It’s #SongLyricsSunday! This week’s prompt is “Clear/Dark/Light”. Now Jim, the host for #SLS, has mentioned that this week’s words are general words and describing general colors, but the song I chose is something a tad bit different (but does include the word “light”). The song? “Hold Up the Light” featuring Gospel music legends Bebe & Cece Winans with Whitney Houston. It doesn’t deal with color per se, but more of holding a light in the dark and uncertain times we are living in.
(This is part of a #SongLyricsSunday challenge, which is hosted by Jim at An Unique Title For Me. Anyone can join! Details on how to participate are found at the end of this post!)
Behind the Scenes
“Hold Up the Light” is a song from the 1988 contemporary gospel album Heaven by Bebe & Cece Winans. (Just a little side note, Heaven also features one of my favorite songs “Lost Without You”, which I have mentioned on this blog before). It was co-written by Bebe and Percy Bady. Bady is a gospel and R&B singer, producer, composer, and songwriter. He has written many songs for various artists like Dionne Warwick, Michael McDonald, and Michelle Williams.
The song features Whitney Houston but it’s not the only one on the album with her iconic voice. She was also featured on the song “Celebrate New Life”, which was released as a single in 1989.
Why This Song?
I was just an infant in 1989, but I feel like there were a good number of tunes in the late 80s that were about social problems. Janet Jackson’s album Rhythm Nation 1814 was filled with tunes and lyrics addressing a bunch of social issues. “Hold Up the Light” addressed the problems of drug use, especially with the youth. But, it is sad and ironic, in retrospect, how this song would foreshadow Houston’s later life and her own personal battles with drug addiction.
Although “Hold Up the Light” was released in 1988, it is very relevant in today’s world with the ongoing opioid epidemic. I knew of friends, friends’ loved ones, families, and strangers who died due to opioids. It is heartbreaking. And, with COVID-19, the opioid epidemic is getting worse in the US and Canada.
