Hill is noted as a humanitarian, and in 1996 she received an Essence Award for work which has included the 1996 founding of the Refugee Project, an outreach organization that supports a two-week overnight camp for at-risk youth, and for supporting well-building projects in Kenya and Uganda, as well as for staging a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration.
In 1999's Grammy Awards, Hill was nominated eleven times and won Album of the Year (beating Madonna's critically acclaimed album Ray of Light), Best New Artist, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, setting a new record for a female performer.
Hill has four children with retired (American) football player Rohan Marley, son of the late reggae music icon, Bob Marley: Zion David Marley, born 1997, Selah Louise Marley, born 1998, and second son Joshua, born 2002. A fourth child, John, was born in 2003 and the couple married soon after.
Early life
Lauryn Hill was born in East Orange, New Jersey. Hill was the second of two children born to high school English teacher Valerie Hill and computer programmer Mal Hill. As a child, Hill incessantly listened to her parents' Motown and 1960s soul records. Music was a central part of the Hill home. Mal Hill sang at weddings, Valerie played the piano, and Lauryn's older brother Melaney played the saxophone, guitar and drums.
Hill graduated from Columbia High School (New Jersey) in Maplewood, New Jersey. Hill was an active student, cheerleader, and performer. She began her acting career at a young age, and started performing music in 1987. In 1988, 13-year old Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. Hill sang her own version of William "Smokey" Robinson's song "Who's Lovin' You?". A nervous Hill sung far away from the mic and was heckled at first; but persisted and finished her song to a standing applause, though she did not win.
Hill was childhood friends with actor Zach Braff and they both graduated from Columbia High School in 1993. Braff mentions inviting Hill to his bar Mitzvah in 1988.[1]
Hill appeared on the soap opera, As The World Turns as Kira Johnson. In December 1993, she starred in "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" as Rita Louise Watson. In the film, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful,Joyful" . It was in this role, as Rita, that she first came to national prominence, with Roger Ebert calling her "the girl with the big joyful voice". Although Sister Act I and II were originally conceived as vehicles for comedian Whoopi Goldberg, the second installment won Lauryn equal notice.
Her other acting work includes the play Club XII with MC Lyte, and the motion pictures King of the Hill (as Arletta the Elevator Operator), Hav Plenty (1997), and Restaurant (1998). She appeared on the soundtracks to Conspiracy Theory in 1996 (on the track "Can't Take My Eyes Off You") and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood in 2002 (on the track "Selah").
Her most recent album (mixtape) entitled "The Re-Education of Lauryn Hill" was released in 2007.
Forgive Them Father
Lauryn Hill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As we forgive those that trespass against us
Although them again we will never never never trust
Hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo!
Them not know what them do
Big out to yi while I'm stickin' like glue
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
(Me nah tellin' them no more)
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
(Be real, them not a clue!)
Beware the false motives of others
Be careful of those who pretend to be brothers
And you never suppose it's those who are closest to you
To you
They say all the right things, to gain their position
Then use your kindness as their ammunition
To shoot you down in the name of ambition, they do
Oh
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
Why every Indian want to be the chief?
Feed a man 'til he full and he still want beef
Give me grief, try to tief off my piece
Why for you to increase, I must decrease?
If I treat you kindly, does it mean that I'm weak?
You hear me speak and think I won't take it to the streets
I know enough cats that don't turn the other cheek
But I try to keep it civilized like Menelik
And other African czars, observing stars with war scars
Get yours in this capitalistic system
So many caught or got bought you can't list them
How you gonna idolize the missing?
To survive is to stay alive in the face of opposition
Even when they comin', gunnin' I stand position
L's known the mission since conception
Let's free the people from deception
If you looking for the answers then you gotta ask the questions
And when I let go, my voice echoes through the ghetto
Sick of men trying to pull strings like Geppetto
Why black people always be the ones to settle?
March through these streets like Soweto, uh
Like Cain and Abel, Caesar and Brutus
Jesus and Judas, backstabbers do this
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
It took me a little while to discover
Wolves in sheep coats who pretend to be lovers
Men who lack conscience will even lie to themselves
To themselves
A friend once said, and I found to be true
That everyday people, they lie to God too
So what makes you think, that they won't lie to you?
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
(Forgive dem, forgive dem)
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
(Forgive dem, forgive dem)
Gwan like dem love while dem rip you to shreds
Trample pon yuh heart and lef yuh fi dead
Dem a-yuh friend who yuh depen pon from way back when
But if you, gi dem yuh back dem yuh mus meet yuh end
Dem not know what dem do do
Dem not know what dem do do
Dem not know, dem not know, dem not know, dem not know
Dem not know what dem do do
(Forgive them father, forgive them father)
Lauryn Hill's song Forgive Them Father is a powerful message about forgiveness, false motives, and deception. The chorus is a plea for forgiveness for those who don't know what they do, while the verses explore the themes of betrayal and false friendship. Hill mentions the danger of people pretending to be brothers but who actually have false motives and are only seeking to gain a position. The message is clear: be careful of those who claim to be close to you and always be on guard for false motives.
The song has a religious undertone, with Hill asking for forgiveness from "father" and cautioning against false prophets. The lyrics point towards the idea that not all people who claim to be religious are necessarily good, and that evil can come from anywhere. Hill also touches on the idea that people who lack conscience lie to themselves as well as to others and that these people need forgiveness.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the importance of forgiveness but also a warning to remain vigilant against those who would do us harm through deceit and betrayal.
Line by Line Meaning
Forgive us our trespasses
As we ask for forgiveness for our mistakes,
As we forgive those that trespass against us
We also forgive those who have wronged us,
Although them again we will never never never trust
But we can never regain our trust in them again.
Them not know what them do
Those who wronged us may not even know the impact of their actions,
Big out to yi while I'm stickin' like glue
They may act friendly towards us while secretly plotting against us,
Fling skin grin while them plotting for you, true!
And they might even pretend to be our friends while plotting against us.
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
So we ask for forgiveness for those who wronged us unknowingly,
(Me nah tellin' them no more)
And we won't even bother telling them about their mistake.
Be careful of those who pretend to be brothers
We should be aware of people who pretend to be close to us,
And you never suppose it's those who are closest to you
And it's often those who are closest to us who deceive us.
They say all the right things, to gain their position
These people might say and do the right things to gain our trust,
Then use your kindness as their ammunition
But they'll use our kindness against us if it benefits them.
To shoot you down in the name of ambition, they do
They might even use our downfall to boost their own ambitions.
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
So we ask for forgiveness for their actions,
Why every Indian want to be the chief?
The song questions why everyone wants to be the one to lead.
Feed a man 'til he full and he still want beef
Sometimes, no matter how much we give, people still want more.
Give me grief, try to tief off my piece
People might try to steal from us or make our lives difficult,
Why for you to increase, I must decrease?
The song again questions why one person must suffer for another to succeed.
If I treat you kindly, does it mean that I'm weak?
The song questions whether being kind means being weak.
You hear me speak and think I won't take it to the streets
People might underestimate the artist's willingness to stand up for themselves.
I know enough cats that don't turn the other cheek
The artist knows people who won't let others walk all over them.
But I try to keep it civilized like Menelik
The artist attempts to handle situations calmly and politically,
And other African czars, observing stars with war scars
Referring to the African leaders who had to deal with difficult situations of war,
Get yours in this capitalistic system
The song acknowledges that everyone is trying to get what they can in the capitalist system.
So many caught or got bought you can't list them
So many people have been mentioned or influenced by the system that it's impossible to keep track.
How you gonna idolize the missing?
How can we idolize those who are absent or gone?
To survive is to stay alive in the face of opposition
Survival means staying alive even when faced with challenges and resistance,
Even when they comin', gunnin' I stand position
Even when people come at you with guns, the artist stands firm,
L's known the mission since conception
The artist has known their mission since birth.
Let's free the people from deception
The song promotes freeing people from deception.
If you looking for the answers then you gotta ask the questions
If you want answers, you have to ask the right questions.
And when I let go, my voice echoes through the ghetto
The song suggests that the artist's voice speaks for those in the ghetto.
Sick of men trying to pull strings like Geppetto
The artist is tired of people trying to control others like Geppetto in Pinocchio.
Why black people always be the ones to settle?
The song questions why black people are always the ones to settle for less.
March through these streets like Soweto, uh
Pushing people to march the streets like the Soweto uprising in 1976.
Like Cain and Abel, Caesar and Brutus
Referring to infamous cases of betrayal and backstabbing like Cain and Abel,
Jesus and Judas, backstabbers do this
The song connects backstabbing to the betrayal of Jesus by Judas.
Forgive them father for they know not what they do
The song calls for forgiveness of those who might betray us without us ever knowing it,
It took me a little while to discover
The singer is sharing their own experience of discovering betrayal from people they trusted,
Wolves in sheep coats who pretend to be lovers
Referring to people who pretend to be kind and loving, but are actually dangerous,
Men who lack conscience will even lie to themselves
Those willing to betray others may even lie to themselves in order to justify their actions,
A friend once said, and I found to be true
The singer recalls a friend's advice and found it to be true,
That everyday people, they lie to God too
Even everyday people lie to God, suggesting the pervasiveness of deception and betrayal,
So what makes you think, that they won't lie to you?
So what makes us think that these people won't betray us as well? Again, highlighting the pervasiveness of betrayal.
(Forgive dem, forgive dem)
The song repeats the call for forgiveness once more.
Gwan like dem love while dem rip you to shreds
People may pretend to love us while simultaneously hurting us,
Trample pon yuh heart and lef yuh fi dead
They might even trample on our hearts and leave us for dead,
Dem a-yuh friend who yuh depen pon from way back when
These people might even be friends we've known for a long time,
But if you, gi dem yuh back dem yuh mus meet yuh end
But if we turn our backs on them, it may lead to our own downfall.
Dem not know what dem do do
Once again, some people don't even realize the impact of their actions on others,
(Forgive them father, forgive them father)
The song concludes with another call for forgiveness.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Lauryn Hill
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind