“To My Bones” / “As the River Flows” / “In Dictum” | Wallis Bird | TED

00:03Hiya. So my name is TED. You're all very welcome to my world. And I'm going to sing you three songs. The first one is for joy, and the second one is for humanity, and the last one is for the heart. So they're really depressing, you're welcome, see ya.

00:29(Laughter) OK. (Guitar music) Alright, it's called "To my bones." We’re kissing the lips of strangers We're hugging whoever next we meet Oh, life, I love you to my bones When everything's shut, we're listless Take them home and cook them dinners and sing Oh, life, I love you to my bones Dominoes and medicine A two you are and new you win Take a seat and let it grow The world will love you Woo!

01:27Elephants of memory An alphabet of chemistry All of these things have made me Roscoe and Beenie, Laughter and no TV I've got punch lines and fisticuffs And tons and tons of luck. I've got firesides and dutch gold There's no such thing as too old And my fortune is my home My home and all I know Oh, yeah, because, because oh, life, I love you to my bones Oh, life, I love you to my bones Oh, life, I love you to my bones Oh, life, I love to my bones Oh, life, I love you to my bones Oh, life, I love you to my bones Oh, life, I love you to my bones

02:29Oh, life, I love you to my bones (Music ends) Thanks very much. (Applause and cheers) Thank you again. OK, this next song is brilliant. (Laughter) It's called "As the River Flows." And it's in support of migrants and refugees and in defiance of racism.

03:08(Cheers and applause) And as the river flows, well you and I are made of water Surging into history Universal mystery All in all, we cannot choose The life that we were given So we move across the land To sky, to sea Looking for more than we were offered Are we not allowed?

03:42Are you still where your mother pushed you out? I doubt that this is true If you can move, then I will too To to to the land, To the sea To safety, to safety, to safety To the land to the mouth of the sea To the land To the sea To safety, to safety, to safety Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery What are you scared of Aren't you brave enough To pave a basic decency for human kind?

04:43A baby lost its family Lost its life Don't turn your face away Don't tell me borders are for jobs and civic order When I know you see it differently You want your palette white You want it cleaned Walk a mile Walk 2,000 miles Walk 3,000 miles to to the land To the sea To safety, to safety, to safety Overcoming mystery To safety, to safety, to safety Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery

05:48Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery Overcoming mystery To safety, to safety, to safety To safety, to safety, to safety To safety, to safety, to safety To safety, to safety, to safety To safety, to safety, to safety To safety, to safety, to safety (Cheers and applause) Wow.

06:58Thank you so much. I would like to invite my lovely partner on stage for this, Tracey K, please come on stage. (Applause) This one is for your heart. (Guitar music) Well, I’ll tell you the truth As I only do, my friend I'll been living my youth As I live till my end My friend I've been battered and bruised But it's only a few that have stayed or left And that's nothing a hammer A nail or my mind couldn't cure

08:03But I've left people hang On a stick or a word If their grip grew tight All the bottles of battles The beds that I've shared they're all mine But the more you hold on to me The less you can have of me The more you hold on to me The less I am yours to keep Yet the more you hold on to me I'll try not to leave.

09:05Peace on earth. Thank you so much. (Cheers and applause) Hello everybody, my name is Jacob Collier, and I am this year's music curator for TED. And the musician you just heard, Wallis Bird, is one of my dearest musical companions. She is crazy.

09:27I don't know how you felt, but the first time I heard Wallis sing, I had tears and goosebumps. She's like a roof-raising musician. She accompanied me on tour, opening for some shows a couple of years ago, and I knew then what I know now, which is that she possesses that rare gift that not many musicians possess, which is the ability to win over any crowd with her totally wild energy, her joy, and her colors.

09:42Her voice to me is like this chameleon. It can change color, it can change shape, it's stretchy. It's this magnificent instrument of joy. And I think one of my favorite moments of the talk you just witnessed was that moment where she goes higher and higher and higher, and the energy just builds and builds and builds.

10:04She really is unlike any musician I know. Hope you enjoyed. Lots of love, cheerio, bye.