Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: jazz
Song Meaning of “Cinnamon Tree” by Esperanza Spalding
The song ‘Cinnamon Tree’ by Esperanza Spalding is a powerful meditation on the transformative power of love, as spoken from the perspective of a bitter heart who has been given a new lease on life. The song is a reminder that, no matter how we have been hurt or broken, the possibility of finding sweetness and joy in life is still within reach.
Throughout the song, Spalding paints a vivid image of a barren, grey winter season that her narrator has been trapped within for far too long, and the lyrical imagery of “the cold morning dew … ice on the edge of me” conveys a feeling of frozen numbness that stems from the hurt her narrator has endured in the past. Her narrator acknowledges and takes responsibility for the part that their bitterness and pain has played in their life, singing that they “just let the bad outgrow the good, it always has”.
But, the story does not remain in this stark winter season, as Spalding’s narrator finds a moment of reprieve when love comes back to them. Like a warm winter gust, they are able to “feel its light start lifting me”, and the sun that had been hidden away for years in their grey life begins to finally shine. As they surrender to this new love entering their life, they become reborn as a “cinnamon tree … [with] blossoms for the world”.
The narrator realizes that, despite all of their suffering, they have the strength to move forward as long as they use love as their driving force. The track is a reminder to the listener that there is always hope and that true love can heal us, no matter how damaged we may feel.