Manifest Destiny - Revision history

Mustyskunk at 17:18, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T17:18:00Z

@@ Line 12: / Line 12: @@
 == Lyrics ==
-<blockquote>As I remember, it was 400 years or more
+Despite sharing a nearly identical song structure, ''Manifest Destiny'' and ''Let Me Believe'' have very different lyrics from each other.
 Since you came to crucify
@@ Line 88: / Line 94: @@
 Said I want to know why
-Hey!</blockquote>
+Hey!

Mustyskunk at 17:08, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T17:08:45Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:08, 3 March 2026
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	Manifest Destiny was written after Kay had read "''Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee''" by Dee Brown. The book explores the history of American expansionism (Manifest destiny) in the West during the late nineteenth century, and its effects on the Indigenous population living there; focusing on the displacement and massacres of Native American women and children. Angering Kay, he wrote the track as a way to get his feelings off of his chest regarding the topic, describing the writing process as one of the few times where he had felt absolutely sure of what he was doing.<blockquote>"''...there's something so fragile in the vocal. But then I was fragile, I wasn't in a good place. Sometimes I'd be in tears writing these songs, I was fighting for everything. Every track was a battle.''".</blockquote>		Manifest Destiny was written after Kay had read "''Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee''" by Dee Brown. The book explores the history of American expansionism (Manifest destiny) in the West during the late nineteenth century, and its effects on the Indigenous population living there; focusing on the displacement and massacres of Native American women and children. Angering Kay, he wrote the track as a way to get his feelings off of his chest regarding the topic, describing the writing process as one of the few times where he had felt absolutely sure of what he was doing.<blockquote>"''...there's something so fragile in the vocal. But then I was fragile, I wasn't in a good place. Sometimes I'd be in tears writing these songs, I was fighting for everything. Every track was a battle.''".</blockquote>

			== Lyrics ==
			<blockquote>As I remember, it was 400 years or more

			Since you came to crucify

			And they were taken far away from home

			There were promises of paradise

			But if they had been told that they, that they would be sold this way

			To satisfy the souls of chosen men

			See, I had to look carefully at the shame of my ancestry

			To redefine the storyline again


			Hey, if I was taken for a day and shown another way

			Now every child can learn a different thing

			See, I tried a million times, but I had to change my mind, oh

			Sadness was the best thing I could bring

			On the inside he was dead, and this is what he said

			As he took away the blue above the clouds

			Oh, "Superiority was clearly meant to be

			So destiny will manifest in time"


			So where has the love all gone?

			A troubled trail of tears will tell the tale

			Of how I was put down where I don't belong, oh

			Woman, child and man for sale

			For ethical slavery is just an absurdity

			How can you be alive when you are dead?

			With these chains of hypocrisy, the shame of my ancestry

			Forever stained by blood in which you tread, hey, yeah


			If I was taken for a day and shown another way

			Oh, now every child can learn a different thing

			See, I tried a million times, but I had to change my mind, yeah

			That sadness was the best thing I could bring

			On the inside he was dead, oh, and this is what he said

			As he took away the blue above the clouds

			Oh, "Superiority was clearly meant to be

			So destiny will manifest itself in time," yeah


			So where has the love all gone?

			Said I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I wanna know, I

			Oh, somebody tell me where the love has all gone

			Said I want to know why

			Hey!</blockquote>

Mustyskunk at 16:56, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T16:56:44Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:56, 3 March 2026
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	Epic (Japan)\|genre=Aciz jazz, funk, soul\|writer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Toby Smith]]\|producer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Mike Nielsen]]\|bpm=N/A}}		Epic (Japan)\|genre=Aciz jazz, funk, soul\|writer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Toby Smith]]\|producer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Mike Nielsen]]\|bpm=N/A}}

	"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].		"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']]. Described as a "beautiful, tender" track by Kay, contrasting with its incredibly heavy lyrics, focusing on the 19th-century American belief ''Manifest destiny'', which was the belief that American settlers were destined to expand westward across North America, resulting in the displacement and killings of Indigenous populations across the land. The track shows Kay reflecting on those ideas: "See, I had to look carefully at the shame of my ancestry", with much regret and sorrow for the Indigenous people who had to endure those practices.

	== Background ==		== Background ==

Mustyskunk at 16:45, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T16:45:32Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:45, 3 March 2026
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			{{Song\|cover=91LIgBJ7CdL.jpg\|name=Manifest Destiny\|artist=[[Jamiroquai]]\|album=[[The Return Of The Space Cowboy]]\|released=October 17, 1994\|recorded=1993-1994\|playedLive=Yes; "Let Me Believe" 1 time.\|studio=Townhouse, Battery, Falconer\|length=6:22\|label=Sony Soho Square (UK)
			Work (US)
			Columbia (Canada)
			Epic (Japan)\|genre=Aciz jazz, funk, soul\|writer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Toby Smith]]\|producer=[[Jay Kay]], [[Mike Nielsen]]\|bpm=N/A}}

	"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].		"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].

Mustyskunk at 16:39, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T16:39:06Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:39, 3 March 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].		"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy\|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].

			== Background ==
			Manifest Destiny originated as a track known as "Let Me Believe", which was performed live during the Emergency on Planet Earth Tour, at Rolling Stone, Milan, December 5, 1993. Despite sharing the same bassline and similar song structure, the two songs have completely different lyrics. It's unknown whether more work was done on "Let Me Believe", though the track would be reworked into "Manifest Destiny" for the band's second album, "The Return of the Space Cowboy".

			Manifest Destiny was written after Kay had read "''Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee''" by Dee Brown. The book explores the history of American expansionism (Manifest destiny) in the West during the late nineteenth century, and its effects on the Indigenous population living there; focusing on the displacement and massacres of Native American women and children. Angering Kay, he wrote the track as a way to get his feelings off of his chest regarding the topic, describing the writing process as one of the few times where he had felt absolutely sure of what he was doing.<blockquote>"''...there's something so fragile in the vocal. But then I was fragile, I wasn't in a good place. Sometimes I'd be in tears writing these songs, I was fighting for everything. Every track was a battle.''".</blockquote>

Mustyskunk: Created page with ""'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album ''The Return of the Space Cowboy''."

2026-03-02T04:33:17Z

Created page with ""'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album ''The Return of the Space Cowboy''."

New page

"'''Manifest Destiny'''" is the fifth track off of the album [[The Return Of The Space Cowboy|''The Return of the Space Cowboy'']].