Echoing the warmth, patience and wisdom of “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye, the new album "My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross” by ANOHNI provides a space for beauty, grief, anguish, hope, anger, acceptance and many other emotions to settle down, find their momentum and play across the mind like reflections of light flickering across a bedroom wall. The video for “Why Am I Alive Now” was directed by Hunter Schafer and visualises some of the album’s main themes: the ever-encroaching violence of capitalism on nature, being lost, longing, confusion, but also: finding acceptance, freedom and support without denying the search. There are too many layers to this gorgeous piece of art to explore here, but that’s exactly what great art does: it refuses to be replaced by anything anyone might say or think about it, claiming its own reality for you to experience.
Starring: Fashion, Davia Spain & Massima Bell
Directed by Hunter Schafer
Lyrics:
Why am I alive now?
I don’t want to be witness
Seeing all of this duress
Aching of our world
Why am I alive now?
I don’t want to feel this
Aching color of our world
Why am I alive now?
Watching all this going down
All the animals around
Watching Nature swoon and sigh
Watching all the water dry
Watch the sky fall to the Earth
Birds and insects looking for a place to hide
Why am I alive to watch this duress?
Why am I seeing this stress?
Hide me from my disease
Why am I alive now
Seems there’s nothing left hold
Except keep trying to accept
Hour after lonely hour
Collecting my mind
How did I arrive here?
I don’t know much of anything
Except that you will take my life
I don’t know why
I don’t want to see your face
Meeting me when it’s too late
Many people falling
Many people sighing
Once everything was a part of me
How did I come to be?
Now everything’s gone to the floor
And all I ever want is more
Feel the trees begin to leave
Smoke swallow each mountain side
A rail of tears leads to the sea
No more footsteps in the sand
All our memories are sinking
Into un-living
I don’t know
Why am I alive here?
I don’t know much of anything
I don’t know
I don’t know why I’m alive now!
