kay sarah's funky waltz - by lori rillera

there was a repetitive ditty i sang along to when i was a little girl. the song starts out, "when i was just a little girl..." so, of course, i knew the song was all about me.

fast forward to my strum and sing class on zoom. this little girl is now fifty seven years old. "que sera" by doris day is one of the songs we practice on the guitar, and i hate it. basically it's about a lost person looking for answers from others, rather than looking inside herself. the lyrics grate on me and i grit my teeth whenever we have to play it. when i confide my song struggle to my sister, she sends me a link to "que sera sera" by marcus miller featuring selah sue.

marcus and selah really open up this song for me. this version has funk and energy and agency. marcus' bass playing is so bad ass, so deeply funky -- and that alone is worth the price of admission. selah sue sings the hell out of the song, in a way that doris day couldn't back in the day. selah owns this song. plus the video visuals of beautiful people of all colors and flavors, their close ups: intimate, playful, raw and real. marcus holds it all together with a bass line that is the heart beat and soul of this song.

it never occurred to me that maybe the girl in the song is just curious about what others think, but doesn't take their words as gospel. maybe she compares their responses to what she herself thinks. when she asks about her future, i used to think people were blowing her off with the lyric, "que sera sera/whatever will be will be/the future's not ours to see." but instead, maybe they were allowing her space to find her own way. a song i couldn't stand, i now stand up and dance to.