Alicia Keys "Brand New Me" Resonates at Citizenship Oath Ceremony
Published: 17 April 2013 By Abiodun Giwa
Alicia Keys
This is a story about a woman's journey from Rwanda to the United States after escaping from a throe of death then. She now feels like what Alicia Key sings in "Brand New Me", a song that is rivetingly captivating and winning converts who share the message of rebrith the song conveys.
At a swearing-in-ceremony for new citizens reported by the CBS, Immaculee Ilibagiza, the Rwandan genocide survivor said,"I feel like a person that I am supposed to be." Meaning she is a brand new person, following rebirth of becoming a citizen of the U.S.
The first time this reporter heard Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me” was in March 2013 when he had a school program on Sound clouds. He had clicked on a button for R&B and Soul in the Sound cloud platform on the internet, and Alicia Keys name emerged among the names of other artistes. He clicked on her name and a list of her songs that included “Brand New Me” popped up. The title of the song caught his attention, because he was undergoing an experience that depicted he was being born again after an excruciating life’s experience of poverty, deprivation, denials, betrayal and almost loss of humanity.
After a moment of soul searching about the connection between his own experience and the title of the song, he clicked the button for Play and listened with rapt attention. He was mesmerized by what he heard. “It has been a while, I am not who I was before,” she sings in the opening line. It is like the song’s opening line makes a direct reference to him that it has been a while and that he is no longer who he was before. “It took a long, long time to get here. Don’t be surprised if I talk a little louder. You will be happy to see me smile.” By the time he finished listening to the song, he felt that for a long time and for the first time, he has found a song that relates to his life’s experience.
Then, he embarks on another soul searching session. He feels that he is not wrong for having this feeling about his own life’s experience. He thinks
that every individual’s experience differs; some are lucky to have everything they want without any struggle, while others have to struggle to get what they want. He remembers Shakespeare’s words that some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them and some achieve greatness. He feels again that he has no apology for belonging among those who achieve greatness. Keys song he thinks is his song, because it is a song for those who achieve greatness. He thinks again that even those who may have been born great or have greatness thrust upon them do have ups and downs experiences, known to them alone like the rich who also cries.
In the past, he has listened and loves Jimmy Cliff’s “Hard Road to Travel,” as a teenager, and he remembers the lines of the song, “I have got a hard road to travel and a rough way to go, I cannot turn back, my heart is fixed, my mind is made up, I all never stop, my mind is made up.” And “Oh, in my
eyes I see troubles and dangers for me; But destiny where it leads me, I must go.” Now listening to Keys “It took a long, long time to get here”; and “It is a while, I am not who I was before,” sums a transformation. And “If I talk a little louder; you will be happy to see me smile”, represents a wish to burst
out singing or inability to keep the story about the transformation and newness.
Unlike Cliff’s song that depicts any person in a struggle for a breakthrough, Keys’ song may be seen as an experience of a struggling girl, who finds freedom from an abnormal relationship, but nonetheless speaks to every struggling individual celebrating fulfillment.
In Ilibagiza’s case, the Rwandan genocide survivor who has seen humans cut in pieces like goats on a chopping board; lives to tell the story, and has
an experience of having been transformed from a Rwandan national to an American national could be rivetingly joyful. It is why Keys’ song resonates when she speaks about her experience on the CBS, after she has taken the oath as a new American citizen.
At a swearing-in-ceremony for new citizens reported by the CBS, Immaculee Ilibagiza, the Rwandan genocide survivor said,"I feel like a person that I am supposed to be." Meaning she is a brand new person, following rebirth of becoming a citizen of the U.S.
The first time this reporter heard Alicia Keys’ “Brand New Me” was in March 2013 when he had a school program on Sound clouds. He had clicked on a button for R&B and Soul in the Sound cloud platform on the internet, and Alicia Keys name emerged among the names of other artistes. He clicked on her name and a list of her songs that included “Brand New Me” popped up. The title of the song caught his attention, because he was undergoing an experience that depicted he was being born again after an excruciating life’s experience of poverty, deprivation, denials, betrayal and almost loss of humanity.
After a moment of soul searching about the connection between his own experience and the title of the song, he clicked the button for Play and listened with rapt attention. He was mesmerized by what he heard. “It has been a while, I am not who I was before,” she sings in the opening line. It is like the song’s opening line makes a direct reference to him that it has been a while and that he is no longer who he was before. “It took a long, long time to get here. Don’t be surprised if I talk a little louder. You will be happy to see me smile.” By the time he finished listening to the song, he felt that for a long time and for the first time, he has found a song that relates to his life’s experience.
Then, he embarks on another soul searching session. He feels that he is not wrong for having this feeling about his own life’s experience. He thinks
that every individual’s experience differs; some are lucky to have everything they want without any struggle, while others have to struggle to get what they want. He remembers Shakespeare’s words that some are born great, some have greatness thrust upon them and some achieve greatness. He feels again that he has no apology for belonging among those who achieve greatness. Keys song he thinks is his song, because it is a song for those who achieve greatness. He thinks again that even those who may have been born great or have greatness thrust upon them do have ups and downs experiences, known to them alone like the rich who also cries.
In the past, he has listened and loves Jimmy Cliff’s “Hard Road to Travel,” as a teenager, and he remembers the lines of the song, “I have got a hard road to travel and a rough way to go, I cannot turn back, my heart is fixed, my mind is made up, I all never stop, my mind is made up.” And “Oh, in my
eyes I see troubles and dangers for me; But destiny where it leads me, I must go.” Now listening to Keys “It took a long, long time to get here”; and “It is a while, I am not who I was before,” sums a transformation. And “If I talk a little louder; you will be happy to see me smile”, represents a wish to burst
out singing or inability to keep the story about the transformation and newness.
Unlike Cliff’s song that depicts any person in a struggle for a breakthrough, Keys’ song may be seen as an experience of a struggling girl, who finds freedom from an abnormal relationship, but nonetheless speaks to every struggling individual celebrating fulfillment.
In Ilibagiza’s case, the Rwandan genocide survivor who has seen humans cut in pieces like goats on a chopping board; lives to tell the story, and has
an experience of having been transformed from a Rwandan national to an American national could be rivetingly joyful. It is why Keys’ song resonates when she speaks about her experience on the CBS, after she has taken the oath as a new American citizen.