Strong | 5ive Songs

In the 71^st edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with being STRONG in some form or fashion.

Welcome to 5ive Songs, where we keep things short and sweet – no extra calories or needless fluff! There’s a theme/topic, five songs, and a short blurb.  Yes, it’s a playlist, but it’s a miniature playlist that shouldn’t take much time to consume.  On the 71^st edition of 5ive Songs (2022), we select five songs that are associated with being STRONG in some form or fashion.  Okay, let’s get into it!

1. Romy & Fred again.., “Strong”

🎵 “Strong” • 🏷 Young • 🗓 2022

Seven words: “You don’t have to be so strong.” That’s the chorus from 🎵 “Strong”, a collaboration between 🎙 Romy (Romy Madley Croft, known best as 1/3 of 🎙 the xx) and producer 🎙 Fred again... “Strong” is a vibe from the start with the enigmatic, lush pad. After about 20 seconds in, an infectious beat, and driving synths enter the mix. We get solid production work by Fred again.., Romy, and 🎛 Stuart Price. Even with so many driving rhythmic ideas, both Romy and Fred again.. do a nice job of providing contrast and eliminating predictability.

Romy delivers lovely vocals that are breathy and never overreach. While the lyrics seem secondary to some degree, there are some noteworthy moments and messages. In the first verse, Romy encourages, “Let me be someone / You can lean on / I’m right here…” In the second, she sings, “You carry so much on your own / if you need someone to lean on…”  Essentially, Romy is offering herself as a support to this person who’s had to be strong sans help, which is quite thoughtful and selfless. Well, Romy also would benefit.  Romy and Fred again. make a formidable team.  🎵 “Strong” is, by all means, a strong musical offering from these two musicians.  It’s picturesque, enjoyable, and soundly executed, all in all.

2. Ashford & Simpson, “Solid”

💿 Solid • 🏷 Capitol • 📅 1984

“We build it up / And build it up / And build it up.” Build what up, 🎙 Ashford & Simpson? Why, L-O-V-E, of course! The result of this build is something that can best be described as 🎵 “Solid”.  “Solid” appeared on the husband-wife duo’s 1984, 🏆 Grammy-nominated album, 💿 Solid. “Solid,” the single marked the iconic singer/songwriting duo’s biggest hit, peaking at no. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Likely, the record is the reason why the album earned the 🏆 Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocal.

It’s safe to say that the solidness – the solidarity – runs long. “Solid” runs north of five minutes in duration.  Even so, 🎙 Nickolas Ashford and 🎙 Valerie Simpson serve up ample musical excellence. The vocals are on-point, the production is exuberant, and the lyrics are – wait for it – SOLID! “You didn’t bat an eye / When I made you cry,” Ashford sings in the first verse, continuing, “We knew down the line / We would make it better.” Simpson, who handled much of the intro, holds down most of the pre-chorus, which focuses on building up that love. The chorus, as to be expected, is the centerpiece. it’s catchy as albeit – definitely solid as a rock!

“And now it’s solid
Solid as a rock
That’s what this love is
That’s what we’ve got, oh
Yes, it is
Solid
Solid as a rock
And nothing’s changed it, oh
The thrill is still hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot.”

Appears in 🔻:

• Ashford & Simpson, “Solid”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 115 (2022)

3. Dylan Scott, “Tough”

💿 Livin’ My Best Life • 🏷 Curb • 📅 2022

“Boy, I’ll teach you how to hunt / … Throw a fastball and catch a fish.”  Well, that sounds very country and southern, 🎙 Dylan Scott.  Furthermore, the country musician delivers 🎵 “Tough,” which appears on his 2022 album, 💿 Livin’ My Best Life, with ample twang. Scott places an emphasis on masculinity, concluding the first verse with the assertion, “I’ll teach you how to be tough.”

While Scott emphasizes traditional, male values, he changes the direction you expect the song to go.  In the chorus, the toughness is derailed! Dylan tells his son, he can’t prepare him for love, potential heartbreak, and, perhaps the scariest of all, marriage.  In the first chorus, he sings, “But when she walks in, she’ll mess you up / She’ll make you wanna learn to dance and go clean out your truck” – heaven forbid! He continues, “You’re gonna think you’re strong enough / But when she looks you in the eyes and tells you she’s in love / Well, good luck being tough.”  He’s got a point 💪!

4. Mary J. Blige, “Mighty River”

💿 Mudbound • 🏷 Netflix / Milan • 📅 2017 

“Life is a teacher, time is a healer / And I’m a believer like a river wild.” Yes, yes, yes 🙌! 🏆 Grammy-winning R&B musician 🎙 Mary J. Blige had a fantastic 2017-18 – outside of an underperforming album, 💿 Strength of a Woman, that is.  She was nominated for multiple supporting acting awards for her role in the film,  🎦 Mudbound.  In addition to 🏆 Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for the character Florence Jackson, she also earned nods as a songwriter and performer of 🎵 “Mighty River.” 

“Mighty River” serves as the centerpiece of the Mudbound soundtrack. Blige is dynamic, powerful, and emotionally charged in this marvelous opener.  She penned “Mighty River” alongside 🎼 ✍ Raphael Saadiq and 🎼 ✍  Taura Stinson.  As the excerpted lyrics from the first verse suggest, the lyrics are empowering and uplifting.  In the pre-chorus, Blige sings, “White flag in hand, I don’t wanna fight / No lines in the sand, I’m on your side / Invisible, no color life / It’s time we put our, put our, put our differences aside.” Say that, MJB! The centerpiece – the crowning achievement – is the chorus (and post-chorus), in all its spiritedness!

“Time tells no lies

It keeps changing, and ticking, and moving, then passes by

But if you’re lucky, it will be kind

Like a river flowing through time

(Like a river) let it wash you clean

(Mighty river) going up stream

(Like a river) cutting through right

(Mighty river) ‘cause it never gives up…”

Appears in 🔻:

• Bask in These 13 Wet River Songs

5. Whitney Houston, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”

 💿 I Look To You • 🏷 Arista • 📅 2009

“I didn’t know my own strength / And I crashed down, and I tumbled, but I did not crumble / I got through all the pain,” the late, great 🎙 Whitney Houston sings on the resilient, uplifting ballad, 🎵 “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”.  She continues singing in the centerpiece, the chorus, “I didn’t know my own strength / Survived my darkest hour, my faith kept me alive / I picked myself back up, hold my head up high / I was not built to break.” Those are truly lovely, inspired words. “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” was penned by one of the greatest songwriters of all time, 🎼 ✍ Diane Warren.  Producer extraordinaire 🎛 David Foster produced this highlight from Houston’s final studio album, 💿 I Look To You. Strength is a synonym to energy in regard to power (the ability to exert effort for the accomplishment of a task).

Despite adversity, Whitney Houston found a way to overcome the obstacles in her life.  Of course, this song doesn’t have to represent the iconic musician – it can represent any and everybody.  We’ve all “had nowhere to turn… nowhere to go” and “Lost sight of [our] dreams,” but that doesn’t mean it was the end or impossible to overcome.  Even if things seem their bleakest, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” speaks about digging deeper – finding strength and a will to make it that we neglected to see before.  When you overcome that hurdle that lies before you, you’ll be able to testify, like Houston, that “I found the light to my life way out of the dark / Found all that I need, here inside of me.” R.I.P Queen!

Appears in 🔻:

• Whitney Houston, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 24 (2022)

Strong: 5ive Songs No. 71 (2022) [📷: Arista, Brent Faulkner, Capitol, Clovis Cheminot, Curb, mahmood sufiyan via Pexels, Milan, The Musical Hype, Netflix, OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay, Young]