Black Pearl

One of my favorite love songs because it's not just about a couple in love, it's more about them having to live in a segregated America. Great lines: You'll never win a beauty show No they won't pick you But you're my miss America

Of course, that's not the issue anymore, but the great performance puts you right back into those times, when something like that seemed totally impossible.

An uplifting tune about life as a black woman during the times of racial segregation or inequality. "You been working so hard your whole life through Tendin' other people's houses, Raisin' up their children too" is obviously a reference to black nannies or maids who worked for wealthy white families (perhaps not as slaves per-se but domestic help). The next line refers to the former maid/servant now being taken care of by her husband. He shows her a good time and that she is worthy of respect. "You've been in the background much too long" alludes to a life of being secondary to the wealthy. "You'll never win a beauty show, no, they won't pick you" again references the idea that black is not beauty and nobody will choose a black person as being the most beautiful.