Morley has performed all over the world, and had the distinct honor of presenting at TEDWomen. Her song “Women of Hope” (video by Damani Baker “Still Bill”) has been featured in several Nobel Women’s Initiative documentaries and has brought her before many world leaders and policy makers. She has performed for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Ban Ki-moon, Mary Robinson, and Ela Gandhi. She has also written, collaborated, and shared the stage with such distinguished artists as Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Toshi Reagon, Robert Wilson, Raul Midón, Amadou et Mariam, Joan Wasser, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Queen Latifah, Angélique Kidjo, Sarah McLachlan, Max Roach, Wynton Marsalis and Cassandra Wilson.
Morley’s previous recording, Seen, came out on Universal/Polydor. Prior to that, the Days Like These CD was released independently, before being picked up by Universal. Morley’s debut, Sun Machine, was released on Sony/WORK, songs from her albums have been featured on several television programs, both nationally and internationally. Morley’s voice was also featured as the soundtrack for the Ralph Lauren fragrance, “MyRomance”.
The Fourteen songs on Morley's new CD, Undivided, the fourth album from critically acclaimed singer songwriter, Morley, reflect a vulnerable journey of love, loss, and the willingness to begin again.
This self-produced chronicle features instrumental and vocal contributions by a stellar cast of renown musicians, including: Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Raul Midon, Dave Eggar and the legendary David Amram.
“Morley embodies modern-day NY femininity in all its multicultural finesse.”
-New York Times, Emerging Artist of the Year
“The music of Morley… love, kindness and hope at every bend.”
-Daniel Lanois
Drifting
Morley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of this time
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
Eleven kisses
On the tongue of prayer
And I can find you
I wrap myself
In song for you
You've heard them all
There's nothing new
I want to feel that you feel
That I love you
I love you
Drifting
All of this time
(Don't want to wait so long)
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
(And now to feel your love for me)
Drifting
All of this time
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
I whirl in moonlight
As you dance
You spiral upward
Taking chance
The road so far
Has been for me
Reflections in this melody
I want to feel that you feel
That I love you
I love you
Drifting
All of this time
(Don't want to wait so long)
Just to be near you
(You bring me higher baby)
Closing my eyes
Drifting
All of this time
(You would be so beautiful)
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
Your beauty fills me
That indeed I cried
Cried, cried, Oooh
Drifting
All of this time
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
Drifting
All of this time
(don't want to wait so long)
Just to be near you
Closing my eyes
(Don't want to wait)
(Don't want to drift so long)
(So long)
The lyrics to Morley's song "Drifting" paint a picture of a deep desire to be near the person she loves. The artist has been waiting for a long time to be with this person and in the meantime, all she can do is wrap herself in song and think about them constantly. The eleven kisses on the tongue of prayer represent the longing and yearning for the loved one. It's almost as if the artist feels that she can find this person anywhere, even when they're not physically present.
In the second verse, the lyrics describe the artist twirling in the moonlight as the loved one dances. They spiral upward, taking chances, and it seems that the road so far has been a reflection in this melody. The melody represents the journey that brought them to where they are now, and the artist wants nothing more than for the loved one to feel the intensity of her love.
The chorus repeats the sentiment of the verses, highlighting the artist's longing to be with the loved one. The repetition of "drifting" emphasizes the sense of being lost without the other person. The final line of the song, "your beauty fills me, that indeed I cried," echoes the intensity of the artist's feeling, conveying just how much this person means to her.
Line by Line Meaning
Drifting
The act of moving aimlessly in search of something.
All of this time
Spending considerable time doing something.
Just to be near you
The sole purpose of the efforts being to come closer to someone.
Closing my eyes
Shutting out the external world for inner clarity and focus.
Eleven kisses
An unspecified number of kisses.
On the tongue of prayer
In the context of spiritual or emotional yearning.
And I can find you
The ability to locate someone or something.
Anywhere
Regardless of location or distance.
I wrap myself
To find comfort or solace in something.
In song for you
An expression of deep emotions through music.
You've heard them all
The idea that the person receiving these emotional messages knows them already.
There's nothing new
Lack of novelty in the said messages.
I want to feel that you feel
The need for a reciprocal emotional connection.
That I love you
The emotion that the singer feels for another person.
I love you
Repeated expression of the deepest of feelings.
I whirl in moonlight
Deep emotional elation that verges on spinning.
As you dance
In the context of the subject (the love interest in the song) making the artist feel this way.
You spiral upward
The feeling of someone being able to elevate you to greater heights (in a non-literal sense).
Taking chance
Willingness to take risks in pursuit of something valuable.
The road so far
Experience leading up to the present moment.
Has been for me
Personal interpretation of a shared experience.
Reflections in this melody
The meaning that the song brings to the artist.
Your beauty fills me
Awe, love, and deep admiration of someone's external and internal qualities.
That indeed I cried
The intensity of feeling evoking tears in the person.
Don't want to wait so long
Desire to progress a relationship to an intimate level sooner rather than later.
You bring me higher baby
The emotional elevation that the subject of the song brings to the singer.
You would be so beautiful
The physical and emotional qualities of the love interest.
Don't want to drift so long
The time lag in a relationship being prolonged causing angst.
So long
The passing of time causing distance or separation.
Contributed by Leah L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.