" God is tryin' ta tell you somethin' "

There is this beautiful scene near the end of "The Color Purple," the movie made from Alice Walker's novel, where there is a church service going on and the people out in the old-low-down-n-dirty jazz club hear the music and the woman who was singing the sultry jazz tune stops, and starts singing the lead voice of the gospel song.

She starts striding toward the church, singing at the top of her lungs- all the jazz folk following her and clapping in rhythm, rejoicing. The people of the church hear her voice before she gets to the building, the lead vocalist in the church stops singing, bewildered as to where this voice is coming from. The people of the congregation turn in their chairs, and the preacher just stops and stares as this woman bursts through the doors singing, calling out, "God is tryin' ta tell you somethin', God is tryin' ta tell you somethin', God is tryin' ta tell you somethin' right now!"

This woman was shunned by the church-folk, they didn't want to associate themselves with a woman of "her kind." Even her father, the preacher.

She sings, her face glowing, arms stretched out- calling out at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face past the most joyous smile. The church wouldn't open their doors to these people, this woman, so they came storming in.

Doors broken down,
the divisions between "us" and "them"- between the pious preacher and the sensual, soulful singer all crumble away.

"God is tryin' ta tell you somethin'...
God is tryin' ta tell you somethin'
God is tryin' ta tell you somethin' right now..."