Our song of the week for (11/6) this Friday is SULA (Paperback) by Jamila Woods. This song came out in August of this year as a single. This song is in the R&B/Soul genre. This song speaks volume to me and fits perfectly in this genre. You can find this song on Spotify and Youtube.
Best Scenario for this song to be played: When you’re laying down and in need of reflection.
Lyrics
I don’t wanna make no babies
I don’t need a man to save me
I might wanna make some babies
Runnin outta time for waiting
Girls of my color, find somethin’ else to be
I got all this space to fill
Something only bodies heal
I got all this time to kill
Something like a prayer to kneel to
Soft as my skin is my power’s discreet
Wicked burns, you left me so hurt (you left me so hurt)
Thick with birds, you met me in the dirt (you met me in the dirt)
Sick at first, but haven’t I learned (but haven’t I learned)
I’m not sorry (haven’t I learned)
Can’t be sorry that I cut you out
What’s done is done (but haven’t I)
No crying over you
I’m not sorry (haven’t I)
Can’t be sorry that I cut you out
What’s done is done
No crying over you (but haven’t I learned)
I’m not sorry
Can’t be sorry that I cut you out
What’s done is done, no crying over you (can’t be sorry)
I’m not sorry (oh, no crying over you, I’m not sorry)
Can’t be sorry that I cut you out
What’s done is done
I chose this to be the song of the week because in light of recent events and America as its own, I’ve found comfort in this song. This song speaks to me as a black woman and it’s insightful honestly. This song is inspired by Toni Morrison who was an American Novelist. She has a book called SULA, which the title of this song was based off of. To me this song is a mix of Toni Morrison’s book, but also a reflection of the struggle of African American women in a time like today and the past.
She starts off in the beginning very strong by saying “ Down here in the bottom, there ain’t no room for me”. When first hearing that it’s not yet known that she’s talking about a major group of people, but it’s only the beginning to a deeper meaning. The three first lines that I’ve bolded are important to just keep in mind as the song continues on. She then says “ Freedom and Triumph, they weren’t meant for me”. In that line she’s saying that this world wasn’t made to fit someone like her and to lead her to a successful life. Sometimes we see those people that were just born into life and everything went the right way for them, for Jamila we don’t see that. She follows it with “Girls of my color, find something else to be.” I like that line especially because it’s accurate. A lot of the times African American women are told and discouraged from following their dreams because of how hard the system was built to not work for them. This doesn’t happen so often now, but this song being inspired by SULA by Toni Morrison, it fits for the time period that the book was written in. This happened a lot because success wasn’t something that people saw as a future for black women.
I also bolded when she said “Soft as my skin, is my power’s discreet”. Jamila is saying that underneath her color; which is sometimes all that people can see, is power. So much power that went undermined, that it’s soft nos. She follows this up with the chorus of “I’m better, I’m better” etc. Her chorus is repeated a lot in this song and to me it stands as a reminder, that we are more than what we are told.
Now, I highlighted the second line of the bridge, that starts with “Thick with birds”, these lines are important because they are in relation to the book. I personally have not read the book, but it is said that those lines are in relation to events and the main character of the book.
Lastly to end this I bolded “ I’m not sorry that I cut you off” and “ What’s done is done”. That’s the end. I feel like we’ve cut off those assumptions that women of color can’t do more. Deeply we’ve cut off that assumption and are moving forwards. I really like the ending of “What’s done is done because that’s a very subtle, but powerful way to end this. When you hear her say “What’s done is done” it feels like a breath of fresh air and new beginning.
This entire song means so much more than I can honestly explain here. Only advice I can give is to give this song a listen and just bask in the lyrics and her voice.