Born in McComb, Mississippi, Norwood was raised in Carson, California, beginning her career as a backing vocalist for teen groups. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1993, she released her self-titled debut album, Brandy, the following year, which sold six million copies worldwide. Norwood ventured into acting with the UPN sitcom Moesha (1996–2001), which won her an NAACP Image Award, and resulted in numerous other roles, such as the titular character in the television film Cinderella (1997) and Karla Wilson in the slasher film I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). Her musical breakthrough came with the wildly successful single "The Boy Is Mine" (1998), a duet with fellow R&B contemporary Monica, which went on to become one of the best selling female duets of all time. Her second album, Never Say Never, won Norwood her first Grammy Award. In 2002, Norwood starred in the reality series Brandy: Special Delivery, documenting the birth of her daughter. Her third and fourth albums, Full Moon (2002) and Afrodisiac (2004), were released to critical success.
Norwood served as a judge on the first season of America's Got Talent before being involved in a heavily publicized car accident in 2006. Norwood's fifth album, Human (2008), was released to positive reviews, although it was a commercial failure. In 2010, she returned to television as a contestant on the eleventh season of Dancing with the Stars and starred in the reality series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. She was a series regular in the BET series The Game (2012–2015) and released her sixth album Two Eleven (2012) thereafter, both earning her critical praise. In April 2015, Norwood made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. She starred in and executive produced a sitcom titled Zoe Ever After on BET which premiered in January 2016. In July 2020, Norwood released her seventh studio album, B7, also her first project as an independent artist, to critical acclaim. In 2021, Norwood starred alongside Naturi Naughton, Eve and Nadine Velazquez in American Broadcasting Company's music drama series Queens to critical acclaim.
In June 2022, Norwood announced her major label return after signing with Motown Records under which she is expected to preprare her eighth studio album.
Lucid Dreams
Brandy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I had to figure it out
Before I lose
Lose me to you
Feeling like I
Got demons to tame (illusions)
Maybe it's a daze
Gots worse all the time
I had to readjust
I got the feeling I didn't belong there
All alone here
I've been here before, ain't no secret
Guilt dealt me tragedy inside and made me alive
I wanted to die
'Til I realized my real life already left to deal with your broken self
You need you and I need me, too
Ooh, high
Chasin' sleep (sleep)
That's where I can see far
Feel you and only one
Lucid dream, lucid dream, abusing in the end
Oh, my Lord, I see a car
Used to write our name in car fog (more than you, more than me)
In the end
I've been here before, it ain't no secret
Guilt dealt me tragedy inside and made me alive
I wanted to die
'Til I realized my real life already left to deal with your broken self
You need you and I need me, too
Ooh, high
High
High
Oh, high
High
I been
Chasin' sleep (sleep)
That's where I can see far
Feel you and only one
Lucid dream, lucid dream, abusing in the end
Oh, my Lord, I see a car
Used to write our name in car fog (more than you, more than me)
In the end
In Brandy's song Lucid Dreams, the singer reflects on her inner demons and struggles for self-discovery. She acknowledges the destructive tendencies of her past behavior and warns herself that she is running out of chances before she loses herself entirely. She has already been dealing with guilt and tragedy but has found a way to keep herself alive. She seems to say she wants to wake up from her lucid dream to confront her life. The lyrics also speak to her real-life situations, where her partner's brokenness weighed her down, but she has come to terms with the fact that both she and her partner need to look out for themselves.
The chorus of the song speaks to her desire to achieve peace of mind, which she can only find by chasing sleep. In her sleep, she can see far and only feel one person. The bridge of the song talks about how she used to write her name and her partner's name on car fog, indicative of a loving relationship. However, the end seems to be different. It is as if she has woken up from her lucid dream, realizing that the relationship had become abusive.
Overall, Brandy's Lucid Dreams is an emotional reflection of one's internal struggle for self-discovery and awareness. The song is a reminder to be mindful of one's actions and decisions, for they shape the trajectory of one's life.
Line by Line Meaning
One more strike and I'm out
I have reached the limit, one more mistake and it's over.
I had to figure it out
I needed to find a solution.
Before I lose
Before I lose myself completely.
Lose me to you
Before I get lost in a relationship with you.
Feeling like I
Feeling like I am not in control.
Got demons to tame (illusions)
I am dealing with my inner demons and trying to separate reality from illusions.
Maybe it's a daze
It feels like a foggy state of mind.
Gots worse all the time
It's getting harder to deal with it.
I was always high
I was always chasing something to escape reality.
I had to readjust
I had to learn to cope without my addiction.
I got the feeling I didn't belong there
I felt like I didn't belong in that lifestyle anymore.
All alone here
I am alone in this journey of self-discovery.
I've been here before, ain't no secret
I have been in similar situations before and it's not a secret.
Guilt dealt me tragedy inside and made me alive
The guilt I feel inside has caused me pain and suffering but also made me more aware of my emotions.
I wanted to die
I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I wanted to end my life.
'Til I realized my real life already left to deal with your broken self
I need to focus on my own life as you have your own issues to deal with.
You need you and I need me, too
We both need to work on ourselves in order to be happy together.
Chasin' sleep (sleep)
I am chasing a state of relaxation in order to clear my mind.
That's where I can see far
It's in this state that I am able to see things more clearly.
Feel you and only one
I am longing for a specific person's touch and presence.
Lucid dream, lucid dream, abusing in the end
I am abusing the state of lucid dreaming, which is becoming unhealthy.
Oh, my Lord, I see a car
I am having a vision of a car, which could represent many things.
Used to write our name in car fog (more than you, more than me)
We used to do things together, but now it feels like it's more important to you than me.
In the end
Despite everything, it all ended up the same.
High
I am still feeling the effects of my addiction.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Akil King, Brandy Norwood, Darrhyl Camper Jr., Kim Krysiuk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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