In 2007 the band played at California's largest free festival, opened for Ziggy Marley and took the second place prize at Southern California's Battle of the Bands hosted by BB King's Blues Club in Hollywood. Of 200 bands and artists in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Louis Obispo Counties, Balli and the band recently took home the first place prize at The Santa Barbara Independent's Road to West Beach - Battle of the Bands. Balli also headlined California's Largest Free Festival, The Avocado Festival, in October of 2008.
Dominic Balli has shared the stage with such names as Ziggy Marley, Natasha Beddingfield, Jazon Mraz, Big Head Todd and the Monsters, George Clinton and the P-Funk, Jeremy Camp, Christafari, Phil Wickham, Paul Wright, and KJ52, (to name a few) and recently collaborated with Speech of the Grammy Award winning Arrested Development to release a song for Balli's debut album Public Announcement. Balli has toured the U.S. and Brazil extensively.
In 2008 Dominic Balli's first full length album Public Announcement was released and has since been featured on the Reggae homepage of iTunes, and has consistently been among the world's top 100 reggae albums.
Babies
Dominic Balli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then hope, peace, no more suffering
And it's all we'll ever know
But when you loose your own the notes all sound the same
The strings all play same
Still my heart
Remains in pain
I'm living for the day when my eyes be fixed upon sweet Zion
Then my strength shall
Remain in God alone
All I've been living for I'll hold
Yeah I'll hold you and I'll never go away
I'll never go away
They took your picture
We hung dem pictures
And your big sister waitin for her brothers, Zion and Hezekiah
Daddy and Momma, Grandma and Grandpa, Nani and Papa, Mama and Tata been waiting for ya
How could our babies go away
Chorus: We're living for the day when our eyes be fixed
Upon sweet Zion
Then my strength shall remain in God alone
All I've been living for I'll
Hold
Until then I'm living for the day when my eyes be fixed upon sweet Zion
Then my
Strength shall remain in God alone
All I've been living for I'll hold
Yeah I'll hold you and
I'll never go away
I'll never go away
We'll never go away
And you'll never go way
Vocals: Dominic Balli, Emily Balli
Guitar: Dominic Balli
Cello: Jenny Dolkas
Violin: Bridget Dolkas
Percussion and Drum Programming: Dominic Balli, Chris Jenkins
The song "Babies" by Dominic Balli explores the theme of life, death, eternity, and hope. The song opens with an acknowledgment that life is made up of the three stages: Life, Death, and Eternity. While we understand that hope, peace, and no more suffering are the eventualities of eternity, the pain of losing a loved one lingers on. The second stanza captures the immensity of the pain and how, in such moments, everything sounds the same, and the heart remains in pain despite repeated efforts to soothe it.
The chorus of the song provides a glimpse of a future hope that the singer lives for, when the eyes will be fixed upon Sweet Zion, and their strength shall remain in God alone. The reference to Zion in this song is symbolic of heaven, and the singer aspires to be with their babies to hold them once again. The verse that follows highlights the grief of the family left behind and the emptiness they have to endure.
In conclusion, "Babies" by Dominic Balli is a song of remembrance, loss, and hope. The lyrics and the music resonate with anyone who has lost someone close and yet is holding on to the hope of a better tomorrow when all shall be united. It is a song that provides comfort in dark moments and inspires us to keep on living until we are reunited with our loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Life, Death, Eternity
The concepts of life, death, and eternity are all we know.
Then hope, peace, no more suffering
These are the things we hope for after death, a peaceful end to suffering.
And it's all we'll ever know
Our understanding of life and death is all we can ever truly comprehend.
But when you loose your own the notes all sound the same
When you lose someone close to you, everything else feels irrelevant and unimportant.
The strings all play same
Life goes on, but it feels dull and repetitive without the person you have lost.
Still my heart Remains in pain
Despite the passage of time, the pain of losing a loved one remains.
Chorus: I'm living for the day when my eyes be fixed upon sweet Zion Then my strength shall Remain in God alone All I've been living for I'll hold
The singer longs for the day when they will reunite with their loved ones in heaven, and they trust in God's strength to carry them through until that day.
Yeah I'll hold you and I'll never go away I'll never go away
The artist promises to hold onto the memory of their loved one and never forget them.
They took your picture We hung dem pictures And your big sister waitin for her brothers, Zion and Hezekiah Daddy and Momma, Grandma and Grandpa, Nani and Papa, Mama and Tata been waiting for ya How could our babies go away
The family of the lost child is left wondering how they could be taken away, and they hold onto pictures and memories of the child.
Chorus: We're living for the day when our eyes be fixed Upon sweet Zion Then my strength shall remain in God alone All I've been living for I'll Hold Until then I'm living for the day when my eyes be fixed upon sweet Zion Then my Strength shall remain in God alone All I've been living for I'll hold
The family continues to live with the hope of reuniting with their loved ones in heaven, and they trust in God's strength to carry them through until that day.
Yeah I'll hold you and I'll never go away I'll never go away We'll never go away And you'll never go way
The family promises to always hold onto the memory of their loved one and never forget them, even though they are separated by death.
Contributed by Amelia I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.