Pamela Means' many honors include being named Falcon Ridge Folk Festival's #1 "Most Wanted New Artist", and both Wisconsin's "Folk Artist of the Year", and "Female Vocalist of the Year". Pamela has also been a Boston Music Award Nominee ("Outstanding Contemporary Folk Artist").
Currently, Pamela performs over 150 shows a year at clubs, coffeehouses, colleges, and festivals across the country, most notably the Newport Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, South by Southwest Conference, Southern Womyn's Fest, and Michigan Womyn's Festival. Pamela is also a favorite at innumerable regional Gay Pride events, Take Back the Night rallies, and Black History Month celebrations. Pamela has shared the stage with artists including Ani DiFranco, Joan Baez, Neil Young, Shawn Colvin, Richie Havens, Patty Larkin, Melissa Ferrick, Violent Femmes, Pete Seeger, Janis Ian, and Holly Near.
Pamela's 2003 summer tour took her nationwide, promoting her fifth self-released album, Single Bullet Theory (Wirl Records, 2003), in which "...Means fires off what is easily one of the best musical summanations of our current political situation.." (Bay Area Reporter, San Francisco, CA)
Quoting her inspiration, Warrior Poet Audre Lorde, Pamela asks "I am myself- a Black woman warrior poet doing my work- come to ask you, are you doing yours?" With Truth as ammunition, a Pamela Means performance brings the fight for social justice and human dignity to the forefront of a new generation..
Home
Pamela Means Lyrics
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You had an ocean
Right at your back door
You could go anytime you wanted
And I could pull you in
Find me
I'm outside your doorway
And I ain't goin' nowhere
But God gave me song
And I can tell you love me
I want to be your home
I want to be your home
I want to be your home
The opening lines of Pamela Means's song "Home" create a profound metaphor for a relationship. The singer and the person she's addressing each have something that the other doesn't. The singer has a moon, which represents a source of light and guidance. Meanwhile, the other person has an ocean, which symbolizes change and the unknown. Together, these elements represent the complexity and mystery of love. The ocean can be both beautiful and dangerous, while the moon can be both comforting and distant. By acknowledging these complementary qualities, the singer is suggesting that their relationship can be both powerful and tumultuous.
As the song continues, the lyrics become more personal. The singer describes herself as someone who "never learned my grammar" but who has "God-given song." This juxtaposition of the mundane and the divine suggests a sense of humility and reverence. However, the singer then provides a simple, straightforward declaration: "I can tell you love me / I want to be your home." The repetition of this phrase reinforces the idea that home is a fundamental aspect of a loving relationship. Beyond physical space, home represents safety, comfort, and mutual devotion.
Line by Line Meaning
I possessed a small piece of light in my life
The singer is describing having something precious to them, like the moon.
You had a vast body of water
The other person in this story has a large and seemingly endless expanse in their life.
Right at your back door
The ocean is always there, right outside their door to access easily.
You could go anytime you wanted
The other person has the freedom to come and go from the ocean as they please.
And I could pull you in
Meanwhile, the artist is drawing the other person towards them, trying to connect.
Find me
The singer is requesting that the other person locate them.
I'm outside your doorway
The singer is physically close to the other person and asks the other person in their life to let them in.
And I ain't goin' nowhere
The artist is committed to staying in the other person's life and doesn't want to leave.
I never learned my grammar
The artist is saying that they don't have polished speaking skills or higher education.
But God gave me song
The artist has a gift for song and music regardless.
And I can tell you love me
The singer believes that the other person they are singing to loves them.
I want to be your home
The artist wants the other person to see them as a place of comfort, stability, and an anchor in their lives.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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