stmmfsbasp, parts cinque and seis

Oops! Sorry for missing a day. The demands of Idol plus part one of the Project Runway finale proved to be more than I could handle in one evening. You know, not to mention class, work, getting my taxes done, and all the other little unimportant stuff.

Long story short, you get to enjoy two new uplifting, inspiring, consciousness-raising songs from my "So Black and So Proud" collection. Lucky you! So let's get started, shall we? We shall.

Part Cinque:

Black Orchid, by Stevie Wonder

(You know the deal by now, of course.)

I treated the brothers on Tuesday, so of course I have to follow up with something special for the sisters.

Now. I love Stevie Wonder. I believe he is a musical genius, and he is a GREAT (no noun needed). So he had to be represented on this list. That was a given from the start. What wasn't so obvious was which song of his I would choose to introduce. Well, I picked "Black Orchid" for many reasons, not the least of which is its obscurity.

Why don't people know about this gem of a song? Good question! The answer:

Many years ago there was a plan to make a film called "The Secret Life Of Plants," or something like that. Stevie was approached to score the film, and he agreed. He worked out a score, but the film fell through (which is, all things considered, probably a good thing). Stevie having already put so much work into the music decided to go ahead and release it as a popular album called "Journey to the Secret Life of Plants." Never heard of it? Then congratulations, you're quite normal. But, JSLP does give us some remarkable songs, including "Black Orchid" and the better-known "Send One Your Love." But we're talking about "Black Orchid," and we're talking about it because it's a soul-stirring tribute to the beauty and strength of the Black woman. Yeah!
The lyrics are backed by a sparse arrangement of strings and clavinet, and the minimalist approach works wonders (no pun intended, but it turned out well anyway!) because it allows the lyrics to take precedence. And what beautiful lyrics they are! By the time Stevie's done waxing poetically about "a pearl of wisdom entrapped by poverty," and "love besieged by years" I feel like the rarest, most beautiful thing in all the world. I feel like I can take what nature has given me and bloom into the most extraordinary flower the world has ever seen!

Okay, so I'm exaggerrating a little bit. But, I am serious about the power in the lyrics. You check it out for yourself. See if it doesn't make you want to shout "it."

Part Sies:

Brown Skin, by India.Arie

(You know what's up.)

Yeah. So, there's not too much to be said about this song. You can tell by the title that it's a celebration of brown skin tones. (Ah, flashbacks to my comps talk!) Aside from the absolutely lovely instrumental opening that immediately draws you into the lovey-dovey mood, there isn't much to say about the music. But pride starts to flowing whenever Ms. Arie details the various beauties of a rich, brown skin. She also makes liberal mention of romance, but we'll let that alone.

Bottom line: Forget a color complex! Celebrate the wonders of your lovely brown skin, no matter what shade. I'm a mix of peanut butter and toast myself. Delicious!

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Lyrics For You Today:

Well, this post is already super long! So you'll find the lyrics:

here

and here.

Enjoy!