About

“The LOVE Song”

I would have to rise at four o’clock to get ready for Sunday services and it was already midnight as I sat at the piano in somewhat of a quandary. I had completed the original version of “Teleprompter” but in my mind, the issue that prompted the song remained unresolved.  “Turn on the light… change the reel of this unreal movie.” How do we do that? How do we move from the confusion to the answer?

I sensed that I should make the shift harmonically and go from minor to major. I played an Eflat major seventh chord, the Heavens opened up and my heart began to sing, “Love, be encouraged. Love, will see you through… “

Sincerely, I could feel the tenderness of Marvin Gaye guiding not only the way I sang, but the way I played. My fingers played two more chords in succession that were also “very Marvin” in how they made me feel.  Of course!  LOVE is the answer to the question I had posed.  “LOVE, gives you courage. LOVE, mends your heart. LOVE, is the best thing. LOVE, you can’t go wrong with LOVE…”

The answer is elegant, simple and deeply profound.  And “The LOVE Song” was born.  Everyone loved “The LOVE Song” so much that we decided to name the whole project, “The LOVE Project.”  It is only fitting that “The LOVE Song” is dedicated to the memory of Marvin Gaye. Thank you, Marvin, we love you.  May your soul rest in Eternal JOY.

“We Let It Be”

This is probably the most loved and widespread song of all on “The LOVE Project.” Many people have recorded “We Let It Be,” used it in their church services or loaded it up on their iPods.  A solo version appears on the album, “Pray For Me” but “The LOVE Project” version really rocks hard with the Agape International Choir and a special contribution from TimMcAfee-Lewis.

“We let the LOVE wash over us, we let, we let it be.”

The closing chorus of the song came to me during my first trip to Brazil.  An Agape group of about 60 travelers made a trek to this very incredible country and visited Iguassu Falls, the place where the countries of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil come together in the largest waterfall in the world. The falls are vast and thunderously gush unbelievable volumes of water, the likes of which I had never seen.

Taking in the beauty of Iguassu, I began to wonder about a lot of things. 1) Couldn’t we do something better than shop to make a difference in people’s lives; 2) Why does it seem there isn’t enough resources to go around in Brazil;  and 3) Why was I there?

Observing the falls gushing so much water… water was everywhere, like oxygen in the Amazon rainforests, I had an insight that thereis no shortage of water. There is no shortage of any good thing.  And then the most serene feeling took me and I began to feel the love wash over me like the Iguassu Falls.  I began to cry and the song sang itself. I know it may sound corny  (I left out a few things ☺) but that’s what happened, y’all… for REAL for real.

I completed the verses on the way home to North America.  The ”Truth,” as mentioned in the song, kept telling me to sing of liberation and to let folks know that “LOVE’s the only answer.” Like the Iguassu Falls, I wanted “We Let It Be” to dynamically show the power of abundance and our acceptance of it. There IS more than enough for all. 

And should you find yourself in a different land, wanting to make a difference and shopping is the best you can do, just make sure that what you buy is made by people who are not enslaved - and - who receive just compensation for their work.

Checkout www.freetheslaves.net and www.hub.org - two great organizations that exist to make a difference in the lives of others all over the world. 

- Rickie BB