In the 2nd edition of Lit Music That Lifts, weโre uplifted by pop singer/songwriter Sia performing, โAlive.โ
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elcome to Lit Music That Lifts (LMTL), or Music Lifts ๐ถ ๐ for short! This column picks up where Sunday Refresh ๐ leaves off, yet it hits different.ย Like its predecessor, Music Lifts seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.ย Featured songs arenโt genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better โ be LIFTED to new heights!ย So, for the 2nd ย edition of Music Lifts ๐ถ ๐ (2022), we highlight ๐ต โAliveโ, ย as performed by ๐ Sia.โI was born in a thunderstorm / I grew up overnight,โ ๐ Grammy-nominated pop singer/songwriter ๐ Sia sings on ๐ต โAliveโ. She continues, adding, โI played alone, I played on my own / I survived.โ Thatโs sad. Sometimes, we must fight through adversity.ย โI saw my life in a strangerโs face,โ she asserts in the second verse, โAnd it was mine.โ Wow.ย In this powerful highlight from ๐ฟ This Is Acting (2016), Sia expresses her story of survival even with the odds stacked firmly against her (โI had a one-way ticket to a place where all the demons go / Where the wind donโt change / And noting in the ground can ever growโ). The authenticity is pronounced and quite relatable, all told.
Sia, known for her sharp pen, gets some assistance in the songwriting department.ย She wrote this uplifting, second track from This Is Acting alongside ๐ผ โ Adele (!) and ๐ผ โ Tobias Jesso Jr. ย From the production end of things, ๐ Jesse Slatkin helps to construct a powerful backdrop fitting for Siaโs distinct, commanding pipes.ย Those pipes shine brightest on the simple but fitting chorus.ย Here, Sia asserts, โIโm still breathing, Iโm still breathing / Iโm alive, Iโm alive.โ ย Itโs this resilience, despite many misadventures, trials, and tribulations, that makes โAliveโ so puissant.
๐ Sia โข ๐ฟ This Is Acting โข ๐ท RCA โข ๐ 2016
Sia, โAliveโ: Music Lifts ๐ถ ๐ No. 2 (2022) [๐ท: Arek Socha, Benjamin Balazs, Brent Faulkner, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Ketut Subiyanto, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, RCA]