Spirit Indestructible

Album: The Spirit Indestructible (2012)
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Songfacts®:

  • This is the title track of Nelly Furtado's fourth English-language studio album. Furtado explained that the Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins produced song, "is an ode to the spirit, which resides in all of us and triumphs over anything. It is inspired by people I have met, and special moments in history that I have read about."
  • Spirituality is one of the underlying themes on the Spirit Indestructible album. Furtado told the Mail On Sunday that a trip to Kenya that she undertook in 2011, "was an awakening." The Portuguese-Canadian songstress explained: "I was invited there to shoot a documentary about a high school for girls in a region where very few girls are educated. In Africa, I really remembered who I am. I was raised Catholic, but I see myself as more spiritual than religious. I was able to come home and write all these lyrics, so there are songs on the album about God."
  • "This song means a lot of things to me," explained Furtado in a behind the scenes clip for the video, "because it does have a lot of spirit to it and a lot of positivity to it. It's meant to be empowering. It's meant to be a tribute to all of us: we all have an indestructible spirit." "It's got an elemental theme," she continued. "I love nature. My first video ever was in nature, 'I'm Like a Bird.' So I do see this new album as sort of a coming home into the original reason why I make music in the first place, with is to have fun and rejoice."
  • Furtado released an additional lyric video for the song, which tells the inspiring story of Spencer West, a double amputee who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro using only his hands. "Spencer has just finished an incredible climb up Mount Kilimanjaro to raise awareness and financial support for clean water projects in Africa," said Furtado. "Spencer is a true hero who knows how to 'redefine his possible' every day. I wrote this song in tribute to humanity, as I believe we are all capable of triumphing over whatever obstacle life brings. The spirit indestructible is in all of us. People like Spencer have proven this to me."

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