STORY BEHIND THE SONG...Stronger Than You Think I had been singing full-time only a year or two when my oldest son was sentenced to 10 years in prison. It was this same son who, 4 years earlier, had actually convinced me to start singing professionally when I thought I was too old and/or not good enough to do so. He saw it a completely different way. Had it not been for his pointed encouragement, I doubt I ever would have started singing in public at all. Anyway, his arrest and conviction was right when my career really started to take off. I had recently signed on to the MaxJazz Label and was flying all over the country and just starting to sing in foreign countries when all this happened. Consequently, most of his court dates I was unable to attend and because I was gone so much, it was impossible to talk on the phone (this was before the era of cellphones). His father (my ex-husband) gave me a lot of grief about my traveling during this time, saying I was a bad, selfish mother. But when I was in town, I’d visit my son every day the prison allowed. And one day during a visit, I could see he was in a bad state. As his mom, of course, my mind thought of the worst kinds of things…he had bitten his fingernails down to the quick and there were bruises and scars on his knuckles. He refused to talk about it to me. It’s hard to know what to say to your son in a situation like that. I felt guilty that I wasn’t around more to visit him or talk to him on the phone to help him through these crises, so I began apologizing to him for not being there like a good mother should and he stopped me in mid-sentence and told me he was GLAD I was out there singing…that I should not feel guilty, but that I should sing for him…that he would hear it no matter where I was, no matter where he was. Wise, healing words from such a young man, right? With those words in mind, I went home and wrote Stronger Than You Think. I thought I was writing it for my son - to strengthen and encourage him during some of his darkest times. And it did. But long after he left prison, I continued to sing the song and gradually realized the words were meant for me as well. Even today, 14 years later, they continue to buoy me up when I am at my lowest. Other times, they just kept me on track. Oh, and by the way...my son and I eventually sang Stronger Than You Think together onstage many times. Very poignant moments for us both... Here are the lyrics: STRONGER THAN YOU THINK Broken wings let me hold you close and calm your furious beating Timid heart, please speak to me and tell the secrets that you hide Empty hands, open up and hold on to what’s worth keeping Soul that’s lost I’ve got some hope to take the place of all that pride In your eyes I can see a strength that’s deep and growing On your face is a story waiting to be told In your mind is the source of everything worth knowing And a spirit that will never grow old CHORUS And the waves you’re on are gonna rise and fall You got a lot to learn but you’re never gonna know it all Don’t hide them, be proud of your battle scars You’re stronger than you think you are Shame is an admission to ourselves of our potential Loneliness ain’t nothin’ but the stranger that’s inside Emptiness just means that we’re not aware of our own credentials Battle scars mean that we’ve survived Once you learn that happiness is not a competition Once you see that what you need was with you all along Once you know that courage is another word for intuition Then your fears will disappear and your heart will burst out in song CHORUS And the waves you’re on are gonna rise and fall You got a lot to learn but you’re never gonna know it all Don’t hide them, be proud of your battle scars You’re stronger than you think you are For a limited time, Stronger Than You Think is available as a download on the shop page of my website. renemarie/shop/
Posted on: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 16:50:03 +0000
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