Inspired By: Greatdayndamornin' (Lyrical Walking)
'Inspired By' is a series of writings based on songs from various genres and eras. The writings explore the potential backstories and imagined events derived from the lyrics or musical arrangements.
In 2000, D’Angelo released one of the most definitive soul albums during modern times; modern times as in the last twenty five or thirty years. It’s not coincidental at all that the album was released at the top of the century like that and twenty-three years later, it still holds a power that most albums of that era can’t even attempt. Read on…
D’Angelo’s sophomore album, Voodoo, blessed us during a time when Black music was changing tremendously and we needed it as a reminder of a rich Black musical past. At the same time, we were all moving into a new century and managing the uncertainties and paranoia that came with that. If you were alive and cognizant at that time, remember how people thought the planes were going to fall out of the sky, the banks would fold, and the entire society was going up in flames and apocalyptic horror? Remember how tech people made a mint changing all the zeros to ones or whatever? Life went on, though and now we’re two decades in this thing.
I have no idea what I was doing in the year 2000, probably somewhere agonizing over my singleness as I approached thirty and witnessing all of my friends get married and start families. One thing’s for sure though. I was playing the whole hell outta the album, Voodoo. The entire CD served as a daily soundtrack for my living, specifically one song in particular, endearingly titled, ‘Greatdayndamornin’.
Elder Connection: The title of the song is actually a phrase used by Black elders/ancestors, primarily in the South, when expressing their exasperation with the stresses of daily living, somebody was getting on their nerves, or something like that. My grandmamas from Mississippi and Alabama used the phrase frequently. Example: “Why all these chirren out here doing all of this hollerin’? It’s too late in the evening for alla o’dis. Great day in the morning!”
Given that D’Angelo is from Virginia and grew up around some beautiful country folks like me, I’m pretty sure he’s heard this phrase over the course of his life. So, he was led by the ancestors to put his stellar songwriting gift to use in penning a tune that spoke to his life and mine, probably yours too. Over the course of twenty three years, this song has framed the goings-on in my life in such a way that I consider it thematic.
As a whole composition, the song sounds like a journal entry set to a fire ass bassline, organ chords, and Marvin Gaye-esque crooning. The first verse opens with D’Angelo setting an intention for his day; “Today, I play it safe. The cards are in my favor”. From there, he goes on to gather the lessons learned from having such a pissy day prior to the one he was currently facing. A piece of the first verse is also like a pep talk. One specific lyric resonates deeply with me. When it mentions that he’s suffered the consequences for attempting to understand the complexities of living, I might as well have a MLK church fan so I can wave it in the air and shout like a Baptist church mother.
You see, that’s how I’m wired. I have this tendency to pull life apart like some curious child sitting on the floor with some object that has lots of pieces to examine. In my searching of the deeper things of life; all of the ‘whys’ to the unfolding events that perplexed and vexed my soul, I found myself either learning things I was probably better off not knowing or something shook me to my core. Experience is the best (and sometimes worst) teacher. So, I know all too well about this price that D’Angelo mentioned. Now as the song moves into the second verse, D’Angelo is giving more of his pep talk to himself (and me) about continuing to stay focused on this complicated path to the higher calling on his life (and mine). The first lyric of the verse speaks to the inherited faith muscle and miracle working power we got as Black folks.
It’s the ‘don’t give up’ rooted in the vocal delivery of the whole verse but that lyric stands out the most for me. Throughout the rest of the song, D’Angelo opts to take us to church with adlibs and other loose sentences moving across the music. The chorus sums up the course of how this here living be doing us: “Good days, bad days, halfway days. Good times, bad times, halfway times. But I’m still looking for a greatdayndamornin”.
The Truth in the Song
Life isn’t flat and linear, although we would prefer that because it’s easiest. While our visions are given to us in full splendor, we don’t ever see the obstacles, the setbacks, and mistakes that pepper the journey to our specific Promised Land. These distractions and disruptions can have us second-guessing ourselves but the key is to keep our sights on the greatdayndamornin’.
The greatdayndamornin’ is that day when all things come together in a divinely orchestrated way. It’s the moment of victory that makes the strife worth it all. This song means so much to me because it is a recognition of how the struggle with the mundane interferes with striving towards the magnificent. It encompasses the frustration but determination to endure until that glorious moment arrives. The song is a gospel-tinged meditation of being informed by the past but inspired by the future. That’s why this song will continue to live rent-free within my soul.
Not So Fine Print: With the exception of the YouTube video, this is my creative work and I can prove it. I don’t mind you sharing but give credit where credit is due. Send them a link to this site. Encourage them to subscribe. But don’t take it and act like it’s yours. God don’t like ugly so if you steal any single word I wrote, your life will go awry. Trust me. My writing is conjure.