Crystal Stairs Inc, Feb. 14, 2022
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases the song "No Mirrors In My Nana's House".
Information about the vocal group "Sweet Honey In The Rock" and a video of that group's performance of this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with theeir owners.
Thanks to Ysaye M. Barnwell for composing this song and thanks to thee musical legacy of Sweet Honey In The Rock. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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This post is an exact reprint of a 2014 pancocojams post. That 2014 post includes several comments from people who remember their mother, grandmother, or teachers reading this book.
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I'm reprinting this post (with additions) on Mother's Day 2025. Happy mother's Day to all those people regardless of their gender who have "mothered" or are "mothering" other people and/or "fur babies".
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INFORMATION ABOUT SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK
From http://sweethoneyintherock.org/
"Sweet Honey In The Rock® is a performance ensemble rooted in African American history and culture. The ensemble educates, entertains and empowers its audience and community through the dynamic vehicles of a cappella singing and American Sign Language interpretation for the Deaf and hearing impaired. Sweet Honey’s audience and community comes from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout the United States and around the world, and includes people of all ages, economic/education/social backgrounds, political persuasions, religious affiliations, sexual preferences and differing abilities."
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Honey_in_the_Rock
"Sweet Honey in the Rock is an all-woman, African-American a cappella ensemble. They are an American Grammy Award–winning (and many times nominated) troupe who express their history as African-American women through song, dance, and sign language.[1] Originally a four-person ensemble, the group have expanded to five-part harmonies, with a sixth member acting as a sign-language interpreter. Although the members have changed over three decades, the group continues to sing and has helped to produce several children's records as well as those intended for adults.
Sweet Honey in the Rock was founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon, who was teaching a vocal workshop with the Washington, D.C. Black Repertory Company.[1] Reagon retired from the group in 2004. The name of the group was derived from a song, based on Psalm 81:16, which tells of a land so rich that when rocks were cracked open, honey flowed from them. Johnson has said that this first song in which four women blended their voices was so powerful, that there was no question what the name of the group should be. The ensemble's most powerful messages are proclaimed through an enormous catalog of songs addressing the world's woes. They are currently occupied with immigration injustices, congressional greed and lack of compassion for hurting citizens, the environmental imbalance, racial issues and women's issues."...
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LYRICS: NO MIRRORS IN MY NANA'S HOUSE
from CROSSINGS by Ysaye .M. Barnwell ©1992
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
There were no mirrors in my Na's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
I never knew that my skin was too black.
I never knew that my nose was too flat.
I never knew that my clothes didn't fit.
I never knew there were things that I'd missed,
cause the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun);
...was in her eyes.
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
I was intrigued by the cracks in the walls.
I tasted, with joy, the dust that would fall.
The noise in the hallway was music to me.
The trash and the rubbish just cushioned my feet.
And the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
...was in her eyes.
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
The world outside was a magical place.
I only knew love.
I never knew hate,
and the beauty in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
...was in her eyes.
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
There were no mirrors in my Nana's house,
no mirrors in my Nana's house.
And the beauty that I saw in everything
was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).
"Chil', look deep into my eyes."
"Chil', look deep into my eyes."
"Chil'..."
Source: http://www.ymbarnwell.com/lyrics.php
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Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell is a member of the vocal group Sweet Honey In The Rock.
The word "nana" means "grandmother" or "grandparents" in a number of languages throughout the world, including the Twi language of the Akan people in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/09/what-nana-means-in-akan-culture-its-use.html for a pancocojams post on the word "nana".
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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
