Sometimes, there is a song that just sticks with you.
A good friend recently told me that she always wanted to be Aretha Franklin. Now, Aretha is just one of those pulsars that grace a generation. She’s an institution, yet she’s not so self-consumed that she forgets that her gift is to provide music that kun-NECKs with folks. Makes you feel. Makes you sing along.
While Aretha is not high profile anymore, recently she recorded “Never Gonna Break My Faith” with Mary J. Blige and the Harlem Boys’ Choir. Wow. Here are the powerful lyrics to that song, highlighted in the movie, Bobby, about the late Robert F. Kennedy. These lyrics are sooooo powerful to me:
My Lord
I have read this book so many times
But nowhere can I find the page that says what I experience today has any Grace.
Now I know that life is meant to be hard that’s how I learn to appreciate my God
Though my courage made me tried I can tell you I won’t hide
Because the footprints show you were by my side.
[Chorus]
You can lie to a child with a smilin’ face
Tell me that color ain’t about race
You can cast the first stones, you can break my bones
But your never gonna break, You’re never gonna break my Faith.
Faith and Hope aint yours to give
Truth and liberty are mine to live
You can steal a crown from a king
Break an angels wings
But your never gonna break, You’re never gonna break my Faith
My Lord
Won’t you help them, help them to understand
that when someone takes the life of an innocent man
Well they never really won because all they’ve really done
is set the soul free where it’s supposed to be
[Chorus]
You can lie to a child with a smilin’ face
Tell me that color ain’t about race
You can cast the first stones, you can break my bones
But your never gonna break, You’re never gonna break my Faith.
Faith and Hope aint yours to give
Truth and liberty are mine to live
You can steal a crown from a king
Break an angels wings
But your never gonna break, You’re never gonna break my Faith
[Bridge:]
For those we lose before their time,
I pray their souls will find the light.
I know that the day will surely come,
When His will, His will, will be done.
While designed to pay homage to Bobby Kennedy and his “walk”, the song has meaning in so many of today’s struggles. In light of all those “situations”, this song — delivered with added emphasis from Misses Franklin and Blige, parlay courage to face the day….
Remember, no-one can make you feel bad about yourself without your permission.
