Behind-the-Music: Once Upon a Time
Aye what's good everybody!
So I wanted to share a bit the background behind my newest song, "Once Upon a Time". So I start the track by saying:
Let me bring it back, to a once upon a time/
Like I do very well, no bragging yo it's divine/
Wake up every morning, saying I'ma grind/
Work that 9-5 while musically I survive/
Or try to well, I'm giving this my best/
Thinking why I do it, the bar I'm trynna set/
To stand out from the rest, they all say that
Thinking back to a time when I would rhyme just to find
What I'm getting at here is as we grow up, we tend to "stay in the past" quite often. As a rapper/musician, I tend to recall on the past a lot as I reflect while making music and grabbing lessons that I've learned out the stories of my life (much through the Holy Spirit speaking to me as I reflect on those stories - hence why I said "no bragging yo it's divine"). But I feel a lot of the times in our lives, we enjoy living from our past or holding onto what was in our pasts, whether hurts or joys - sometimes in holding on we try to relive those moments and recreate those feelings we once felt.
HOWEVER...
As we grow throughout life, we can't always hold onto our pasts. Mainly because we aren't there anymore. That person we once were has changed. The settings we once were in have changed. And we have to be present in our current state of life. We tend to, as humans, hold onto our "once upon a time" but fail to realize that our "once upon a time" is always changing. Our dreams change as we continue on our journey but one thing remains, God's love for us. "Once upon a time" symbolizes the past, and as we cling to holding onto it, we fail to see that "once upon a time" is the start of the story and "happy ever after" is the end. A lot of junk gets in the way which is why we don't always see it. We get scared. And when we're scared to like to go toward things we know, not things we don't know. But there's rest and peace in letting go and going forward. We gotta trust God's plan and his direction as we go on in life.
I end the song by saying:
The only change worth some change is the one inside/
Let the beat ride from this once upon a time, yeah
Looking back to learn from the past is always needed as we move forward but we can't stay there. Reflect and work to change and transform yourself (Rom. 12:2) but keep moving. The doesn't stop, it's continuous and although sometimes it's scary, there's a peaceful and awning beauty in the mystery.
I hope y'all enjoyed the track. Much love and peace.
-Joshua
