Song Lyric Sunday — “The Music is the Magic”

Last week I actually guessed the theme for today’s Song Lyric Sunday would be “hidden.” I never saw Helen Vahdati’s confirmation of my guess, so I was as surprised as anyone else that the theme is hide/hiding/hidden. Had I known that a week ago, I probably would have chosen quickly, written, and scheduled to publish automatically today. I’m glad I didn’t because I found jazz singer, songwriter, actress, civil rights activist Abbey Lincoln.

Born in 1930, one of the youngest of 12 siblings, she taught herself to play piano by listening to records her handyman father borrowed from neighbors. Those Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughn albums were her early influences. Holiday’s influence, especially, is easily heard in “The Music is the Magic.” Considered by many to be “the musical successor to Billie Holiday,” she eschewed jazz conventions like scat and improvisation. Like Holiday, she emphasized song lyrics, imbuing the words with emotion. She wrote her first of 80 songs when she was 40, primarily because she was dissatisfied with singing romantic standards. She wanted to sing songs reflecting her values, beliefs, and experiences. Her stage persona evolved from Marilyn Monroe-esque to a woman more like herself: confident, self-assured, and proud of her cultural heritage.

Abbey Lincoln wrote “The Music is the Magic,” released in 1992.

When everything is finished in a world, the people go to look for what the artists leave. It’s the only thing that we have really in this world — is an ability to express ourselves and say, “I was here.”

— Abbey Lincoln

“The Music is the Magic”

The music is the magic of a secret world,
Secret world, a secret world.
It’s a world that is always within.

The music is the magic and the hiding place
The hiding place, the hiding place
The music is the magic and the hiding place
It’s a place where the spirit is home.

The music is the magic of a sacred world,
Sacred world, a sacred world.
The music is the magic of a sacred world,
It’s a world that is always within.

The music is the magic through a raging storm
A raging storm, raging storm
The music is the magic through the raging storm
The storm that is over again.

The music is the magic of a sacred world,
Sacred world, a sacred world.
The music is the magic of a sacred world,
It’s a world that is always within.