She absorbed musical skill early in life, encouraged by both parents: her mother, Joyce, herself a former singer, and now India Arie's stylist; and her father, former ABA and NBA basketball player Ralph Simpson (not former NBA star player Ralph Sampson, as has been mistakenly reported in some media). She had taken up a succession of musical instruments throughout her schooling in Denver, Colorado, but her interest in the guitar while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design led to a personal revelation about songwriting and performing. "When I started tapping into my own sensitivity, I started to understand people better. It was a direct result of writing songs," she said at the press release of her debut album, Acoustic Soul.
Co-founding the Atlanta-based independent music collective GroovmentEarthseed (Groovement was the collective artists' name and Earthshare was their independent label name), her one-song turn on a locally released compilation led to a second-stage gig at the Lilith Fair. Their Universal Records/Motown music scout spotted her and made an introduction to Motown CEO Kedar Massenburg. Sidestepping all the devices of flavor-of-the-month record-making, Acoustic Soul acquainted listeners with a brave and eloquent new voice, drawing an uncommonly broad swath of listeners from hip-hop, the so called neo-soul, blues, folk, and classic troubadour-style singer/songwriting, all at once. The album, released in 2001, debuted at number ten on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and number three on the R&B album chart. Within months, without the concentrated radio play that typically powers pop and rap albums, Acoustic Soul was certified double-platinum.
India.Arie also features on Stevie Wonder's album A Time To Love which was released on October 18, 2005. India.Arie and Stevie Wonder duet on the title track "A Time To Love" that India wrote, which was nominated in the 2006 forty-eighth Grammy Awards, for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration with Vocals.
On the September 2005 premiere of The Tyra Banks Show, Arie performed "Just 4 2day". She wrote this song especially for Tyra's show. Arie also wrote "What About the Child", a song that did not air but was made available as a $1 internet download to support child victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Voyage to India
India.Arie followed the success of her debut in 2002 with the release of Voyage to India. Debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B chart, the album eventually earned a 2003 Grammy for Best R&B Album. The single "Little Things" also won a 2003 Grammy for Best Urban/Alternative Performance. Soon after its release, Voyage to India was certified gold; and it was certified platinum on Friday 4 August 2006.
Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship
India.Arie's third studio album, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, was released on June 27, 2006. Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship gave India.Arie her first number-one on the Billboard 200 and was her second chart-topper on the U.S. R&B album chart. This album was also the first #1 album for the Motown record label in 33 years since Diana Ross's #1 Lady Sings the Blues Its first week sales of 161,000 copies is Arie's best sales week to date and was certified gold on Friday, August 4, 2006.
Testimony: Vol. 2, Love & Politics was released on Tuesday, February 10, 2009.
Songversation (2013)
Christmas with Friends (2015)
Worthy (2019)
Get It Together
India.Arie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one has the power to hurt you like your kin
Kept it inside, didn't tell no one else
Didn't even want to admit it to yourself
And now your chest burns and your back aches
From 15 years of holding the pain
And now you only have yourself to blame
If you continue to live this way
Get it together
You want to heal your body
You have to heal your heart
Whatsoever you sow you will reap
Get it together
You can fly fly
Dark future ahead of me
That's what they say
I'd be starving if I ate all the lies they fed
'Cause I've been redeemed from your anguish and pain
A miracle child I'm floating on a cloud
'Cause the words that come from your mouth
You're the first to hear
Speak words of beauty and you will be there
No matter what anybody says
What matters most is what you think of yourself
Get it together
You want to heal your body
You have to heal your heart
Whatsoever you sow you will reap
Get it together
The choice is yours
No matter what it is
To choose life is to choose to forgive
You don't have to try
To hurt him and break his pride
To shake that weight off
And you will be ready to fly
One shot to your heart without breaking your skin
No one has the power to hurt you like your friends
Thought it will never change but this time moved on
An ugly duckling grew up to be a swan
And now your chest burns and your back aches
Because now the years are showing up on your face
But you're never be happy
And you'll never be whole
Until you see the beauty in growing old
Get it together
You want to heal your body
You have to heal your heart
Whatsoever you sow you will reap
Get it together
You want to heal your body
You have to heal your heart
Whatsoever you sow you will reap
Get it together
Ooh
You can fly fly fly fly
You can live or you can die
You know that life is a choice you make
You can give or you can take
You can fly fly fly fly
The song "Get It Together" by India.Arie is a powerful message about healing from emotional pain and overcoming self-doubt. The first verse talks about the lasting impact that family can have on someone, often hurtful and difficult to escape. The singer urges the listener to confront their pain, expressed in the lines "kept it inside, didn't tell no one else, didn't even want to admit it to yourself." The chorus is a call to action, an urging to "get it together" and begin the process of healing and self-discovery.
The second verse is about facing down negative messages and self-doubt, and recognizing that "the words that come from your mouth, you're the first to hear." The singer explains that they've overcome those negative messages and that "I'd be starving if I ate all the lies they fed," indicating that self-doubt and external criticism can be overcome. The bridge of the song is a reminder that the choices we make define us, and that forgiveness and moving forward can be liberating. The final verse brings a hopeful message that it's never too late to begin healing, and that there is beauty in growing old.
Line by Line Meaning
One shot to your heart without breaking your skin
Your family members can emotionally wound you more than anyone else without even physically harming you.
No one has the power to hurt you like your kin
Your close family members can hurt you the most.
Kept it inside, didn't tell no one else
You have been bottling up the pain inside you and have never shared it with anyone.
Didn't even want to admit it to yourself
You have been denying your pain and hiding from it, even from yourself.
And now your chest burns and your back aches
You are feeling the physical pain from the emotional burden you have been carrying for more than a decade.
From 15 years of holding the pain
You have been carrying the pain for as long as 15 years.
And now you only have yourself to blame
If you don't take action to fix the pain, the responsibility lies solely on you.
If you continue to live this way
If you don't change your ways and heal your pain, this suffering will continue indefinitely.
Get it together
Take action and get your life together by healing your emotional scars.
You want to heal your body
Healing your emotional wounds is essential for physical well-being.
You have to heal your heart
To lead a happy and fulfilling life, you need to fix the emotional pain you are carrying in your heart.
Whatsoever you sow you will reap
The quality of your life depends on what you put into it.
The choice is yours
It is up to you to decide how you want to live your life.
No matter what it is
Whatever the circumstance is, you have the power to change your life for the better.
To choose life is to choose to forgive
Choosing to live life to its fullest means forgiving those who have hurt you in the past.
You don't have to try
Forgiving those who wronged you doesn't have to be difficult.
To hurt him and break his pride
Seeking revenge and causing pain to others will only perpetuate your own suffering.
To shake that weight off
By forgiving and moving on, you can free yourself from the weight of emotional pain and suffering.
And you will be ready to fly
Once you let go of the past and heal your emotional pain, you will be free to live a fulfilled life.
Thought it will never change but this time moved on
You thought your situation would never change, but time has moved forward and so can you.
An ugly duckling grew up to be a swan
Just like a swan, you have transformed from an unattractive situation to a beautiful life by healing your emotional pain.
Because now the years are showing up on your face
Your unresolved emotional pain is now physically manifesting itself as signs of aging on your face.
But you're never be happy
Until you heal and move on from your emotional pain, you will never be truly happy.
And you'll never be whole
Without healing your emotional pain, there will always be a part of you that remains incomplete.
Until you see the beauty in growing old
Only when you find peace and happiness within will you realize the beauty in growing older.
Ooh
An emotional response expressing the importance of healing our emotional scars.
You can fly fly fly fly
By healing from your emotional pain, you will finally be free to soar and live the life you deserve.
You can live or you can die
You can choose to live your life fully, or let your emotional pain and suffering consume you, leading to a life of misery.
You know that life is a choice you make
You have the power to dictate the quality of your life by the choices you make.
You can give or you can take
In life, you can choose to give love, happiness, and kindness, or take selfishly and live a life devoid of meaningful connections.
Lyrics © TUNECORE INC, TuneCore Inc., BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: India Arie, Andrew Ramsey, Shannon Sanders, Dana Johnson, Mel Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind