Ben Harper

Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter musician and two-time Grammy Award winner, known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism.

Quotes

Make no mistake about it, making a good record is pure, unadulterated pain. If you fall and break your leg--that's pain. But I'm telling you, the phase between pain and death? That's making a good record. It's extreme.
- Roots Radical, Guitar Player (December 1, 1999).

Every time feels like my first time. And I just find that the process of it feeds into one's own self-obsession.
- About interviews
- Ben Harper Interview, MusicFix (February 14, 2006).

My band is the best band in the world, period. So, I insist on every song being better then it is on the record. So by the end of the tour, we have to be playing the song better then how it’s recorded.
- The Streets Interview with Ben Harper, cmj.com (June 20, 2006).

Song lyrics

All songs written by Ben Harper, except as noted.

Welcome to the Cruel World (1994)

You see mama don't watch your damn football
And your beer drinkin' just won't do
You're just stayin' out late
And you're preachin' the hate
And you never have been true
You see mama she want her somebody
Who will let her be herself
So she's leavin' you
And your stinky damn ways
Cause she's found somebody else
- Mama's Got a Girlfriend Now.

You may write me down in history
With your bitter twisted lies
You may trod me down in the very dirt
And still like the dust I'll rise.
- I'll Rise, written by Ben Harper and Maya Angelou.

Fight for Your Mind (1995)

I believe in a few things:
God the devil and love.
'Cause I've looked up from the bottom
And I've stared down from above.
I have faith in a few things:
Divinity and grace.
But even when I'm on my knees
I know the devil prays.
And you're working your way
From the ground on down.
- Ground On Down.

My choice is what I choose to do.
And if I'm causing no harm
It shouldn't bother you.
Your choice is who you choose to be.
And if your causin' no harm
Then you're alright with me.
- Burn One Down.

Excuse me Mr.
But isn't that your oil in the sea?
And the pollution in the air Mr.
Whose could that be?
So excuse me Mr.
But I'm a mister too
And you're givin' Mr. a bad name,
Mr. like you.
- Excuse Me Mr.

It will make a weak man mighty;
It will make a mighty man fall.
It will fill your heart and hands;
Or leave you with nothing at all.
It's the eyes for the blind
And legs for the lame.
It is love for hate,
And pride for shame.
That's the power of the gospel.
That's the power of the gospel.
That's the power of the mighty power.
That's the power of the gospel.
- Power of the Gospel.

Listen stranger, passerby,
And those I never knew.
There's not one day that you are living
Has been promised to you.
- God Fearing Man.

In my life I have been blessed
In my life I have been cursed
I have lived the best of times
I have suffered the worst
Do you know which road you're traveling?
Do you know where you want to be?
With so many roads to travel,
There's just one can set you free.
- One Road to Freedom.

The Will to Live (1997)

Sometimes I feel I know strangers
Better than I know my friends
Why must a beginning
Be the means to an end?
The stones from my enemies
These wounds will mend
But I cannot survive
The roses from my friends.
- Roses From my Friends

Burn to Shine (1999)

Could've sworn I heard you say amen this morning, showing some kind of sign that you believe
Did it fall from your tongue without warning or just another trick to fall from your sleeve?
Did I hear you say that you believe in angels? I guess I bring the devil out in you.
But we can both remove our halos 'cause even an angel needs love too.
Even angels need love too.
- The Woman in You.

Where did you learn to do that so well?
Where did you learn to do that so well?
I guess that would be like kiss and tell.
If it's a secret, why did you show me?
- Suzie Blue.

Real life has let you down.
Real life has let you down.
Someone stripped the jewel from your crown.
Everybody owes somebody something.
- Suzie Blue.

Now I love to feel that warm southern rain,
Just to hear it fall is the sweetest sounding thing.
And to see it fall on your simple country dress
It's like heaven to me I must confess.
- Steal My Kisses.

Now I've been hangin' 'round you for days,
Bt when I lean in you just turn your head away.
Oh no, you didn't mean that.
She said I love the way you think, but I hate the way you act.
- Steal My Kisses.

Diamonds on the Inside (2003)

I can change the world
With my own two hands
Make a better place
With my own two hands
Make a kinder place.
- With My Own Two Hands.

A candle throws its light into the darkness
In a nasty world, so shines the good deed
Make sure the fortune, that you seek
Is the fortune you need.
- Diamonds On The Inside

There Will Be a Light (2004)

with The Blind Boys of Alabama

Take my hand when you are worried
Take my hand when you're alone
Take my hand and let me guide you
Take my hand to lead you home.
- Take My Hand.

Children come running to the truth
But you've got to peel the skin to get the fruit
And while one's living high another's grieving
But what's sweet by morning is bitter by the evening
Oh - What's sweet by morning is bitter by the evening.
- Wicked Man.

Both Sides of the Gun (2006)

The world awakens on the run
And will soon be earning
With hopes of better days to come
It's a morning yearning.
- Morning Yearning.

Fools will be fools,
And wise will be wise.
But I will look this world
Straight in the eyes.
What good is a man
Who won't take a stand?
What good is a cynic
With no better plan?
- Better Way.

Lifeline (2007)

When your whole world is shaken from all the risks we have taken,
Dance with me, dance with me into the colors of the dusk.
- Into the Colors.

The lifetime we've left behind with strangers
Promises and lies both have their dangers.
I just can't be wrong enough and I can't hide for long enough
So far away, but I still feel your pain.
- Fool for a Lonesome Train

White Lies for Dark Times (2009)

with Relentless7

The very thing that drives you, can drive you insane
Got a head full of thought crimes and a number with no name
Got an eleventh hour Jesus and a mouth full of blame
A casket lined with silver dollars and a number with no name.
- Number With No Name.

You can run away from home
But you can't run away from your pain
I sit here alone
There's always someone else to blame.
- Up to You Now.

Now that you've grown up
You can finally learn to be a child
We made it to the end of the world
But we'll never make it out alive.
- Skin Thin.

Some things
You have to let be lost
Some battles, some battles
You have to leave unfought.
Then the truth just wastes away
In all we dare not say.
And in all we can't explain
But I faithfully remain.
- Faithfully Remain.

External links

Wikipedia

Wikipedia has an article about:

Ben Harper

Official site