Childhood memories. The white leggings, white socks, and white gloves brought everything back as the children ran onto the stage. I remember thinking that I was a good dancer during my childhood because I was always selected for the team for every lyrical dance. My older sister and I usually prided ourselves on the fact that our mother took us to the market to get new leggings and gloves each time we had a performance.
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Once, we were even taken outside church to dance at a convention, after which we were asked to kneel down so the ministering pastor could lay hands on us. I missed those good old days. As the intro of the popular song, He lives in you by Diana Ross began, I could hear people murmuring the lyrics, a soft smile touched my lips as the lyrics subconsciously came to mind too,
“Wait! There's no mountain too great,
Hear these words and have faith….” He Lives In You Lyrics - Diana Ross
I never really knew what they said at the end, I just sang whatever came to mind at every moment.
The girls on stage were pointing at the audience now, because the music had gotten to everyone's favorite part,
“He lives in you, Hela hey malema, Hela
He lives in me, Hela hey malema, Hela
He watches over, everything we see, (Hela hey malema, Hela)
Into the waters…….” He Lives In You Lyrics - Diana Ross
Diana Ross - He Lives In You (Full Screen)
At the end of the performance, I walked down the aisle along with several other people who appreciated the performance to spray some money on the children. They held their arms across each other's shoulders, unmistakable excitement displayed across their faces.
If there was anything I was grateful to my mom for, it was giving us the liberty to be children when we were much younger instead of caging us and asking that we behave maturely.
“Let them dirty themselves, that's why they are children” she would say when someone told her how dirty we were. She would encourage us to go out for school competitions if there was an opening and even teach us songs so we could sing every Sunday as our ‘special number’.
That was one of the things that made my siblings and I bold even as children.
When the presentation was over, I located my older brother who came late for the program. It seemed like everyone was just about the presentation the children did, especially since most of the adults there did the same presentation as children.
“I didn't even remember that such a song existed until today” my brother said when I asked him if he was around to see the presentation, “It reminded me of you and big sis. The dancers of the family, now the anointing has left you”
We both burst into hysterical laughter. I couldn't explain if it was because I didn't follow up my dancing as I began to outgrow doing lyrical dances in churches but at the moment, I couldn't even dance to save my life.
Since the song kept ringing in my head and bringing with it childhood memories, I decided to download the song with YouTube music so I could see the lyrics, especially the hum where I always sang whatever I felt like.
When I found the lyrics, I almost couldn't sing the song. It was completely different from what the song sounded like and what I had been singing all the years.
I used to think that it was “He lives in me, Hey oh….”
That day, I found out it was “He lives in you, Hela hey malema Hela” and I could barely even sing it to go with the tune. I decided that I was going to continue singing it the way I knew or the entire fun would be spoiled.
The unfamiliar lyrics made me curious about her and I discovered that she was an African-American singer and actress.
I didn't stop there, seeing that she was an actress made me even more curious so I decided to check out movies that she had featured in and her achievements. What I found out made my jaw drop.
She was not just an actor, she was a 12-tine Grammy-nominated singer and an Oscar-nominated actress and producer. Such excellence by one woman.
I immediately put her songs on repeat and began to scout for other songs. She was definitely one woman who would inspire me and I wanted to make sure I followed her immediately.
For the rest of that day, I spent my time going through Diana's playlist and seeing short clips of her on YouTube. I was grateful that I went for the children's day program no matter how childish it seemed because, for the first time since I heard the song, He Lives in you, I paid attention to the woman who sang it; one of the most exceptional, black women I had ever known.
