Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?

Mustabeen 13, 14 when I first heard "Troy" on the radio.
Guess right then and there this certain reflection came into my eyes with a strangely familiar sort of understanding.
Like when listening to "The Lion + The Cobra" something in me could "Listen to what I'm not saying".

These days a few more people on the world seem to "Fight the real enemy" ("and it's the Holy Roman Empire"). More than for example Sinéad 'round 1993. Back then she must have felt the punishments of the masses quite well, so to say. Damn, did it hurt me, too. Still we loved her version of Prince's song "Nothing Compares 2 U" and probably we love our "Emperor's New Clothes" even more!

A public confession: After Sinéad's release of her album "Am I Not Your Girl?", I sent her a letter. It was a response on the message written inside the booklet: "Où est le roi perdu? If you're out there I want to see you". I really dunnow the exact words in it anymore, but mustabeen quite naive and innocent, I fear (:
But my! When I was 6 I almost died, and on that particular moment the walls of my bedroom disappeared and such. I could see through them. From that moment on my soul started searching. At least from that moment on. And Sinéad's music seemed -and seems to resonate with this search, or this 'silent knowledge', or whatthefuck.

From halfway the nineties, the times I heard people say that they had lost their interest in Sinéad O'Connor's music and lyrics because "she wasn't this angry anymore", are countless.
I'm a street-musician. Most people just pass me by when I sing and play my songs softly, yet when I scream, let my anger speak, then suddenly more people like my music, they start smiling and such.

Sorry for my crap-english by the way.

I've also found big comfort in Sinéad's openness about her relationship with her own family. She and I sure aren't the only ones feeling cookoos every now and then. In my opinion Sinéad being a person heard (and hurt) by many people, right there took an emergent responsibility on her very own shoulders. Like she did more often... That's one of the reasons I have so much respect for her as a person and an artist. A little different from the next best Idol.

It seems I'm understanding less and less about what we call our "society": How much influence does that Roman Empire actually have on the way we think and thus on what our Western world looks like nowadays? Does it still take a whole village to raise one child? Or are the parents the only ones responsible for that? Or does our government, or church, own our children? And what about capitalism? Well, let's skip that last one. Think we all know (in one way or another)...

Although her 1994 album "Universal Mother" and the 1997 EP "Gospel Oak" were already covered with a very tasty Reggae-sauce, the (Eurythmics') Dave Stewart co-produced album "Faith and Courage", released in 2000, beat the Rastafari-drums, combined with the Irish whistles from O'Connor's roots.
And still "there is no famine", although many people are starving.

Maybe what she showed me most of all is the importance of being oneself, no matter what. Looks corny to me, reading this. But maybe, for example looking to Sinéad, speaking her mind through all these 25 years as an artist, although she knew some people didn't and do not want to hear her truth and want(ed) to hurt her for it. There's this saying "It's better to die on your feet than to live on your knees".

During my stay on Occupy Nijmegen, a few people and I had nice conversations about (and / or towards) God / Allah / Krsna / [...] and we started calling him O. Because it's what you say when you feel love or pain. Also because it's an eternal circle with a hole inside -and that's what it actually seems all about. But we cannot touch a hole, we can only point at it -or speak about the circle we drew around it: O. Or else, somebody preferring mathematics and stuff, she or he can just call it ZerO. Or empty: Ø.

Another confession: Having bought all her albums and loads of her singles, I still feel a bit ashamed I'm too poor now to buy her latest album so far: "How About I Be Me (And You Be You)?", so I'm happy there still is something like a library, offering us the chance to listen to our musicians anyway! Let's cherish those! And free internet for everybody! Isn't an "internet-democracy" an idea worth thinking about?
The people having lost interest in Sinéad becoming too sweet for their taste, they can be happy. She's screaming again, on her lovely new track "Take Off Your Shoes".
And don't worry others: O! Does she touch me singing with so much love and compassion, sharing her thoughts, doubts, questions and wisdom on beautiful melodies. Happy to see and hear John Reynolds plays his parts on this album again, too.
So why should I not take the oppurtunity to act like a hooker now, asking people who do can afford to buy her album, to please do so. It's worth the buy, 'though it won't instantly make you a "V.I.P." (:

Now Sinéad asks the people of Ireland if they have ever thought about committing suicide. The next taboo she "just" invites us to look at and reflect on. And O, look around, look at all the people in Greece and Italy, to name just two, suffering from hunger and thirst, having no proper and / or affordable health care anymore, living under the suppression of their governments and big companies. They're being treated like the hookers of their very own country -or some capitalist idea named after Europe -or so... Many people of today are committing suicide, because they cannot or do not WANT to cope with this pressure anymore. And I think that's very understandable.

Faith and courage!
O, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference, o.

Clearly my words have been unable to explain what I actually wanted to say. Then again, please read what I'm not writing...

Hoping and praying to O for many more songs from Sinéad O'Connor in a bright future for us all.
Insh'O!

Love,

pepé: lettermenger.