Joan Osborne - One Of Us

Joan Elizabeth Osborne

''Joan Osborne is an American blues singer-songwriter born on July 8, 1962 in Anchorage, Kentucky. Her songs include country, folk, Motown and occasionally rock influences. She is best known for her song "One of Us", from her album "Relish" (1995). She has lived in New York City since the late 1980s.

In a career that spans more than 15 years, she has proven to be artistically restless and consistently  enthralling performer, with a voice that easily goes from a sexy growl to a sassy purr, keeping her fans captive, all the time.
 Joan, also, has a strong interest and love for Qawwali music, an ancient  form of spiritual, Indian music. She studied briefly with late Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition to classic influences such as Etta James and Ray Charles, Joan continues to seek and learn different styles of music. She's performed with an eclectic group of notables such as Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Taj Mahal, Lucianno Pavarotti, Spearhead, Bob Dylan, The Chieftains, and Issac Hayes.

Her unique mix of blues, jazz, and rock and other styles of music was at once, innovative and irresistible. No wonder her fans loved her and got  easily hooked to her raw, sexy voice and vulnerable lyrics.

Her breakthrough came with the debut album Relish which sold over 5 million copies worldwide and yielded the smash hit : "One Of Us" as well as scoring 7 Grammy nominations."

Listen to this really haunting song asking a haunting question about God.  It is not an overtly  Christian song, but one that topped the charts in the secular market. Its broad appeal makes the message even more interesting:

If god had a name, what would it be? 
And would you call it to his face 
if you were faced with Him in all His glory? 
What would you ask if you had just one question? 

And yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home? 

If God had a face, what would it look like? 
And would you want to see 
if seeing meant that you would have to believe 
in things like heaven and in Jesus and the saints 
and all the prophets? 

And yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home? 

Just trying to make his way home, back up to heaven all alone. 
Nobody calling on the phone, 
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome. 

Yeah, yeah, God is great. 
Yeah, yeah, God is good. 
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 
What if god was one of us, 
just a slob like one of us, 
just a stranger on the bus trying to make his way home, 
just trying to make his way home, just like a holy rolling stone? 
Back up to heaven all alone, just trying to make his way home. 

Nobody calling on the phone, 
'cept for the Pope maybe in Rome. 

Several times during "One of Us," the listener hears the haunting refrain "What if God was one of us." The good news is that God was one of us. He came to be one of us. In Jesus, he became flesh, becoming human while remaining God.

We as Indians can very well relate to this song, as our ancient scriptures have always said:  that we are all Gods, and  that is why we wish/ greet each other with a "Namaste" which in Sanskrit, actually means that, " I salute the God in you or I acknowledge the God within you."

I just love the beautiful concept and her voice. I remember hearing and seeing it again again on MTV at a time when it was a big hit.
I would love to hear your feed backs about this lovely song.