Like her Christian music peers Jaci Velasquez, Stacie Orrico, Rebecca St. James, and Rachael Lampa, Alli Rogers was poised for success at an early age. After winning a talent contest at AtlantaFest, the 16-year-old artist signed to Word Records and worked on her long-awaited debut. Before the album would ever see the light of day, however, Word was absorbed by Time Warner, and Rogers' major-label hopes came to a screeching halt when she was dropped from the roster after a host of personnel changes.
But she didn't let that keep her from making music for long. Rogers teamed up with friend Donnie Boutwell to write and co-produce her well-crafted debut, Always Eden, 11 tracks showcasing Rogers' lovely voice and poetic songwriting. For added accessibility and variety, Bebo Norman also sang a few background vocals that enhanced the album's overall vibe.
Now a little more than a year later, Rogers returns with her sophomore effort, The Day of Small Things, a disc that provides further evidence of the beauty of simplicity. The theme of "enjoying simple things of life" also extends to her songwriting as well.
"It's hard for me to work hard at the small things, the menial tasks, when I can't see the outcome, says Rogers. "I think a lot of people relate to that. When I was looking at the handful of songs I'd been writing, this theme seemed to stand out. The album is about looking past the daily, mundane things and seeing eternal purposes. It worked out well because I had been really inspired by Zechariah 4:10."
With a sound that would make any fan of Patty Griffin or Jonatha Brooke proud, Rogers' vocals are the real standout on the project, particularly on these lyrics on the title track: "You've shown me that we're never alone/And your Spirit will stay by our side/So I won't despise the day of small things."
While Always Eden was a little more introspective, The Day of Small Things has more of a universal message, particularly on a track titled "Hope," which Rogers wrote after seeing victims' pleas for help in the wake of tragedies like the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. "We need to be passionate about bringing hope to people who don't have it, which is the actual definition of poverty," Rogers affirms. "I wanted to write a song that shares that everyone, from the richest of souls to those that are covered in poverty, we all need the hope that is found in Christ."
For more information about Alli Rogers, visit www.allirogers.com.
Eden
Alli Rogers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tonight, I feel lonely
I thought I heard my heart stop beating
I long for you to hold me
I guess I feel like Eden
The twilight tried it's best
Tonight I feel good and evil
Would I love you less or better
If I didn't miss your face
Read your words like a love letter
Would I have known your grace?
I guess I feel like Eden
Aware of all I am
Tonight I feel good and evil
Against my skin
We're all homesick
Is love the reason?
My hunger led me to your hope
Until the end of this colder season
Keep us warm
Cause we are always Eden
The day after she fell
We feel good and evil
And choose which one to tell
The lyrics to Alli Rogers’s song Eden discuss the theme of looking for comfort and love in an atmosphere that feels lonely and inhospitable. The song welcomes listeners to join the singer as they speak about their longing for someone to hold them close, while they feel alone in the face of the encroaching darkness. The feeling of loneliness is heightened by the image of her heart stopping, showing just how much she needs someone in her life. In the heartfelt chorus, she talks about feeling like she's in Eden, the place where human beings had once known love and connection with each other and nature, which has now been lost.
The singer questions how her feelings of love would have changed if she had never known the person she longs for. She wonders if her love for them would have been less or more significant if she had never experienced their absence. That sudden realization of the depth of her love for the person and the recognition of their grace hit her like a wave, making her feel emotionally overwhelmed. Throughout the verse, she continues to discuss feeling like Eden, aware of all that she is, and feeling both good and evil against her chest and skin, implying that the person she is longing for means everything to her.
Overall, the song Eden is an emotional and introspective piece of music that delivers a universal appeal. Each person listening can relate to the theme of longing and homesickness for someone, for someplace that feels safe, and ultimately for love. The beautiful melody and sweet vocals of Alli Rogers embody the spirit of the song, making it an appealing piece of music that resonates within the hearts of listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight at the end of light
I feel lonely tonight as the day draws to a close.
I thought I heard my heart stop beating
I long for comfort, and I am already feeling down or depressed.
Tonight, I feel good and evil against my chest
I am feeling mixed emotions, perhaps like good and evil, that are unsettling and uncomfortable.
I guess I feel like Eden, the twilight tried its best
I am uniquely self-aware of my emotions and feel like I am in paradise but also experiencing painful trials, like in the Biblical story of The Garden of Eden.
Would I love you less or better if I didn't miss your face
I wonder how my feelings for someone might change if I didn't long for their physical presence.
Read your words like a love letter, would I have known your grace?
I wonder if I would fully recognize the beauty and kindness in someone else's words if I didn't know them intimately and feel extra attached to them.
We're all homesick, is love the reason?
Everyone experiences a sense of longing or loneliness, and I wonder if it is because we all crave love and affection.
My hunger led me to your hope, until the end of this colder season, keep us warm
I feel like I am searching for something that will soothe me during a hard time, and I hope that the person I love can provide that comfort for me and keep our relationship strong and loving.
Cause we are always Eden, the day after she fell
We all carry a sense of longing and unfulfilled potential, like in the Biblical story of The Garden of Eden, and I feel like I am constantly experiencing this limbo of paradise after its fall.
We feel good and evil, and choose which one to tell
We are constantly experiencing a range of emotions and sometimes choose to act on or acknowledge the dark or bright ones, depending on what we think is right.
Contributed by Aaliyah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.