Page 12 - ION Indie Magazine_MayJune 2022

In “Dancing Over An Emerald Isle,” the Emerald Isle is a metaphor for
the imagination, a land of endless possibilities. The strings at the
beginning of this song set a soothing tone that transitions into a folk
music jig, which Sylvia sings in a jaunty style that fits the narrative to
perfection.

Sylvia describes the song "Imagination" as "one of the first songs that
we wrote for the project back in the eighties. I thought it was really
important to address and talk about what we do naturally as a child.
Nobody has to teach us how to use our imaginations, but we don’t talk
about it. People just naturally know how to do it. When we become
adults, I think we forget what it is like to dwell in our imaginations and
make things up just be silly. I think using our imaginations is going to
be a key to creating a better world."

Tied closely to that theme is the song “Don’t Be Afraid to Dream,”
which she says, “tells a story. The first verse is about a little girl who
sings to the stars and the stars cheer her on. The second verse is
about a little boy who dreams of someday riding a rocket to the moon.
He is ridiculed, and people say you can’t do that. He proves them
wrong by waving back to them from the moon. In 1969, when the first
man walked on the moon, I was still looking at a black and white
television and I was awe struck like everyone was at that time. I
imagined what he might have been dreaming when he (Neil
Armstrong) was a kid and that maybe one day he would go into outer
space. I am sure there have been naysayers about anything that
people want to dream about. I thought it was important to say that, in
spite of the obstacles of what people say about what we can and
cannot do or that we shouldn’t dream… “Don’t Be Afraid to Dream.”

As for the song “I Love You for Who You Are,” a song on which Sylvia’s
vocals captivate the listener, she says, “The song is the culmination of
the whole journey in life. In the first verse you are sitting down with the
child you spent the day with, and when Verlon Thompson and I wrote
it, I was thinking this would be a great way to end my concert. I
imagined doing the songs in concert. I thought about what I wanted to
leave these kids with was… I am going to say goodbye, but say to
them, I am always going to be with you. When you think back upon
this day, you will know you are loved for who you are. It is really good
to keep that memory of being loved for who you are. It is not for what
you do, but it is for who you are. That is the reason for doing the song.
I think the theme is about saying goodbye, but our experiences live on
within us. That is an important message. The dreamer’s journey is not
only fulfilling what you came to this world to do, but it is really about
finding out who you are beyond what we do. At least that has been my
experience.”