With March, and an early Easter, moving right on past us we enter April of 2024! We even have the solar eclipse coming up in the next few days, and luckily, Erie is in the path of totality! I’ve noticed different places getting their eclipse-themed items out and boosting excitement in various ways. This will be a once in a lifetime event and I’m eager to get to see it! God is always doing incredibly amazing things if you look around to see them.
“Do you know why birds sing before the dawn?
To thank the Lord that they made it until morn’”
This month we’re bringing our great music taste to “SWEETER” by DIXSON from Atlanta, Georgia. This song won me over this month because of its upbeat tempo and feeling of hope that I feel we could all use as we welcome spring on our doorstep. This song was released last year in 2023, but the message still resonates.
“I’m just a dreamer, mm
Looking for sweeter”
This song starts out with a line about birds living freely, which reminds me of our song review in January for “Feeling Good” by Nina Simone. The reason for the birds singing in DIXSON’s song is because they are thanking God that they made it through the darkness and unpredictability of the night, so they sing in joy of survival. However DIXSON says he’s been singing through the night in joy of the same love the birds feel in the morning. In the second verse the artist mentions holding a candle so that “the gods could see us there.” I feel this is symbolic of God’s love and presence. DIXSON also shows gratitude for being able to breathe the same air of who this song is written to, comparing it to richness.
The bridge in the song has a line of gratitude that if life had nothing else to give DIXSON he would be happy with what he has experienced. He also says that he and who the song is to have made life as sweet as can be. Let’s look into who DIXSON is and we might be able to get a better understanding of these lyrics.
DIXSON, also known as Darius Scott, experienced his rise to fame through the American TV series titled, “The Voice,” which some of you may be familiar with, not to be confused with the original TV series called “The Voice of Holland,” which is also part of “The Voice” franchise. The contestants on the show compete in a singing competition in order to sign a recording deal with an unsigned musician. Winning on a show like this could make the dreams of a singer come true overnight! Not to mention, just being on the show garners attention that wasn’t previously present. DIXSON was able to join the team of the judge Pharrell WIlliams on the show in 2015 for season 9 of the series. This was just after the 2014 release of his self-produced album titled, “Masterpiece,” which he describes as “the spiritual journey of a young man, challenged by the normative constructs of what is considered faith-based music.” He went on to make it to the top 24 performances before being eliminated from the show. However, as the song “SWEETER” states, DIXSON is a dreamer and his dreams weren’t extinguished here, but only just began.
After making his debut on “The Voice,” DIXSON kept in contact with Williams and began working alongside the contestants of the show as well as with other major artists like Chance the Rapper, who we may recall from a previous review for a song called, “Holy,” featuring Justin Bieber; this was another song that DIXSON had credits in too.
“See, I’m just a dreamer
Looking for sweeter”
Getting back into the song, now that we have a better understanding of who is behind the lyrics, we can kind of hear the song with a “new-pair-of-ears” (if we listened to the song prior to this point). Now we can understand what the singer means by being “a dreamer” who, while embracing the sweetness of life, knows that sometimes there are times that aren’t so sweet, while still being thankful to have “more than any dreamer.”
“But will you stick by me when them peaches ain’t sweet?”
May 2024 lead you to what is fruitful for you. I hope that your love for God and passion for what and whom you love only grow stronger, and even though life isn’t always peaches and cream, may God lead you to only SWEETER.
References:
“Dixson (Singer).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2024, Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Scott, Darius DIXSON. “Dixson – Sweeter.” YouTube, 24 Feb. 2023, Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.
Scott, Darius DIXSON. “Dixson – Sweeter.” Genius, 16 Sept. 2022, Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.