Singer-Songwriter Tabitha Elkins visited Berlin with her mother on a trip visiting relatives in Germany. At the time, Berlin was famously divided by a high wall with barbed wire and patrolling soldiers. Although just a child at the time, she remembers the feeling she had visiting the city.
Today, the German-American songwriter is adamant that walls cannot bring peace or security. Her uptempo song, "Walls in Our Hearts", bears witness to this conviction, and draws parallels between walls in Berlin, in Israel and on the US-Mexican border. Notable are the lyrics: "You may want to build a wall, I say build a bridge instead. Let us learn to love one another, tear down the barriers in our heads." The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist played all of the instruments on the track herself, with the notable exception of the guitar solo, played by guitarist Andreas Herden. The infectious funk-infused song is featured on her epic 16-song concept album, Love and Death, which revolves around a variety of themes, including both political and personal topics. "It's a description of a year of my life, and the personal and political events surrounding me," she explains. In one year, she dealt with the loss of her sister and a friend from cancer, unrequited love and world events, which left her shaken.
It should hardly be surprising that political and world events would figure in the album; it is only a couple of years ago that the singer and political activist took the plunge and ran for the German Bundestag as an independent candidate, after entering the national spotlight in her appearance in Germany's "Deutschland Sucht den Superstar". Her campaign gained much attention, but not enough votes to earn a coveted seat in Germany's parliament, and she is still active in local politics as deputy speaker for international politics for the Green Party of Rheinland Palatinate.
The music video for "Walls in Our Hearts", featuring dancer Malikah Johnson, was shot in Berlin. Says Elkins, "I really wanted people to pay attention to the words, so the video includes the lyrics." You can check out the video at tu.be/2mQJpN9L8xw
