Track 03: Donny Hathaway- A Song For You
I’ve been thinking about how not every love song is just about another person. Sometimes, the lyrics we think are meant for lovers, partners, or relationships can be directed inward. To the self that longs to be seen, held, and cherished. Kinda like a sacred reinterpretation.
For me, Donny Hathaway is my favorite voice. I’ll never forget in my undergrad music class we had to pick an artist and song we love and write an 8 page paper about it. I chose Someday We’ll All Be Free by Donny Hathaway and let my thoughts and feelings become fluid and stream across the pages.
His music carries a depth that feels like home, and A Song for You has always touched me deeply as well. It’s a song written for someone else but if you listen closely you hear a different truth. Knowing his battle with mental illness I hear someone who longs to be understood, even in his messiness. I can relate for sure and I realize this song can be sung to myself. It’s a reminder that I am worthy of that same honesty, compassion, and tenderness. Loving ourselves truly and fully can be the hardest love story of all.
When he sings, “I’ve been so many places in my life and time,I’ve sung a lot of songs, I’ve made some bad rhymes. I’ve acted out my life on stages with ten thousand people watching But we’re alone now, and I’m singing this song to you” I hear the story of masks we wear. How we perform happiness, strength, or composure out in the world, only to come home, take it all off, and sit in silence with our true selves. That moment of “we’re alone now” feels like the soul stripped bare and in that space, you can’t hide from yourself.
He continues with, “Cause we’re alone now / And I’m singing this song to you”. This can be about the intimacy you create with yourself when the mask comes off. No audience, no performance …just you, being honest and raw with yourself. It’s almost like journaling, but in song.
The next line goes,“You taught me precious secrets / Of a true love withholding nothing / You came out in front when I was hiding” This could represent how your deepest emotions, even the ones you once tried to bury, are actually what push you toward growth. Love .. specifically self love and love from God calls you out of hiding, urging you to face yourself.
“Now I’m so much better / And if my words don’t come together / Listen to the melody / ’Cause my love is in there hiding” Music becomes my language when words fail. Even when I don’t know how to articulate the depth of my grief the melody itself becomes the vessel. It’s love in a form beyond words.
“I love you in a place / Where there’s no space or time”. I’m learning that the love I want to cultivate for myself is eternal and not bound by my current struggles.
“I love you for my life / You’re a friend of mine”. This mirrors the importance of befriending myself. Seeing myself not just as someone to critique or fix, but as my closest companion.
To me, this song is ultimately reflecting that raw and honest dialogue with yourself is important. Even in my mess I deserve compassion.
Listen to A Song For You
