Alicia Keys
Album: The Diary of Alicia Keys
Song: If I Ain't Got You
The Band
This star made a huge splash in 2001 with her debut album Songs in A Minor, which earned her five Grammy Awards in 2002 including Song of the Year, Best R&B Song, Best R&B Album, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist.
Born Alicia Augello Cook, native New Yorker Alicia Keys began piano lesson at the age of seven, and at 14 had already written her first song. Not only is Keys musically talented, she’s also got brains. She excelled in high school and was allowed to graduate when she was 16. In addition, she was given a free ride to Columbia University. But after four weeks of college life, Keys bailed to pursue music full time. It seems to have paid off. In December of 2003, Keys released her second album The Diary of Alicia Keys.
The Music
Keys has an interesting blend of musical genres, from jazz to salsa to R&B, and a knack for attracting audiences young and old—I for one never thought I’d listen to the same artist as my mother! For those of you who loved her first album, you won’t be disappointed with her second. Some critics have even bashed Keys for her lack of creativity, saying it sounds too much like Songs in A Minor. Songs on the album include “Karma”, "Heartburn" and "Diary."
The Song
“If I Ain’t Got You” is a nice, cheesy love song like most of the other songs on the album. It’s actually a pretty good one too! It’s clean, and the anti-materialist message is one that’s good for all of us to hear once in a while.
The gist of the song is basically that material things aren’t worth anything unless you have someone to share them with. The song opens with “Some people live for the fortune/ Some people live just for the fame/ Some people live for the power…” Considering Alicia Keys is rich, famous, and powerful, I was initially turned off by this apparent hypocrisy. However, she somewhat redeems herself a couple lines later, “I’ve been there before/ But that life’s a bore/ So full of the superficial…”
The second verse says, “Hand me the world on a silver platter/ And what good would it be/ With on one to share/ With no one who truly cares for me…” Again, I completely agree with the ideas behind the song. One of the most important things is life is fellowship and community. God created us to experience deep friendships with one another. Material things won’t last and ultimately won’t make you happy.
The chorus repeats this idea again, “Some people want diamond rings/ Some just want everything/ But everything mean nothing/ If I ain’t got you…” The only thing that really bugs me about this song is the line after which the song is named—if I don’t got you. The song seems to imply that the only reason she doesn’t want material riches is because she doesn’t have the special someone to share them with.
That’s not the worst line ever, but we really need to take it a step further and say we don’t need riches, fame, and power no matter what! Special person or not. There is no eternal value in any of those things. Jesus repeated warns us not to crave that which the world is trying to sell us. In Luke 16:13-16 he condemns the Pharisees who loved money telling them “You cannot serve both God and money… What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” And again in 1 John we are told, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him… The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever” (2:15-17).
So What Do You Think?
1. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:12-13 which reads, “I
have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can
do everything through him who gives me strength.” Why does Paul
say he has learned to be content? Do you think this is something that
comes naturally? Why or why not?
2. Sometimes it’s easy to dwell on how much we DON’T have
rather than how much we are blessed with. Check out how much of the rest
of world lives:
o 40% of the world’s population does not have electricity
o 47% of the world’s population lives on less than $2 per day
o 33% of the world’s children under the age of 5 suffer malnutrition
o 80% of the world’s population lives in an underdeveloped country
3. Why do we love things and money so much?