Thoughts, feelings and insight from lyricist, ANAR RAJABALI...
Contact : anar@yasminemusic.com
or through Myspace myspace.com/anarrajabali
This EP is an honest and humble creative offering to those who wish to listen. These lyrics were written with the purest intention and through truly divine experiences. This EP speaks of the journey of life with all of its joys, sufferings, contradictions and revelations.
Moved by mysticism. Inspired by life. Created through deep introspection.
This is my story. This is our story. This is the story of the soul.
May you have many 'epiphanies' along the way....
"EPIPHANY"
For a long time, I wanted to write lyrics about meditation and how I felt when I am connecting to the spirit. I was up at dawn one morning and felt compelled to start writing. 'Dawn embraces the dark of night as my soul wakes to the light.' - the morning being the best time for reflection. The lyrics speak of the revelations that one has when they are connected to their core and how life with all its contradictions, makes complete sense...'Death is life, Black is white.' Once you attain this deep understanding, you are engulfed with light, color and true happiness. When I was writing these lyrics at 5 in the morning, I received a phone call informing me that my cousin had been killed in a car crash.
"BRING ME A LOVER"
These lyrics came to me one afternoon as I was walking alone along the beach. I had no intention of writing yet the words just came. I was feeling complete loneliness to my core and as I watched lovers walk hand in hand I asked the universe why I am alone. This is when the first line came...'How blue is the ocean that brings forth the tide' - and by the time I finished my walk I had 'received' all the verses. The song is a conversation between an individual and God asking the reason why they don't have a 'beloved' or 'lover' in this world. The song speaks of the ache and the need for this, yet comes to a point of illumination where the person acknowledges the need to heal first and that when only one is truly ready will one truly receive.
"SOFTLY"
I had been listening to the Isley Brothers and Maxwell and really wanted to write a sultry love song. It was a bit challenging because I wasn't in love at the time but I had the title in my head for a month and after writing and reworking the first couple of verses the rest just flowed. This song is about having a deep spiritual connection with another-'Your soul its speaks it me through your placid eyes'. It speaks of intimacy; passion and ecstasy. I originally wanted to use the 'Sufi' flute, the ney, but the tone of the bansuri flute really brought that element of sensual spirituality to the song.
"BEAUTIFUL SCAR"
One afternoon, I was watching clips of an Indian Movie, 'Devdas'. There was one scene when 2 lovers are fighting and one throws something at the other. The character says something to the effect that even this scar that you have left me with is beautiful. This stayed with me for months and using Yasmine's experiences as a point of reference, I wrote the lyrics. This song depicts a relationship that was so intense, consuming and stifling to the point that it was void of all autonomy and spirituality. 'Leaving him, oh the pain but I've been made worthy from this stain.' Identifying this relationship as negative and leaving it breeds profound wisdom, self-love and acceptance. Ultimately, the emotional scar is beautiful, as self-growth will come through the pain.
"FIRE IN MY EYES"
One day, a close friend said to me that I had 'Fire in my Eyes.' This resonated in me for a awhile and writing these lyrics was very cathartic to me. This song is the journey one takes from a state of complete hopelessness and defeat -"My life was just a shell I lived inside, A self-inflicted hell where I would hide'-to a place of determination and clarity about the power within us as human beings. 'My soul is open I could fly.' This song speaks of this process of self-discovery. After writing these lyrics, I sat down and cried.
"SAMA"
For Yasmine and myself, this is the closest song to us. We wanted to write a devotional song, and I was very intrigued and drawn into the works of the Sufi Poet, Rumi. 'Sama' refers to the music and dance of the Whirling Dervishes. As they dance, they have one hand to heavens, one to the earth and spin to achieve a state of spiritual ecstasy-complete oneness with the spirit. The word 'Sama' sounded so rhythmic and one day as Yasmine and I were walking along the water, I said the word, 'Sama.' Immediately, She started singing...'Sama, Sama, Sama.' We knew then, that this was meant to be. As soon as we parted, I went to a cafe and literally within 10 minutes the lyrics were written. These lyrics never had to be reworked. The Sufi's say that in this world there are 2 things, the beloved and the lover. This song speaks of the search the soul encounters as one searches for their beloved eventually discovering that the beloved exists within us. "Once again I am at your door, the you in me is what I was looking for/You let me in and I am consumed in the love of you/ My inner being has been moved and I am now you.' Since human love and divine love are parallel, this song can me interpreted on different levels. Take it as you will. |
Yasmine and Anar Rajabali,
SAMA MUSIC All Rights Reserved