Combining the elements of punk, metal, and broadway, The Sinators are a female-fronted 5-piece band that write fast, melodic songs often concerning the social i
Hello. We are The Sinators.
Story behind the song
Most of this song was actually written last year while I was on duty as a hall monitor (during PSAT testing) at Dreher High School, the school at which I teach. The idea for the song had been in my head for a while, however...
One day I was cleaning out my bedroom, and in the process, I found my ID tag from USC's Martin Luther King Day of Service. I specifically remember sitting on my bed and thinking for around 15 minutes about Dr. King and what it must have been like in the 60's. I remembered seeing those clips of white policemen violently spraying blacks with waterhoses, pictures of Klansmen, and photos of bathrooms and water fountains that said "White" and "Colored".
I wanted to write a song about my feelings into the matter, but I knew that if I wrote a song about something as significant as that period of time, I needed powerful and meaningful lyrics. I tried about three different versions and none were really successful, so I put the idea in my scrapbook and gave the idea time to mature.
Months later, as I was in the car, I thought to myself, "If people could be considered colored for something as shallow and insignificant as their skin color, I'm sure I could be considered colored for quite a number of things." Then I thought, "Couldn't we all be considered colored for something in our lives?" This inspired me to write the words to the chorus, which is weird because I normally write the verse first. I especially liked the last part: "I think we're all colored to some degree". As I attacked the verse, I knew that I had a kick-ass chorus and that it would probably work best to be subtle in my approach to the rest of the song, which I believe is much more powerful and appropriate than being blunt about it.
Looking at all of our songs, I am really proud of this one. I wish every song I write could be this poignant and powerful.
Lyrics
He lived in confusion, surrounded by adversity, yet somehow alone
Unaware of what made him feel so foreign, so forlorn
Confused by the glances they gave him, content to ignore,
Their silence tore him to pieces, so over and over he roared
"I'm colored by misunderstanding
Colored by disparity
I'm covered with a sense of hope
Because I think we're all colored to some degree"
Finally he realized what made him so different to everyone else
And its shallow insignificance only made him that much more content with himself
Silence was his only companion, faithful through it all
It made him stronger and stronger, his determination took him through it all
He said, "I'm colored by misunderstanding
Colored by disparity
I'm covered with a sense of hope
Because I think we're all colored to some degree"
Lyrics: October 2000
Music: October 2000
