Disclosure Song Quotes

The poetry and politics of the Christmas story hit me as if I were hearing it for the first time: the idea that some force of love and logic inside this mysterious universe might choose self-disclosure in the jeopardy of one impoverished child, born on the edge of nowhere, to teach us how we might live in service to one another is overwhelming. Its eloquence is overwhelming. Unfathomable power expressed in powerlessness. I nearly laugh out loud. Genius. Inexpressible presence choosing to be present not in palace but in poverty.

Sometimes it's easier to write to you, or to speak to you without seeing your face. I feel like I can be more honest about who I am and what I need. I wanted to show you the real me-- not the version of myself I thrust in front of me at all times like a cardboard cutout, anticipating the pain of being misunderstood. Or something that you call vulnerability, anyway. I was so used to that kind of disclosure-- a way of being seen without really being seen.

Self-reflection was never Aretha’s strong suit, and yet in the late eighties, she began discussing the idea of writing her memoirs. Before she hired an agent to shop a deal, though, she spoke about her life to reporter Ed Bradley for a 60 Minutes segment. The resulting profile was little more than a puff piece. Yet Aretha was extremely unhappy with the interview because of one particular question. Bradley wanted to know about the sexual content in so many of her songs. “I mean, it’s in a lot of your songs,” he said. “Lust. A feeling—good feeling.” “You got me mixed with somebody else, Ed,” said Aretha indignantly. A few months after the interview aired, I spoke with Bradley. “I’ve done some tough celebrity interviews,” he told me, “but Aretha ranks among the toughest. When it came to personal revelations, she was completely shut down. Given the openness in her music, that shocked me. There was no introspection whatsoever. So when I learned that she was planning to write her autobiography, I was surprised. I couldn’t imagine her making any emotional disclosures.