Breathing Underwater - (Nai Palm) Commentary

"Breathing Underwater"

I wrote it as a tribute to Stevie Wonder

Because I was raised with his music

And I owe my musical complexity and understanding to growing up listening to intelligent, soulful music

Lyrically, I wanted a song that

There are so many love songs in life, you know?

It's kind of the main theme of music, the love songs, romantic ones

There are so many different ways to love and to show love in life

And I wanted to comment on that, essentially

So make a love song about the work that a Tuareg silversmith would put into his life's work

The love that you put into a chamomile tea that you make for your friend that's really upset

Who's had a really horrible day

Or the love of

There's a verse that says "Wild rose, Jericho sun, arid as stone"

And uh, there's a plant in Africa called a, "Resurrection plant"

Or a Jericho rose, and they can survive for hundreds of years

Over a hundred years without water, it has to rain once and they blossom in minutes

And, the love of that, that plant laying dormant for so long

And all it takes is the slightest bit of moisture or nurture

And it can blossom, you know?

And people are like that too, you know?

If you ever come across people that are cold or mean to you

Usually they just, everybody just wants to be loved

And it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be romanticly

And so I wanted to make a comment on that

It has a key change

Musically, in the end because Stevie is like right out for that

Yeah, so

It's a love song

And a, a love song to the world and a tribute to Stevie Wonder