This song confounds me. She wrote it and recorded it while he was still very much alive. I do believe he died blind, so it's not really a circumstance that was going to play out, but it seemed like she was kinda zeroing in on the guy for some reason. Now the man did struggle with drugs, but I don't think that's what the song is about. She doesn't say specifically what her beef is, other than that when he re-gained his sight he lost touch with the music. For the rest of us, we might listen to this and see Ray as an extraordinary talent with an affliction that may have helped him develop that talent, so we might hear this song and think hard about what we might have to sacrifice in order to have the level of musical soul in Ray Charles.
But I can't ignore the persistent slight that it appears to be against the man. Like when she says "C'mon, Ray." It could be she just ran with the image in her head. But the fact that he was still alive when she recorded it just seems like she thought he was already gone.
I'd really like to hear Osborne herself explain what was up when she released this monumental pop album. I've listened to the entire album, very loud, many times. A lot of is absolutely unforgettable.
@BadgerBadger I really don't see it this way at all, I don't think she had any beef with him whatsoever - i think she is showing him respect! At the end I think she was saying C'mon Ray, stay alive! Give us more music!
@BadgerBadger I really don't see it this way at all, I don't think she had any beef with him whatsoever - i think she is showing him respect! At the end I think she was saying C'mon Ray, stay alive! Give us more music!
This song confounds me. She wrote it and recorded it while he was still very much alive. I do believe he died blind, so it's not really a circumstance that was going to play out, but it seemed like she was kinda zeroing in on the guy for some reason. Now the man did struggle with drugs, but I don't think that's what the song is about. She doesn't say specifically what her beef is, other than that when he re-gained his sight he lost touch with the music. For the rest of us, we might listen to this and see Ray as an extraordinary talent with an affliction that may have helped him develop that talent, so we might hear this song and think hard about what we might have to sacrifice in order to have the level of musical soul in Ray Charles.
But I can't ignore the persistent slight that it appears to be against the man. Like when she says "C'mon, Ray." It could be she just ran with the image in her head. But the fact that he was still alive when she recorded it just seems like she thought he was already gone.
I'd really like to hear Osborne herself explain what was up when she released this monumental pop album. I've listened to the entire album, very loud, many times. A lot of is absolutely unforgettable.
@BadgerBadger I really don't see it this way at all, I don't think she had any beef with him whatsoever - i think she is showing him respect! At the end I think she was saying C'mon Ray, stay alive! Give us more music!
@BadgerBadger I really don't see it this way at all, I don't think she had any beef with him whatsoever - i think she is showing him respect! At the end I think she was saying C'mon Ray, stay alive! Give us more music!