Talk point: ‘I am your mind’ parts 1 & 2, Roy Ayers Ubiquity II (Virgin Ubiquity II: Unreleased Recordings, 1976-1981, Rapster Records, 2005) first published November 02, 2017
Many of the reactions to ‘I am your mind, part II’ below the video are excited by what they see to be the persona Ayers takes on and his apparent domination, manipulation of a woman. But when I first heard it I somehow skipped the ‘sister’ and thought he was speaking to other men, speaking of the need for self-determination in a psychological sense; in other words, I thought it was something much more collective and political. I still think that you can respond to the lyrics in this way, even if it is apparently directed to a lover, a woman he is criticising, while calling her his good friend, before saying that he will leave her, or she will leave him. It remains ambiguous, they are both running away.
Reader comment:
“I thought he was directing it towards a woman at first as well, but then as I listened to the song repeatedly I felt that he was the mind. He was the collective thoughts and sensations that we felt as human beings and it made the meaning behind the song evermore beautiful.”
Who do you think Roy Ayers is addressing here? Add your comment, share your knowledge below.
** After the post: well, that certainly got everyone talking, haha … still feel free to respond in any way shape or form to the question and/or song. The impulse is to open this up so it’s less me writing to the empty space; people with more affinity with this writing in public mode of being have told me it’s a “good thing to do” - be well all **