And If You Don't Believe in Me ...

On rare occasions I receive sort of psychic messages to write about certain artists. So here she is -- Mary J. Blige. After doing a bit of research on her life -- I can see why she would make a good post for my blog and why I could be inspired by her.

I've always thought that Mary was one of the most down-to-earth and ernest singers around. She has a couple of songs that have really connected with me in the past. I read a recent article about her in the USA Weekend magazine and found her story to be quite intriguing. Her song "My Life" is my favorite from her repertoire. If I had to choose an anthem for certain times in my life -- this would be it! Her wordless humming which opens the piece, embodies all of the pain and beauty of the song's message -- whenever you're feeling pain, turn to God and God will make it alright.

Here are the lyrics to:

My Life
(with samples from "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" by Roy Ayers)

[Chorus]
If you looked in my life
And see what I've seen...
If you looked in my life
And see what I've seen...
[Repeat]

[Verse 1]
Life can be only what you make it
When you're feelin down
You should never fake it
Say what's on your mind
And you'll find in time
That all the negative energy
It would all cease

And you'll be at peace with yourself
You won't really need no one else
Except for the man up above
Because He'll give you love

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Take your time
Baby don't you rush a thing
Don't you know, I know
We all are struggling
I know it is hard
But we will get by
And if you don't believe in me
Just believe in "He"

Cause He'll give you peace of mind
Yes He will
And you'll see the sunshine
For real, yes you would
And you'll get to free your mind
And things will turn out fine
Oh, I know that things will turn out fine
Yes they would, yes they would

[Chorus]

All you gotta do is take your time,
One day at a time
It's all on you
what you gonna do?

Oh you will see I'm so down and out
Cryin' every day
Don't know what to do or to say

Here's Mary singing My Life on YouTube.

Check out the June 22 article about Blige in the USA Weekend magazine:

On the chart-topping single "Real Love," from her 1992 debut album, a raw and emotionally ravaged Mary J. Blige begged the heavens for a boon: "Send me someone real / to caress me and to guide me / towards a love my heart can feel." For years, the universe denied her. Tumultuous relationships, self-acknowledged substance abuse and deep insecurities mounted. Blige sang about them all, and even though her pain brought her stardom, it also threatened to destroy her.