Yahoo Lifestyle ‘Sing Sing’ Songwriters Abraham Alexander & Adrian Quesada On Capturing The “Power Art Has For Rehabilitation” With “Like A Bird”
When songwriters Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada signed on to write an original song for Sing Sing, the duo was captivated by the film’s intensity and genuine approach to the story. With a focus on the idea of dreaming of freedom, “Like a Bird” was born and earned the songwriting pair their first Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
Sing Sing tells the true story of Divine G (Colman Domingo), a man imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, who finds purpose as part of a theatre group, along with newcomer Clarence “Divine Eye” Maclin. Most of the actors in the film are alumni of the theatre program from the film, which led Alexander and Quesada to focus on the sense of freedom after rehabilitation for the song.
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Sing Sing is also Oscar-nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Colman Domingo.
DEADLINE: Where did the inspiration for “Like a Bird” come from?
ABRAHAM ALEXANDER: Adrian and I were conversing back and forth on what the song needs, and instantly I was thinking of the imagery of a bird being caged up and how it’s God given divine purpose is to fly. I think human beings have a divine purpose to dream and to see those things come to fruition, and there’s a group of people that have been denied that divine purpose to dream for a very long time. So, once I got that imagery, the rest was very, very easy. But it was the correlation between a bird being caged up and then human beings being caged up. And because they’re both caged, they’re being denied what they were made to do.
DEADLINE: Knowing that most of the actors were part of this program that the film is about too…
ALEXANDER: Yeah, this is entertainment, but this film truly is about life and human beings, and we felt like the song had to match that intensity.
ADRIAN QUESADA: There was so much emotion already on the screen when we saw that final scene that we had a strong palette already there that we had to compliment and elevate. But yeah, the film having so many of the ex-inmates who were part of this program was really powerful.
When we first got involved in the film, it was an independent feature that had no distribution. There was no Oscars buzz, there was no A24 involved. There was nothing. There was just this message and this incredible, beautiful film. And part of what Abe was saying about humanity and the power of giving people a second chance in life and rehabilitation… the power that art has for rehabilitation, you see that in that story.
DEADLINE: As you’re watching this scene before you write the song, was there a specific moment that struck a chord with you?
ALEXANDER: Yeah, when we see the windows being rolled down. Someone who’s been locked up for a long time and now they’re free, but they get into this vehicle that still feels confining in a way, and just rolling down the window and feeling the fresh air on their face, and you’re just seeing this liberation that Colman, or Divine G, exudes. To me, it was that. It was Colman rolling down the window and you’re just like, ‘Oh, he’s out.’ Just thinking of other people that might’ve experienced that feeling too, and also going back to a couple of scenes where Colman would reach and extend his hand outside of a window. So, you knew that he was searching for this fresh air. He was searching for this freedom and this liberation, and now he has it, and he won’t even let a window stop him from experiencing what has been denied to him for a long time.
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