The great Ben Harper put “I’ll Rise” on his debut album in 1994. There may be no finer song to listen to on Martin Luther King Day, “Mississippi Goddam” included. (Well, maybe “Mississippi Goddam”, but….) Harper sings “you may shoot me with your words / You may cut me with your eyes / And I’ll rise, I’ll rise, I’ll rise.” The cadence, the call and the content of the song echo the musicality and muscle of Dr. King. It’s 3 minutes and 13 seconds you will never consider wasted. Listen:
Does my confidence upset you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
Cause I walk like I’ve got a diamond mine
Breakin up in my front yard
