I'm very grateful for the success of 'Take Me to the Alley.' The

Hear, O seeker of wisdom, the words of Gregory Porter, who with a voice rich as velvet and as enduring as the earth declared: “I’m very grateful for the success of Take Me to the Alley. The chart position it’s reached around the world is very exciting, and its success is an example of the acceptance of my music. I am very thankful.” This is no mere celebration of acclaim, but the song of a soul who has labored in the shadows, whose gift has been tested by time, and who now bows in humility before the blessing of recognition.

The origin of this utterance lies in the creation and triumph of Take Me to the Alley, an album born not from shallow desires of fame, but from deep rivers of spirit and truth. Porter’s music, steeped in jazz and soul, often carried messages that reached into the depths of human longing. Yet in a world where such voices are not always embraced, success was never assured. Thus, when the album rose to prominence and found acceptance around the world, his gratitude was not only for numbers on a chart, but for the confirmation that his voice had truly been heard, his message received.

This truth is echoed in the tale of Vincent van Gogh, who painted with the fire of vision but never saw his works celebrated in his lifetime. Though he died unknown, his art would later be honored across the earth. Porter’s gratitude reminds us how different is the blessing when one sees his creation embraced in his own days. He does not boast as one who has conquered, but gives thanks as one who knows that acceptance is a rare and fragile gift, not owed but bestowed.

Notice too the humility in his words: he is grateful, he is thankful. He does not claim mastery of the charts, nor entitlement to recognition. Instead, he sees success as a reflection of something greater: the meeting of his soul’s expression with the hearts of listeners across nations. His gratitude transforms his triumph into a bridge between himself and his audience, binding them together not in pride but in shared joy.

The lesson here is profound: measure your success not only by external achievements, but by the acceptance of your truth in the hearts of others. When what you create, whether song, word, or deed, resonates with people beyond your reach, that is the true crown of labor. Yet when this crown comes, wear it lightly, with humility and thankfulness, lest pride corrupt its beauty.

Therefore, O listener, live as Gregory Porter teaches: create with sincerity, give from the depths of your soul, and when success comes, meet it not with arrogance but with thanksgiving. Do not let charts, applause, or wealth blind you; let them instead remind you that your work has touched lives, that your voice has joined the chorus of humanity. And even if recognition comes late or comes small, rejoice still, for the act of giving truth through your craft is itself a victory.

So let the words of Gregory Porter endure: “I am very grateful… I am very thankful.” For in them lies the eternal truth that success is not solely in the work itself, nor solely in its reception, but in the union of both, sealed with gratitude. Carry this wisdom within your heart, and you too shall find that your labor, once accepted and embraced, becomes not merely achievement, but legacy.