To me, the best blues voice coming out of Tampa Bay belongs to Betty Fox. I’ve been a fan since I first caught a set at the Ringside Cafe maybe six or seven years ago. She’s sold-out the Side Door, she’s opened for major artists like Mavis Staples at the Mahaffey, and she continues to hone her songwriting skills. I love her fronting a blues band but I’m also happy to catch one of her acoustic sets at the Ale and the Witch.
Betty is back at the Palladium this Friday at 8 p.m. with her full band, including a horn section, and a brand new album. It’s the official CD release party for Peace In Pieces. For tickets and information, you can follow this link.
Betty acoustic
I love the title track and was excited to see that Betty shared her thoughts behind the song on her website, which I’m sharing with you. To see the video for Peace In Pieces, you can follow this link.
It’s a driving, upbeat song about loss and survival that continues to move me. Below are Betty’s thoughts about the song and a copy of the powerful lyrics:
Life is weird. We are encompassed in a universe that requires experience of extreme duality, and in order to truly appreciate one end of the spectrum we must know the other end. This is what Rumi is referring to when he says “The wound is the place where the light enters you”. In pain and suffering, you can find a new appreciation for joy and respect for pleasure you would never have known before, if you seek it. I suppose I was having a series of those moments when I began writing this song.
Betty Fox
I never can quite wrap my mind around the arbitrary twists life takes, throwing you into a tailspin, leaving you searching for your footing in the chaos. Out of nowhere life makes senseless turns that completely change the trajectory of your future forever. It’s often unfair and unsettling and can shake you down to your very core. I have stopped trying to ask why or make sense of tragedy or blessings, all I know is that I am here. I am charged with the task of pressing on, and breaking down these experiences into song helps me to do so.
In spite of heartbreak and extreme loss, I have found this to be true: Peace of mind comes piece by piece. This is a song about overcoming adversity. It’s a song about facing trials head on and braving the difficult tasks ahead of you despite whatever circumstances surround you. It’s about the final stage of grief: acceptance. There is strength in recognizing that regardless of the past, you will find peace of mind if you seek it. I wrote this song to remind myself to seek that peace and keep my eyes on the prize, but also for anyone listening who needs to be encouraged and find comfort in the hope that eventually, it will be ok. You will find peace again.
Sometimes, when you’re caught in the storm it’s easy to forget that this, too, shall pass. Be encouraged, friends. There is beauty in the breakdown. Breathe deep, let go, repeat… and hold on to the peace when it comes (and it will). Hold onto it like your life depends on it, because it does.
Peace In Pieces
Oh, In the mornin’
I arise and face the light
and the Slow Burn smoke stings my eyes.
You see, I resist the urge
of wishing to turn back the hands of time…
but fate favors the brave.
I will heal again.
Though I’ve been broken,
that’s how the light gets in.
Breathe deep, let go,
repeat and I know
I’ll find peace in pieces.
Well, what’s this duality
where my dark meets the light?
Strange reality.
How can I rise?
I find my strength in the fight
and I’m being purified by the fire.
Cause fate favors the brave.
I will heal again.
Though I’ve been broken,
that’s how the light gets in.
Breathe deep, let go,
repeat and I know
I’ll find peace in pieces.
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