Internationally touring, Atlanta based singer/song… Read Full Bio ↴DORIA ROBERTS BIO
Internationally touring, Atlanta based singer/songwriter Doria Roberts was born and raised in inner city Trenton, NJ but schooled in the neighboring yet decidedly more affluent Princeton, NJ. Her first introduction to music was her sisters vinyl record collection including the Brothers Johnson, Marvin Gaye, the Sugar Hill Gang and Ricki Lee Jones. A dancer from the age of 3, she was exposed to classical offerings during ballet class, ragtime during tap training and pop music in her modern jazz dance lessons. By age 10, she was starring in musicals in local childrens theater and choral productions once performing a lead role in Gilbert & Sullivans classic HMS Pinafore. At age 17, she produced her first event directing, staging, acting in, and even promoting the topically controversial play Laundry and Bourbon as part of her senior project.
By the time she was off to college, she had incorporated the likes of Public Enemy, De La Soul, and the uber literate hip hop of KRS One into her listening repertoire. While toiling away as a scholarship student at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in East Asian Studies (with side bars in linguistics, business and art history) and aspiring to be an executive art dealer in Tokyo, she discovered the power folk of the Indigo Girls, Bob Dylans and Joni Mitchells storytelling, the tortured brilliance of John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix, along with the quirky punk, tongue in cheek rebellion of Public Image Limited and black rock ska outfit Fishbone. And, like many women of her generation, she stumbled upon the rising star and fierce, feminist zeitgeist Ani DiFranco during an unplanned trip to a New York City dive.
However, Roberts was still only an observer and lover of music throughout college and didnt become a musician herself until senior year when a series of life changing events redirected her priorities. She picked up a roommates beer stained guitar for comfort and the lessons of the Tao Te Ching won over the Dow Jones. Eevntually, she embarked on her deeply personal though socially concious and committed musical path.
In 1999 (i.e. 6 years and 100 coffeehouses later), she won a slot to appear at Lilith Fair and was poised to sign a major label deal along with Atlanta based peers John Mayer and India Arie. However, a dubious piece of legislation changing copyright law in favor of the labels prompted the activist in Roberts to step away from potentially lucrative offers and release her own record. Though originally intending to simply wait out the storm, Roberts eventually found herself at the helm of her own label instead.
Since then she has released and self produced five independent and nationally distributed records on her imprint Hurricane Doria Records, has appeared at the internationally recognized Montreux Jazz Festival and has headlined Gay Pride events in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. She has also opened for or shared the stage with legendary folk singer Odetta, Janis Ian, the Indigo Girls, John Mayer, blues legends the Holmes Brothers, Chris Smither avant-garde R&B priestess Meshell Ndegeocello, world music darling Angelique Kidjo, the late poet laureate Gwendolyn Brooks, Pulitzer Prize winning author Alice Walker and many others.
In 2004, she was awarded both the Anderson Leadership Prize from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force and the Orfeo Musica Humanitarian Award from the Tupilak Arts Consortium-Nordic in Stockholm, Sweden. Both awards were given in recognition of her willingness to fuse her music with her activist work and for creating major performance opportunities and outlets for other independent artists and youth at risk. She was also nominated for the 2005 Collin Higgins Courage Award.
Currently, she is the sole producer of the 11 year old Queerstock Festival & Tour, the Black Eyed Susans Tribute Series and various other fundraising and awareness events.
Roberts has finally finished recording her sixth release and the CD entitles "Woman Dangerous" is out. It was recorded at the venerable Treesound Studios (Elton John, Outkast, Indigo Girls, Collective Soul, Usher) in Atlanta, GA and co-produced by Zack Odom. On this major indie effort, Roberts once again effortlessly and seamlessly melds her diverse musical heritage into a solid set of provocative musings on life and love and everything that happens in between.
Perfect
Doria Roberts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's take a picture now
I do not want to forget
The way you look at me when everything is perfect
A perfect memory of when things are so good
And everything has worked out just the way we knew it would
I bought a picture frame
I hold you close to my chest
Because I've made room in my heart
You ask me what I'm doing
I say displaying our love
I can see you when I'm awake and you're the one I'm dreaming of
I love the sun when it shines
I love the sky when it's blue
I love the color green
Because it reminds me of you
I've been thinking about you all night
A warm bed and a cozy fire
You put you arms around me and lift my head
And then you kiss me?
[Repeat entire song]
The song "Perfect" by Doria Roberts is a love ballad that speaks tenderly about capturing a moment of perfection and cherishing it forever. The song begins with the artist suggesting that they take a picture of themselves to preserve a moment that they don't want to forget. The picture is meant to capture the way the listener looks at the artist when everything is perfect - this could refer to a moment of contentment, deep love or simply a moment of happiness. The artist goes on to describe a feeling of perfection where everything has worked out exactly as they had planned, and they have a perfect memory of their love during this time. She even bought a picture frame and made room on the wall to display their love's captured memory.
As the song progresses, the listener gets a better sense of the artist's deep and intense love for her partner. The artist holds her partner close to her chest because she has made room in her heart for him. The listener can sense the intensity and depth of her love when she talks about displaying their love proudly (in the picture frame). She concludes the song by mentioning that she loves the color green because it reminds her of him, and the perfect night that they had spent together. The song is a beautiful ode to those perfect moments in life with a special someone that are worth cherishing.
Line by Line Meaning
Perfect
The song is titled 'Perfect'.
Let's take a picture now
The singer suggests taking a photo to capture this moment.
I do not want to forget
The singer wants to remember this moment forever.
The way you look at me when everything is perfect
The singer appreciates their partner's gaze when everything is going well.
A perfect memory of when things are so good
The singer wants to create a flawless memory of this perfect moment.
And everything has worked out just the way we knew it would
Everything has gone according to plan.
I bought a picture frame
The singer bought a photo frame to place the captured moment.
I made room on the wall
They made space on the wall to display the photo.
I hold you close to my chest
The singer hugs their partner tightly.
Because I've made room in my heart
The singer has made space in their heart for their partner.
You ask me what I'm doing
Their partner is curious about what they are doing.
I say displaying our love
The singer is exhibiting their love through the photo and the moment.
I can see you when I'm awake and you're the one I'm dreaming of
Their partner is always on their mind and even in their dreams.
I love the sun when it shines
The singer loves the bright and beautiful sun.
I love the sky when it's blue
The singer admires a clear and captivating sky.
I love the color green
The singer loves the color green.
Because it reminds me of you
Green is related to their partner, and they love it for that reason.
I've been thinking about you all night
The singer has been thinking about their partner the whole night.
A warm bed and a cozy fire
The singer is picturing a warm and cozy environment.
You put your arms around me and lift my head
Their partner hugs them and lifts their head.
And then you kiss me?
The singer concludes the song with a question, wondering if their partner will kiss them.
[Repeat entire song]
The song repeats from the beginning.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ORVILLE BURRELL, ROBERT MCDONALD LIVINGSTON, DAVID KELLY, MAXI ELLIOT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind