Music Review: B*Witched "I Shall Be There"
B*Witched
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I Shall Be There
Album: Awake & Breathe
Year: 1999
Edele Lynch imagines being in a utopia in the strange ballad “I Shall Be There.”
Birds chirping, swelling strings and the African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo mediating open the single, setting a spiritual tone. In the first verse, she says he can open his eyes to a peaceful place. There, the wind guides people to their next dream. She says they pictures themselves sprouting wings, fleeing the murky world they inhabit. Their daily stresses will be a memory.
In the pre-chorus, she says he will know where she is by seeing inside her heart.
In the chorus, she says she will be living in the utopia they created. She asks him if he will join her and keep her company.
In the second verse, as choir pray to nature, she says it’s a quiet place where the surreal exists. She says the nighttime skies rotate the mountains, changing the view. The sun will maintain the ocean water, keeping it at a comfortable temperature.
The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.
In the bridge, the choir prays to nature again. Lynch promises she will be living there soon and says it will be a wonderful life.
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
Lynch is ready to leave the real world behind and enter the pretend one. The quiet hum of the birds, the choral howls of the wind and the swishing ocean wash away the black marks tattoed on her life back home. It’s a place she wants to stay forever with a companion – her boyfriend. Together, they can forget their responsibilities and be free.
Lynch’s infantile, squeaky vocals are cloying and oblivious. She really believes the utopia is out there and it will be an effortless adventure to get there. Unfortunately, her belief is held so strongly that to break it would be cruel. Her childish vocals put her at a disadvantage. It’s as though she’s confusing fantasy with reality instead of simply musing about life somewhere else. Except she’s extremely naïve and out of it.
The earthy arrangement is angelic and placid, yet it’s polluted by the twinkling guitars and foamy strings. Ladysmith Black Mamboza and B*Witched are an odd pairing that crashes, instead of blending together.
It’s great the band tried something new but the disjointed “I Shall Be There” styles are divided and not joined.
Album: Awake & Breathe
Year: 1999
Edele Lynch imagines being in a utopia in the strange ballad “I Shall Be There.”
Birds chirping, swelling strings and the African choir Ladysmith Black Mambazo mediating open the single, setting a spiritual tone. In the first verse, she says he can open his eyes to a peaceful place. There, the wind guides people to their next dream. She says they pictures themselves sprouting wings, fleeing the murky world they inhabit. Their daily stresses will be a memory.
“Awaken, breathe/Hear the calling in the wind/The voice, it's saying/A journey must begin/We'll fly like a bird/In a scattered cloudy sky/Leave aside the city worries/It's just a minute away.”
In the pre-chorus, she says he will know where she is by seeing inside her heart.
“In my heart I'll paint a picture/And I swear it's where I'll be oh!”
In the chorus, she says she will be living in the utopia they created. She asks him if he will join her and keep her company.
“I shall be there (be there yeah!)/Will you be there?/I shall be there (be there yeah!)/Will you be there too?”
In the second verse, as choir pray to nature, she says it’s a quiet place where the surreal exists. She says the nighttime skies rotate the mountains, changing the view. The sun will maintain the ocean water, keeping it at a comfortable temperature.
“Come and look in silence/Believe in what you see (In a place like this)/The starry skies can move the mountains/The sun will warm the sea.”
The pre-chorus and chorus are sung again.
In the bridge, the choir prays to nature again. Lynch promises she will be living there soon and says it will be a wonderful life.
“I shall be there/We will be, we will be.”
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
Lynch is ready to leave the real world behind and enter the pretend one. The quiet hum of the birds, the choral howls of the wind and the swishing ocean wash away the black marks tattoed on her life back home. It’s a place she wants to stay forever with a companion – her boyfriend. Together, they can forget their responsibilities and be free.
Lynch’s infantile, squeaky vocals are cloying and oblivious. She really believes the utopia is out there and it will be an effortless adventure to get there. Unfortunately, her belief is held so strongly that to break it would be cruel. Her childish vocals put her at a disadvantage. It’s as though she’s confusing fantasy with reality instead of simply musing about life somewhere else. Except she’s extremely naïve and out of it.
The earthy arrangement is angelic and placid, yet it’s polluted by the twinkling guitars and foamy strings. Ladysmith Black Mamboza and B*Witched are an odd pairing that crashes, instead of blending together.
It’s great the band tried something new but the disjointed “I Shall Be There” styles are divided and not joined.