"I Know Where I've Been" is a gospel-style, soul song from the 2002 musical ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'', performed by "

Motormouth ''Motormouth'' is a Saturday morning children's television series that was produced by TVS and broadcast across the ITV network for four series, running between 3 September 1988 and 4 April 1992. Each series generally ran from the autumn of o ...

" Maybelle as she leads a protest for racial equality through the streets of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Critical reception

The song is regarded by critics as the most serious in the production, examining themes of past struggle and future resolution. It received acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Reviewing a stage version, Broadway World wrote "When the fabulous Arthella Williams' "Maybelle" brings down the house with the show's one genuinely serious song "I Know Where I've Been," the audience is already being prepped for a standing ovation." In other stage musical reviews, CurtainUp notes "Inga Ballard as "Motormouth" Maybelle, stops the show with "I Know Where I've Been", while MD Theatre Guide writes "Aaliyah Dixon's voice soared to phenomenal heights in the tearjerker, "I Know Where I've Been" drawing the audience to roaring applause". Catholic News explains "Maybelle's stirring civil rights number -- "I Know Where I've Been"—is sung during a torch-lit protest march to the TV station and provides the film's most serious, genuinely moving sequence." RationalMusic wrote "The song "I Know Where I've Been" is very pretty, but its slow and serious tone is jarring after the frivolity of the rest of the score. Also, is there some unwritten rule that says that if a show has black characters, they have to sing a gospel-style or religious song? " It has been described as "anthemic", "a power ballad about the struggles of racism", "one of the film's true highlights", and the "rousing, showstopper act two song". VeniceStage writes "Despite all the fun and fluff of hairspray, that message of tolerance and acceptance is one that hits home without preachiness." SparksUnderland wrote "The soul gospel filled number, 'I Know Where I've Been', seemed to raise the hairs on the back of my neck along with every other audience member there." A series of reviews compiled by NMST described the song as "soulful", a "powerful gospel-like

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

ballad", "spiritual", "dramatic", and "knockout

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

References

2000s ballads 2002 songs Songs from Hairspray (musical) Songs against racism and xenophobia Song articles with missing songwriters Songs written by Scott Wittman Songs written by Marc Shaiman {{2000s-song-stub