Dear Justin Guitar Community,****
Greetings and salutations!
I hope you all are doing well, and enjoying your Valentine’s day weekend.
I wanted to wish all of you a Happy Valentine’s Day.
I hope you all spread positive love, joy, peace, and happiness throughout this special day.
Remember whether a holiday or not, we’ll all rise up in spite of the ache, we will rise up.
Have a wonderful night, and until next time!
Kindest Regards,
Sa’Marii
I agree, It is becoming a bit preachy!
I looked up some information about the song Rise Up by Andra Day.
I found an interview in Time magazine with Andra Day herself. Two questions were asked about the song.
What inspired you to write “Rise Up”?
My music and my personal life were both stagnating at the time, and a friend of mine had been diagnosed with cancer. “Rise Up” started as a sort of prayer—I thought about what I needed to hear to be able to get back on my feet. Most of the song came streaming out in the first freestyle recording. Honestly, there are lines in there I’d normally find cliché. But sometimes a good cliché is exactly what you need in a moment of hopelessness.
Black Lives Matter has adopted the song as its unofficial anthem.
That’s right. It’s a huge honor because Black Lives Matter represents standing up to oppression and persecution. Having the group connect with “Rise Up” made me more aware that I need to use my platform to serve the community.
Also, I found that, due to a cover version, it has become something of an anthem for gay / lesbian groups and is often played at ‘Pride’ events.
@SaMarii I don’t know if you embrace either of these movements, or mean to share the song from either of their perspectives and you are not required to explain even if you do.
As a song to share in the Community, this one is perfectly fine and gives no cause for controversy in and of itself. In light of the above, it must be concluded that the song isn’t a worship or religious song. It is more one of holding a certain mindset, a rallying call in the face of difficulties.
I did initially think this sentence could be seen as ‘preaching’. In light of other posts made by SaMarii, that would be a reasonable interpretation. But in light of the song’s meaning, and its co-opting into the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement and into the ‘Pride’ community, I do not think that ‘religious preaching’ is its only meaning. And that is regardless of the intentions of SaMarii in writing it. I think it is more universal in meaning.
However - @SaMarii - I feel it would be helpful for me to make two statements, wearing my moderator hat.
1]
The moderators have been required to edit / delete some comments that you included in your posts due to them being overtly religious. I advise you for the future, if in doubt, do not write sentences that could be interpreted as preaching or proselytising.
2]
You started a topic in which you stated that you wanted to share recordings of you playing and singing so that you could receive feedback on your guitar skills in a way that could help you progress and improve. Do you see how you, by your own actions, have derailed that as a focus in this topic? Instead of people offering encouragement, helpful critique and positive comments to you, the discussion has gone to a whole other place. Simply because you felt the need to write a comment that was unnecessary. Not every post needs to contain explicit or implicit comments relating to your faith or spiritual philosophy. Just the opposite in fact. Resisting the urge to write comments alluding to them would be more acceptable and appropriate.
Thanks for sharing a video of you playing and singing, Samarii. You have a lovely voice (though my ear is not finely tuned to really comment on pitch). Playing rhythm was steady, fluent, clean chords.
Can’t offer anything to focus on. But for the next video, if possible, sit a little further back frm the camera so we can see both your fretting and strumming hands
Thank you to @Richard_close2u for the clarification about the meaning of this song (which was fascinating), as well as the clarification about religious songs/posts.
It’s a tricky area because the forum is, indeed, best kept non-political/non-religious. However, quite a few good songs have religious (or potentially interpretable as religious) references in them, and we might like these songs, even if we are not religious. So sometimes it’s a bit difficult to know where to draw the line. I recently posted a video of me singing (and trying to play) “Have I told you lately” written by Van Morrison. I hesitated before posting it because although many people interpret it as a love song (including me, to my wife), Van Morrison obviously wrote it as a love song to God (i.e. lyrics in the 2nd verse, which I did consider changing). Despite not being at all religious, I like the song and, after all, Justin did make a very good lesson of it (with really nice embellishments etc). So in the end I decided to post it. But then I was thinking that there are lots of songs people have posted, or might post here, that clearly have religious references, some of which are Justin song lessons, but I find super “preachy” - I can think of several popular ones written by members of the Beatles (especially George Harrison), as well as some of the Christmas Carols people post in December.
Then there are all the songs with political references or references to particular movement - won’t even go there in this post 
!
@Prof_Thunder
Ian what’s your point? The rules are very clear. There is no discussion of religious or politics on this forum.
If someone posts a blatantly Religious or political song then the music can be discussed or the persons playing but not the content of the song.
If it gets out of hand the thread is locked or deleted. If a person insists on repeating rule violations they get banned.
@SaMarii is constantly breaking the rules with her religious posts and walking on thin ice.
When is this going to stop, it looks and feels like and reads like someone preaching despite @Richard_close2u post
It’s the OR NOT, that I feel for her, is the important part of the sentence , this in itself is preaching.
I can honestly say, that I don’t think i’ve ever had the need to feel like I should chime in, specially when its such a negative comment, which I really dont like or want to but!.
Despite being told numberous time in the past you still persists in blatently disregarding certain rules.
IE :[quote=“Richard_close2u, post:4, topic:409704”]
The moderators have been required to edit / delete some comments that you included in your posts due to them being overtly religious.
[/quote]
Rant over and listening to you sing and play, its actually not bad at all, timeing and singing together seems absolutely fine, voice was difficult to hear so maybe lift your recording device higher about your guitar so that it’s not quite so dominant.
Please, drop all the religios garb here, !
R
PS, to the mods, I know this in itself is a breach but when someone refuses to listen and others step in, furthur steps should be taken. ! So My apologies . I hope I never have to write like this again. !
You don’t need to in the first place. Just flag such posts up for the moderators to handle.
@Richard_close2u would it be better off either locking this topic down or tidying it up?
Thank you for reminding me, I’ve never had occasion to use and completely forgot it was there, And agreed. !
R
@Libitina Thanks for sharing your concerns Rachel.
The moderators have discussed SaMarii’s posts behind the scenes and our position is clear - one more breach of our rules will lead to an immediate ban.