Allison Russell covers Tracy Chapman for SoS and The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
"It was the song that made me understand for the first time that I wasn't alone. It was my first time being away from my really abusive childhood home. I was allowed to go on a trip with my Uncle David, my maternal uncle. And we drove through the Rockies in Canada, and he played me Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman in the car tape deck. I had my little pink sunglasses on and DayGlo pink shirt, and putting my head against the window, and just closing my eyes and sobbing when I heard that song. And I will never forget hearing her voice, and the empathy in her voice, and the recognition and the understanding. And it also gave me hope because she was singing about it. And that felt really powerful to me, because the fact is that we're all inheritors. We're all the culmination of long lines of survivors. Feeling that connection with those who've come before has been a strengthening and a healing thing." - Allison Russell
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Today we’re releasing our next video in partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and our “Song That Found Me At The Right Time” series. This one features singer-songwriter Allison Russell performing the “Behind the Wall” by the legendary Tracy Chapman.
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While Russell's 2021 debut LP “Outside Child” chronicles the harrowing sexual abuse of her childhood, it really captures how she then made it out, and it is an incredible and joyful listen - "an almost indescribably rewarding album" (@Variety). It deserves to not only be on end-of-year lists but to be considered an unparalleled musical offering about chronic trauma, race, courage and healing.
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“Last night I heard the screaming
Loud voices behind the wall
Another sleepless night for me
It won't do no good to call
The police always come late
If they come at all"
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#AllisonRussell
#connectionThroughMusic
#TracyChapman
