
His life so incomplete, and nothing can replace it
And while the people sleep, too comfortable to face it
Your lives so incomplete, and nothing can replace it
Fret not thyself I say, against these laws of man
Cause like the Bible says: His blood is on their hands
And what I gotta say, and what I gotta say, is rebel
While today is still today, choose well
And what I gotta say, is rebel, it can't go down this way
Choose well, choose well, choose well...
...choose well, choose well, choose well
And while the people sleep, too comfortable to face it
Your lives are so incomplete, and nothing, and no one, can replace it
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
And what I gotta say, and what I gotta say
And what I gotta say, and what I gotta say
And what I gotta say, and what I gotta say
And what I gotta say, and what I gotta say
Is rebel... rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel
Rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel
Repent, the day is far too spent, rebel... rebel!
Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up...
Wake up and rebel
We must destroy in order to rebuild
Wake up, you might as well
Oh are you... oh are you satisfied
Oh are you satisfied
Rebel... ohhh rebel
Why don't you rebel, why don't you rebel?
Why don't you rebel?
I'm fading myself down now..."
and for the hard-won hope of the closing pairing of "so much things to say" and "the conquering lion." i'm thankful for her joyful laughter at the very end of "the conquering lion." i'm thankful for one of the spoken interludes on the album, where she says this:
"You already are the standard. What are you trying to fit a standard for? We were each created to be individual standards, you know. And we’re trying to fit into a standard? It doesn’t make any sense, you know. So now I’m just, you know, after all that, I’m just ready to be me. And it’s a lot to work through, you know, because all of us have hidden in these little boxes purposely, because of parts of ourselves that we were unhappy about. And it’s because we didn’t understand, you know, because there’s all this social doctrine that says, you know, that the infinite God, with all this expression, who created every single one of us, absolutely different, on purpose, wants everybody to fit into the same suit. But like, you know, that’s deception. That’s deception."
"It's hell on Earth and the city's on fire
Inhale, inhale there's heaven
There's a bull and a matador dueling in the sky
Inhale, in hell there's heaven
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Solo, solo
Solo, solo"
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