Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986 in Seattle, Washington) is a female A… Read Full Bio ↴Stacie Joy Orrico (born March 3, 1986 in Seattle, Washington) is a female American singer of Italian descent. She was discovered at a Christian talent contest when she was in her early teens and has since released three successful albums. Stacie got her start in 1998 at the age of 12 by attending a Christian music festival, Praise in the Rockies, held in her then-home state of Colorado. Stacie inadvertently entered a high-stakes talent competition, and won. A ForeFront Records executive was on hand and approached her for a record deal (she eventually did sign with them).

Since then, she has released two albums. The first was Genuine in 2000, created at the young age of fourteen. The album produced the hit single "Don't Look At Me" which topped Christian charts for ten consecutive weeks. Her next effort, the more mainstream and self-titled Stacie Orrico, was released in 2003 and charted in the U.S. Billboard Top 200, Australian ARIAnet and the United Kingdom albums charts. The first single from this album was "Stuck", which became a worldwide hit making it into the Top 5 or Top 10 of the majority of the world's charts. This was followed by the single "(There's Gotta Be) More To Life", which also charted and went top 20 in Australia and the UK. "More To Life" failed to do as well as "Stuck" but still became a hit in many countries. This was then followed by "I Promise" (top 30 in the UK), and the last single "I Could Be The One" (top 40 in the UK on June 2004). Both singles were given limited releases and limited promotion, so it is understandable that they didn't fare as well as the first two singles did.

Genuine sold over 13,000 copies in the first week, the highest debut week sales ever for a female Christian artist. Genuine sold 500,000 copies, giving the album Gold certification. Her sophomore effort, Stacie Orrico, debuted at #67 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S., also good for Gold certification. "Stacie Orrico" also sold 600,000 in Japan and an estimated 2.5 million copies worldwide.

Stacie Orrico's fourth album(including her Christmas album), "Beautiful Awakening",featuring the hit single "I'm Not Missing You," was released August(2006)in Europe and Asia and was due release for Jan. 2007 in North America. However the album has not yet been released in North America, and it's uncertain whether a release date will be given at this point.

Instead
Stacie Orrico Lyrics

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Verse 1:
I saw him shaking his change in a coffee cup
Asked for a dollar but I told the man to give it up
Said he's hungry, I don't think that it's true
Bet my dollar he gon' spend it on booze
I turned my back on him and began to walk away
But then I heard the little voice inside me say
What if it's really true, what if he's hungry?

What if it's not for him, does he have a family?

Pre-chorus:
How'd you get here?
How'd you end up on the street?
Where did it go wrong?
Wonder what I'd do if it were me!

A new point of view
A walk in your shoes
I wish I could get inside your head
To see what you see
When you look at me
'Cause I could've lived your life instead

Verse 2:
It was 90 degrees in the summer heat
She was veiled in black all the way down to her feet
This is America, doesn't she know?
Somebody take her shopping, buy her some cloths
She came up to me, I didn't understand a word
I was about to leave then another thought occurred
She might be really lost, scared and frustrated
I should try again to see what she's sayin'

Pre-chorus 2:
How'd you get here?
How'd you get so far from home?
What was it that made you leave?
Wonder what I'd do if it were me!

A new point of view
A walk in your shoes
I wish I could get inside your head
To see what you see
When you look at me
'Cause I could've lived your life instead

I would see, oh oh
Oh, see what you see
And I would feel
Oh, feel just what you feel

Chorus (x2)

'Cause I could've lived your life instead (x2)

Overall Meaning

Stacie Orrico's "Instead" is a song about empathy and self-reflection. The lyrics describe two encounters with homeless people that the singer initially dismisses as liars or strange outsiders but then reconsiders with the help of her conscience that urges her to see the world through the eyes of the less privileged. In the first verse, the singer refuses to give money to a beggar who may be pretending to be hungry or homeless but then wonders about the possible truth of his situation and the moral obligation to help someone in need. In the second verse, the singer encounters a Middle Eastern woman wearing a burka, who appears to be lost or in distress, but whose background and culture are unfamiliar to her. However, she decides to try and understand the woman's perspective and offer her help and human connection.

The pre-chorus captures the singer's introspection and comparison of her own circumstances with those of the strangers she meets. She imagines how easily she could have ended up in their position and how they could have lived her life instead. The chorus repeats this realization and reinforces the theme of empathy and perspective-taking. The song ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that seeing the world through the eyes of others and recognizing their dignity can lead to personal growth and a better society.

Line by Line Meaning

I saw him shaking his change in a coffee cup
I witnessed a man on the street shaking a cup of coins, begging for money.

Asked for a dollar but I told the man to give it up
When the man asked for a dollar, I refused to give it to him.

Said he's hungry, I don't think that it's true
The man claimed he was hungry, but I doubted the sincerity of his need.

Bet my dollar he gon' spend it on booze
I wagered that if I gave him a dollar, he would use it to buy alcohol instead of food.

I turned my back on him and began to walk away
I chose to ignore the man and leave the situation.

But then I heard the little voice inside me say
My conscience prompted me to reconsider my actions and beliefs.

What if it's really true, what if he's hungry?
I questioned the possibility that the man was actually in need of food.

What if it's not for him, does he have a family?
I considered the possibility that the man may have others depending on him.

How'd you get here?
I wondered about the circumstances that led the person to be in their current situation.

How'd you end up on the street?
I questioned how the person ended up homeless and on the street.

Where did it go wrong?
I wondered what unfortunate events and circumstances led to the person's homelessness.

Wonder what I'd do if it were me!
I pondered how I would react and what I would do if I were in a similar situation.

A new point of view
I sought to gain a different perspective.

A walk in your shoes
I wanted to experience the life of the person I encountered.

I wish I could get inside your head
I desired to understand the thoughts and motivations of the individual.

To see what you see
I wanted to witness their experiences and worldview.

When you look at me
I wondered what the person saw when they looked at me and others around them.

'Cause I could've lived your life instead
The chorus emphasizes the desire to experience the life of the person encountered, acknowledging the possibility that it could have been their own life if circumstances were different.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave
Written by: DANE ANTHONY DEVILLER, SEAN SYED HOSEIN, STACIE J. ORRICO, ANTHONY ANDERSON, STEVEN ANDREW SMITH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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