Legend also played the piano on Lauryn Hill's 1998 song "Everything is Everything" and sang background vocals on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". Legend frequently cites gospel, R&B, and hip hop music as his main musical influences.
Legend released his critically acclaimed and Billboard Top Ten second album, Once Again, in October 2006. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, Kanye West and will.i.am, it is again a mixture of gospel and classic soul showcasing his extraordinary voice, particularly on "Show Me".
Grammy Award Wins:
*2005 Best New Artist
*2005 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Ordinary People"
*2005 Best R&B Album- Get Lifted
*2007 Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Heaven
*2007 Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: Family Affair
Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. Born John Stephens, Legend was a child prodigy who grew up in Ohio, where he began singing gospel and playing piano at the tender age of five. Legend left Ohio at 16 to attend college in Philadelphia, and it was there that he first found a larger audience. Not yet out of his teens, Legend was tapped to play piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything" in 1998. After completing college, he moved to New York, where he began to build a loyal following playing in nightclubs and releasing CDs that he would sell at shows. He also became an in-demand session musician, playing and occasionally writing for a wide array of artists, including Alicia Keys, Twista, Janet Jackson, and Kanye West. It wasn't until West signed the young talent to his new label that he adopted the Legend name with 2004's Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory. Get Lifted, his first studio album, was released later in the year. On the strength of enduring single "Ordinary People," the album reached the Top Five of the Billboard 200. This led to three Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist. Once Again, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, followed in October 2006. Live from Philadelphia, sold exclusively at Target stores, was a successful stopgap release that predated October 2008's Evolver.
Preach
John Legend Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything is broken
Turnin' off my phone just to get out of bed
Get home every evening
And history's repeating
Turning off my phone 'cause it's hurting my chest
Aye
But what can I do?
I can't see the use in me crying
If I'm not even tryna make the change I wanna see
I can't sit and hope, I
Can't just sit and pray, that
I can find a love, when
All I see is pain
Falling to my knees
And though I do believe
I can't just preach, baby, preach
Whoa, oh
I can't just preach, baby, preach
All I hear is voices
Everybody's talking
Nothing real is happening, 'cause nothing is new
Now when all is tragic
And I just feel sedated
Why do I feel numb? Is that all I can do? Yeah
And heaven knows I'm not helpless, yeah
But I'm only human
I can't see the use in me crying
If I'm not even tryna make the change I wanna see
I can't sit and hope, I
Can't just sit and pray, that
I can find a love, when
All I see is pain
Falling to my knees
And though I do believe (though I do believe)
I can't just preach, baby, preach
Whoa, oh
I can't just preach, baby, preach
And heaven knows I'm not helpless
But what can I do? Yea
Can't see the use in me crying
If I'm not even tryna make the change I wanna see
I can't sit and hope, I
Can't just sit and pray, that
I can find a love, when
All I see is pain
I try to do the things, I
Say that I believe (I do believe)
I can't just preach, baby, preach
Whoa, oh
I can't just preach, baby, preach
Whoa, oh
I can't just preach, baby, preach
Fallin' to my knees
And though I do believe
I can't just preach, baby, preach
The song “Preach” by John Legend is a call to action and a message about the need for change in society. The song highlights the feeling of helplessness and numbness, as the world seems to be falling apart with pain and injustice. The verses of the song express the frustration and exhaustion of waking up every day to a broken world, with people always talking, but nothing real happening. The lyrics "Every day I wake and Everything is broken/Turnin' off my phone just to get out of bed" highlight how despair can feel overwhelming at times.
The chorus reaffirms the need for action, rather than simply talking and praying, saying “I can’t just preach, baby, preach.” The line “I can’t see the use in me crying, If I'm not even trying to make the change I want to see” is a reminder that change begins with action, and one must take responsibility to make the change happen. The song urges the listener to take action, and the repetition of the phrase “I can’t just preach” emphasizes the need for action over words.
“Preach” is a powerful and inspiring song that resonates with anyone who recognizes the need for action in society. John Legend’s soulful voice and the song’s lyrics are a call to arms that encourages people to make a change rather than just sit and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Every day I wake and Everything is broken
Each day the world seems more broken to me and it's depressing to see the chaos.
Turnin' off my phone just to get out of bed
Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the negative news that I can't even bear to look at my phone and have to take a break from it.
Get home every evening And history's repeating Turning off my phone 'cause it's hurting my chest Aye
At the end of every day, I see the same problems repeating themselves and it's painful to bear witness. Sometimes it gets so intense that it feels like my phone is physically hurting me.
And heaven knows I'm not helpless, yeah But what can I do?
I know I have the capability to make a difference but I feel like I don't know where to start.
I can't see the use in me crying If I'm not even tryna make the change I wanna see
It's a waste of time for me to just cry about the problems if I'm not going to actually take action to change them.
I can't sit and hope, I Can't just sit and pray, that I can find a love, when All I see is pain
Sitting around hoping and praying for love doesn't feel like enough when everywhere I look there's just pain and suffering.
Falling to my knees And though I do believe I can't just preach, baby, preach Whoa, oh I can't just preach, baby, preach
Even though I have a deep belief that change is possible, it's not enough for me to just talk about it without taking concrete actions to make it happen.
All I hear is voices Everybody's talking Nothing real is happening, 'cause nothing is new
There's a lot of noise and people talking about change, but it doesn't feel like anything actually new is happening or being accomplished.
Now when all is tragic And I just feel sedated Why do I feel numb? Is that all I can do? Yeah
In the face of so much tragedy and suffering, sometimes I feel like I'm just going through the motions and not doing anything to change it, which feels numb and pointless.
And heaven knows I'm not helpless, yeah But I'm only human
I know I'm capable of making change but I'm also just one person and I can't do it all on my own.
I try to do the things, I Say that I believe (I do believe) I can't just preach, baby, preach
I try to put my beliefs into action, but I also know that it's not enough to just talk about change - I have to actually do something.
Fallin' to my knees And though I do believe I can't just preach, baby, preach
Even though I believe in the power of change, it's not enough to just preach about it - I have to take action.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gregory Kurstin, John Stephens, Sarah Aarons
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bee Bee
I love John Legend, he's just purely authentic, he does his thing, and dude is bursting with talent. Great message for this song!
Siva Krishna B
@James Trevor is there any particular reason
Tai
I, T.L hereby announce that I am officially the 400th liker of this comment! 🙂. God Bless Australia not America cos that country already fucked up 😂😂
Raja Manoj
@Siva Krishna B Patel k ok poo 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅o😅😅 poo 💩💩💩💩💩 oooooo 😅no insta 😅I'd chappu to 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅
Madison Lees
The cut from the funeral to the protests and then the school shooter is so powerful. Innocent lives are dying while the real villains run free. This is such a cruel world, but this video is such a good message. Thank you for using your platform to make this. It's an eyeopener to others to make a change.
Amourbeauty_mua
Amen
Ivan Vikalo
Such a profound song! One of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard with a strong message that can be applied to so many different situations. Thank you for this masterpeace! <3
Amourbeauty_mua
😊
Becca M
Wow- what a powerful song and insightful video. Painful and heartbreaking to watch but it beautifully captures so many of the messed up issues in America.
Constance A
Touched my very soul and I'm not just tide but exhausted! God Bless!!