For the past 3 years, my Uncle Neal (co-writer of She Makes Me, subject of Been Watchin’ You and overall mentor in writing, song writing and life in general) has been living on the small Island of Grand Turk, the capital of the Turk and Caicos Island in the British West Indies just South of Haiti. I was fortunate enough to get to visit there and it was this environment that was a direct inspiration for this song. Obviously, if you have listened to it, you will hear the blatant Reggae island feel but the inspiration goes a little deeper than that.
Neal explained that the culture on the island is a bit mixed up. The island has a population of about 2,500 made up of a few different enclaves. There are Jamaicans, Haitians and a some random others. The majority of the island, though, is populated by the native inhabitants who seem to have no cultural identity outside of the island itself. In fact, the race of people that are there are officially called Belongers.
The Belongers seem to have a fairly strong distain for anyone whom they call Outsiders and it causes moderate racial tension on this 7 mile by 2 mile stretch of land out in the middle of the ocean. Although, as I consider my social existence here on this much larger chunk of land, I can see some of the same similarities. Not in the form of racial tension here in the Midwest, but definitely in people’s sense of community and desire to belong. As I consider my close friends and acquaintances, a pattern appears where (generally speaking, of course) these people seem to have a lot in common. I wonder if I surround myself with people who look, think, act, speak and make decisions like I do. There is something about this that makes me want to apologize, even though I see it across the board as people find their place to belong. My heart says I would much rather find myself among around a variety of people who I can share life with. People who can challenge me, help me grow, expand my palate and hopefully, allow me the reciprocity. But, that’s not what my environment shows.
This song is a bit apologetic, although I hope the message gets across that I’m not trying to exclude anyone. I know that the people who don’t call me friend aren’t trying to exclude me either. We all just want to find a place where we belong. That doesn’t mean I won’t try to break out of this complacency.
Belong
Listen Now:
Oh, it’s tough, yeah, it’s tough
Get in misfit in here, I hope
Laugh it up, laugh it up
Even if I don’t know the joke
We all want to belong
We all want to belong
I know there’s nothing wrong
(I’m alright, you’re alright)
We all want to belong
He’s exactly like me
She’s exactly like me
(Oh, I’m surrounded)
But, there’s something ’bout variety
That makes me feel human
Chalk it up to default
Complacency brought
But I’m not exclusive
I just know this about me
I really like how this song sounds. The sound is different from what we are accustomed to hearing from you but I think it works. Keep it up man, We are behind you 110%
Great to have you back! Thanks for the honesty in the previous post. Looking so forward to continuing the journey with you and especially hearing and reading the creative outpouring that has/is taking place. Okay, the song. Love it! The feel, the lyric, the capture, the group vocals, the gathering in the background. You could have had that going throughout for my money.
i’m always amazed at how your subtle guitar layers leave no wanting for a full band. love the groove. love the layers. love the song.
Hey brother, I missed ya. I am really digging the “Bob Marley” reggae vibe. It’s a break from your own style, refreshing, but not too pushy. Now, I wouldn’t want to make a whole CD of this type of song, but it’s nice to see a cool and/or different vibe, now and again. With that said, you are mad talented and I am very much enjoying this whole song journey, it gives me something new to look forward to every week and I am never disappointed
From a creative standpoint, it is so hard to stay fresh, and relevant while producing a quality product. This song once again shows your creative genius! It’s easy to groove and miss the intricacy of the lyrics, but together they make another memorable song! I know it’s been a tough few weeks creatively, but none of us will ever take for granted the gift you have. Thanks for sharing it with us!
I love it bro! This one is for sure one of my new favorites!!!!
I don’t think any of us would see it fit to expect perfection on a weekly basis. That would be unrealistic, and I would venture to say most would prefer something authentic rather than just timely.
I liked this song. Your voice sounds different…more along the lines of the reggae vibe you were going for. It’s good for people to get out from under the shelter of what’s familiar and safe sometimes…”what do they know of England, who only England know?”
Really the only thing that’s unqualifiedly good is a sense of extended vision, the enlargement of your understanding of the ultimate nature of things.
That’s cool about Neal…what’s he doin’ there?
Dang, this was posted a little while back…i need to get back in the loop here!!
I’ll open up a little more about my feelings when we starting seeing each other on a regular basis again ;o)
I love the guitar work in this one! Any chance of posting tabs or even just chord charts to your music?
Love this song man. It’s so easy to easy to groove to and it’s extremely catchy. Keep up the good work, we know it’s hard.
I love the songs and this one is by far one of my favs on the mixtape. But I def think you should show your skills and have a song where you’re b-boxin some.
i love this song! but idk how to download it its askin for my username and password but i dont have one so im wondering how to get one. if you could tell me hoe i would appreciate it thx!!! =)
i love this song! but idk how to download it its askin for my username and password but i dont have one so im wondering how to get one. if you could tell me how i would appreciate it thx!!! =)