“Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
And if any man think that he knoweth anything,
he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.”
The first time I heard Tems’ “Me & U”
was New Year’s Eve 2023.
I randomly came across her song while driving
and it touched a deep place within me
like an anchor connecting with the seafloor.
The different strings, the bass, the drums,
the background vocals, the melodious voice,
and the lyrics spoke of poetic prosody and fluid symphony–
a cry for intimacy.
The pre-chorus and chorus are as follows:
“Give me one break, I need faith
Faith to believe you
Faith to receive you
Give me something, I'm lacking
I don't need nothing
You are my everything
[Chorus]
Only me and you, only me and you (You)
Only me and you, only me and you
Only me, only you
Only mе and you (You), only me and you
Only me and you, only me and you”
Tems is cited saying that “‘Me & U’ is about reconnecting with God. It’s a new conversation. It’s about reconnecting with your inner child and the truth. It’s about now being honest with yourself about who you are, and about having faith that everything is going to be okay, as long as you believe.”
With this context, we can have a more panoramic overview of the pre-chorus and chorus to understand what she means by the first words on the record, being, “This is my decision…”
Could it be a decision to love?
Could it be a decision to drop one's guard,
to finally come, walking on water like Peter to meet Love?
The music video is saturated with symbolism as Tems dances in shallow seawater clothed in white. RollingStone highlights this motif within the video and acknowledges some critics’ theory that the imagery alludes to “Oshun and Yemayá, two deities known as Orishas in the Nigerian Yorùbá” but the article clarifies Tems’ intentions as she wrote, “Actually it’s about Jesus Christ teaching me how to walk on water, to trust Him and not in human understanding.”
When thinking of this piece I was brought to 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 which says,
“Now as touching things offered unto idols,
we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up,
but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth anything,
he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God,
the same is known of him.”
In all the knowledge we have,
in all the systems we understand,
with all the questions we’ve answered,
with all the Babel towers we’ve built,
who’s to say we know anything as we ought to know?
In all my countless hours spent acquiring knowledge and theorizing, I’ve learnt nothing. Our lenses are faulty. We’re scoring in the wrong basket. Instead of prioritizing knowledge, maybe we should be prioritizing being known by God through loving Him. Somehow Tems, technically a secular musician, shows what being desperate for intimacy with God looks like in her song, “Me & You.”
My first time listening to the song,
I was on my way to spend time with God,
And although I didn’t understand it, dare I say,
singing along felt like worship.
Knowledge is good, especially knowledge of the sacred,
but all our learning and getting of wisdom cannot substitute
for crying out to God, saying,
“Only me and you, only me and you (You)
Only me and you, only me and you
Only me, only you
Only mе and you (You), only me and you
Only me and you, only me and you”