Tennessee
| Title | Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Artist | Arrested Development |
| Album | 3 Years, 5 Months and 2 Days in the Life Of... |
| Release Date | 1992-03-24 |
| Description | Soon after attending his grandmother’s funeral in Tennessee, Todd “Speech” Thomas learned his brother also passed away. He wrote “Tennessee” in his bedroom studio as a way of coping with the losses. By the time he’d invited singer Dionne Farris to participate, Arrested Development had signed a record deal and was finishing it in a professional studio. Speech explained that “the song takes you through a spiritual journey and a life journey through history in a sense, and at the same time it talks about my family, and then it sort of leads to anyone’s family roots, and the direction that people go in life.” The prominent vocal snippet that opens and closes the song was an uncleared sample of Prince’s “Alphabet Street.” According to Speech, Prince’s lawyers waited until the album climbed all the way to #3 and then fell to #4 to demand a non-negotiable payment of $100,000. Not paying it would mean the album would get pulled from shelves. The music video of “Tennessee” was shot at a house in Georgia that reminded Speech of his grandmother’s house. The people featured in the video include friends of the band and neighbors in the area who were curious about the shoot. Some of the props, like the slave shackles and the back house where slaves lived, were actual slave-era artifacts present at the house during filming. “Tennessee” is considered the group’s signature song. It reached the top 40 in several countries, peaking at #6 in the US in the summer of 1992, and also topping the US Rap Chart. It only reached #46 in the UK on release, but after the top 5 success of the band’s next two singles it re-entered and peaked at #18 the following year. |
| Lyrics | [Verse 1: Speech] Lord, I've really been real stressed Down and out, losing ground Although I am Black and proud Problems got me pessimistic Brothers and sisters keep messin' up Why does it have to be so damn tough? I don't know where I can go To let these ghosts out of my skull My grandma's passed, my brother's gone I never at once felt so alone I know you're supposed to be my steering wheel Not just my spare tire (home) But Lord I ask you (home) To be my guiding force and truth (home) For some strange reason it had to be (home) He guided me to Tennessee (home) [Chorus] Take me to another place Take me to another land Make me forget all that hurts me Let me understand your plan [Verse 2: Speech] Lord it's obvious we got a relationship Talking to each other every night and day Although you're superior over me We talk to each other in a friendship way Then outta nowhere you tell me to break Outta the country and into more country Past Dyersburg into Ripley Where the ghost of childhood haunts me Walk the roads my forefathers walked Climbed the trees my forefathers hung from Ask those trees for all their wisdom They tell me my ears are so young (home) Go back to from whence you came (home) My family tree, my family name (home) For some strange reason it had to be (home) He guided me to Tennessee (home) [Chorus] Take me to another place Take me to another land Make me forget all that hurts me Let me understand your plan You might also like[Interlude: Aerle Taree] Eshe, she went down to Holly Springs Rasadon and Baba, they went down to Peachtree Headliner, I challenge you to a game of horseshoes, a game of horseshoes [Verse 3: Speech] Now I see the importance of history Why my people be in the mess that they be Many journeys to freedom made in vain By brothers on the corner playing ghetto games I ask you Lord why you enlightened me Without the enlightenment of all my folks He said cause I set myself on a quest for truth And he was there to quench my thirst But I am still thirsty The Lord allowed me to drink some more He said what I am searching for are The answers to all which are in front of me The ultimate truth started to get blurry For some strange reason it had to be It was all a dream about Tennessee [Chorus] Take me to another place Take me to another land Make me forget all that hurts me Let me understand your plan [Outro: Aerle Taree] Headliner, I won the game of horseshoes Now you owe me a watermelon Let's go climb trees and skip over rocks Do like they do below the border Speech's hair Don't it look like the roots of the tree that the ancestors were hung from But that's okay, get it cause he's down to Earth |