SotD - Aretha Franklin

Marking Juneteenth yesterday, RCA Records, RCA Inspiration and Legacy Records collaborated to release a never-before-heard solo version of Never Gonna Break My Faith by the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, featuring The Boys Choir of Harlem...



Press Release



Co-written by award-winning singer/songwriter Bryan Adams, the Grammy Award winning song was originally released as a duet with Mary J. Blige for the 2006 film Bobby. Over a decade later, the song’s lyrics are as urgent and poignant as ever.



Clive Davis, Sony Music’s Chief Creative Officer and longtime friend/producer of Ms. Franklin states, “The world is very different now. Change is everywhere and each of us, hopefully, is doing the best he or she can to move forward and make change as positive as possible. Music can play a major role here and Aretha’s performance is chilling. When you read the song’s lyric, and its relevance to what is happening today, it will shake every fiber in your body. Everyone should hear this record. It deserves to be an anthem.”



“When I wrote this song, I was channeling Aretha, never thinking that she’d ever actually sing the song,” said Bryan Adams. “The thought was to write a hymn, something that would try and articulate the feeling of faith, and that even though you might have lost something, there would always be an inner light to guide you. When the song was demo’d, I told the producers that Aretha would be the one to sing this - and sing it she did. This solo version has been sitting on my computer for years, and when I heard Clive was making a film on Aretha’s life, I sent this version to him. The world hasn’t heard her full performance and it really needed to be heard. I’m so glad it’s being released, the world needs this right now.”











Lyrics:



My Lord, I have read this book so many times,

But nowhere can there I find - the page - that says

What I experienced today has any grace

Now I know that life was meant to be hard

And that's how I’ve learned to appreciate my God

Though my courage may be tried, I can tell you I won't hide

Because the footprints show you are by my side



You can lie to a child with a smiling face

Tell me that color ain't about a race

You can cast the first stone, you can break my bones

But you're never gonna break

You’re never gonna break my...

Faith and hope ain’t yours to give

Truth and liberty are mine to live

Steal a crown from a king, break an angel’s wings

But you're never gonna break, never gonna break my faith



My Lord, won’t you help them to understand

That when someone takes the life of an innocent man

Well they've never really won, and all they've really done

Is set the soul free - where it's supposed to be



You can lie to a child with a smiling face

Tell me that color ain't about a race

You can cast the first stone, you can break my bones

But you're never gonna break

You’re never gonna break my...

Faith and hope ain’t yours to give

Truth and liberty are mine to live

Steal a crown from a king, break an angel’s wings

But you're never gonna break, never gonna break my faith



For those we lose before their time

I pray that their souls will find the light

And I know that the day will surely come when His will will be done

You're never gonna break my faith