it was interesting to hear some of the pastors who came up, t.d. jaacks who knew whitney later. "sparkle" is the film that will be coming out this summer. he said you paid a tremendous price in life. you had to share her with the world. i think that's often very hard for families of someone so famous to realize that while this is their day, it's also the world's day. people who are fans of whitney houston's, too, are grieving. >> i thought they got it absolutely right today. the family got the balance between giving the fans something and also between keeping it an intimate and family affair for family and friends. i thought they got it bang on. people who criticize it have to imagine what it was like. cissy houston all week trying to wrestle with the right thing to do. you could not argue that was an incredible service to pay tribute to her daughter in the most perfect way. also allowed the immediate why from a respectful distance, i think, and her fans around the world to share in it without being intrusive. i take my hat off to the whole family. they got it spot on today. >> we are look being at pictures of the hearse. this is the gold hearse that carries the body of whitney houston and the casket as they make their way ahead from the church and will head to the funeral home. the burial will be tomorrow. >> there had been the suggestion the service be held somewhere else, the prudential center came up. this was a chance to do something private, something personal, but as we heard several times, to let the world, take the world to church today and give everyone a chance to celebrate whitney. >> tyler perry said, grace carried her and grace is carrying her home. i think those were such incredibly apt words to describe the way they were able to pull off what had to be a challenging and almost impossible event to remember someone who died so young. >> dagen: reverend sharpton is here. you were in the church. dignified way cissy houston sent her daughter off. >> i think it was dignified. it brought back to the roots of whitney houston which was the church. she came out of the church. in many ways, she returned back to where she started. she came with all of her friends, superstars, political figures, to her church. she brought them back. >> reporter: you were tweeting from inside it. was watching your feed. i'm sure you saw it. they said on twitter, cissy houston took the world to church today. they see how black folks, especially baptists celebrate people's lives when they die. >> we all were there. those of us who were not as close were not on the program. everyone spoke from a personal kind of testimony. whitney was a beacon of light to this community. i'm very, very happy that her mother chose to do it in this way. >> reporter: one moment that was seen around the world during the service when it first started, we saw bobby out here standing upset. he left. what happened? >> bobby did nothing but show love and respect for the memory of whitney and his daughter. bishop jason, i spoke with him on the cell phone. he has shown nothing but love and respect. i wish people would leave bobby alone. >> not that. we heard his entourage could not be accommodated. >> i know he said all he wants to do is show respect and love. >> reporter: this is the program. beautiful program here. i'm going to hold it here and look inside at some of the pictures. it's lovely pictures of whitney houston at the height of her career, as a young girl, winning awards, as you can see here, looking beautiful. at the end, of course, all the people who spoke and the way the program went. reverend, thank you so much. appreciate it. god bless. we all went to church today and our faiths were all rened. >> i'll look for you tomorrow. maybe they developed a happened. >> thank you. we'll go to cnn's jason carol. >> we've been standing out here. as the service took place, you heard prayers going on inside the church. there were prayers happening out here in the street. when you heard an amen in the church, you heard an amen out here on the street. when there were tears inside during the service, we saw people crying out here, as well. obviously, a lot of folks wither not invited. people who loved whitney houston, her fans, the people who knew her here in the community. they've been standing out here on the street. they were watching the service on one of our monitors in our truck. they wanted to share some of their thoughts about some of the moments. >> during the very end, during the eulogy, there were tears. i saw you crying, as well. a very emotional moment for you today. >> it was. ironically, my favorite song was when cissy sang "don't cry for me." >> reporter: that was definitely a moment. >> we were all welling up and tearing up. it was very moving. >> reporter: what was another emotional moment for you? >> stevie wonder. the way he couldn't sing "ribbon in the sky" and had to make his own words right away and think of something that he wanted to say from his heart. >> reporter: whitney houston was a superstar. she never lost her roots here in this community. >> oh, no. >> reporter: everyone felt it? >> correct. we love whitney. she lived right around the corner back in the day from where i live. we love you, whitney. i feel like i was in the church. i loved when it was finishing and they sung, whitney sung. >> reporter: out here, just a few blocks from where the church is, piers and soledad, everyone feeling some way part of the service. >> i can understand that. we also felt like we were very much in the middle of that service. we are joined by the great roberta flack, amazing songstress. we are a little bit of a distance away. reverend jackson, i'm going to move, if i can. we appreciate you joining us and reverend jackson joibs us, as well. you've just come over from the service. what did you think? it seemed so beautiful from those of us who didn't have a chance to be inside. >> it was beautiful. needless to say, it was extremely beautiful. what made it so is the fact that all the entertainers who performed, who sang either picked songs they felt described their personal relationship with whitney or what she might have thought about this whole business. stevie sang "ribbon in the sky" and he changed the words because he said it was one of her favorite songs. and that he was doing that for her, but he changed the words to be relevant to her past, birth date and her passing and everything. then he sang "love's in need of love today." that was a high point for me. and kim burrell. the church and the whole setting. >> reverend jackson, let me bring you in here. it was remarkably uplifting service in so many ways. >> the way eulogies should be. it's the joy and the respite. i make the case as all critics weigh in now, at the end of the day she is a winner. that's what matters. the cultural impact are far beyond our appreciation. there is almost a new whitney since last saturday and she will only get bigger because of the appreciation of her will get deep and far more profound. >> i thought it was amazing to hear the personal stories. kevin costner's story of behind the scenes of "the bodyguard" was incredible. >> he was great, wasn't he? >> it was a revelation. >> and honest. >> and so was clive davis. >> and considering they are not members of the black community, that was significant. because you're in a black church, in a church where whitney houston, not just somebody, but whitney houston grew up. her mom was there the whole family is there. there is a whole perspective. it proves not only can we all get along, but we must and when you have a chance to put two artists together like whitney and kevin, you come out with something as he said is lasting and memorable. people will never forget "the bodyguard." people who witnessed him talk today will remember it even stronger. >> music is universal. some years ago i was in the soviet union. all night long they played motown and they played many music. music has that power. that's why musicians with these special gifts must be careful. "i will always love you" is the greatest. "the star-spangled banner," and "jesus loves me." the first teacher was her mother. how critical was her mother and surrounding friends. sunshine in the rain and having put them together, she is a winner. >> i love this picture on the front here. people forget whitney houston when she was 17. was a beauty queen. she was a real trailblazer. she was a model and had been on many magazine covers. >> beauty queen at 30, 45, 48. >> you see that picture there. really beautiful. >> the program is lovely. we have to take a commercial break. thank you for talking with us. >> my pleasure. i'm glad i didn't fall on my face. >> we did put up rickety chairs up here. >> let's have an obama bump here. >> we'll be back in just a moment. 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[ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios by the hand-selected wood trim... the 38 1/2 inches of legroom... and the reclinable, heated napa leather seats inside the jeep grand cherokee, just wait until we tell you about the heated and ventilated front seats. ♪ ♪ ♪ yes jesus loves me ♪ oh yes jesus loves me come on, everybody, all over the world, sing it. ♪ yes jesus loves me ♪ for the bible tells me so i love you, whitney. >> rousing voice of c.c. winans story. an extraordinary four-hour affair. there's been consternation about one moment when bobby brown left early. some people said he was asked to leave. others said he left on his own accord. don lemon has an update with a statement from bobby brown which clarifies exactly what happened. >> reporter: yeah. listen we know we're here today, everyone is here today to honor whitney houston and pay respects to her. we are standing outside the church. this is a view point you won't get anywhere except for on cnn, the closest you'll get. reverend sharpton came over and reverend jackson came over and gave conflicting statements. reverend sharpton wants to down play this a bit because this day is for whitney houston. as a matter of fact, there was an incident there with bobby brown. here is his statement from r&b icon bobby brown. it's from his people. "r&b bobby brown departs funeral of whitney houston. he said, my children and i were invited to the funeral of my ex-wife whitney houston. we were seated by security. subsequently asked to move on three separate occasions. i fail to understand why security treated my family this way and continue to ask us and no one else to move. security then prevented me from attempting to see my daughter bobbi kristina. in light of the events, i gave a kiss to the casket of my ex-wife and departed as i refused to create a scene. my children are completely distraught over the events. this was a day to honor whitney. i doubt whitney would have wanted this occur. i will continue to pay my respects to my ex-wife the best way i know how," said bobby brown. that is an official statement from bobby brown about what happened during the ceremony. again, as we've been saying and watching the dignitaries and guests who went to the funeral and went to the memorial service here leave there was indeed an incident. it's sad on this day, but as you heard bobby brown saying, this day is about whitney houston. i will continue to honor and respect his ex-wife. and in a manner he feels possible. he is upset because he couldn't see his daughter and wanted to attend the entire memorial service. soledad? >> the take truly was about whitney houston. it was absolutely beautiful service. i thought struck all the right notes. the mayor of newark is joining us, corey booker. always great to see you. >> thanks very much. >> we appreciate you coming out from being inside the church. we were remarking on not only how beautiful it was, but a difficult tone to strike to keep it a personal memorial service, but she is an icon to the world. that is a challenge. >> i think they did the right balance, bringing it back to where she started. she was born here in newark and raised in that church. it was an intimate affair. at the same time she is a global figure. it was good to have cameras inside so her fans who did have an intimate connection through her music, fans could have a chance to be there, as well. >> there was a plan to put it in the prudential center. that was scuttled. >> i think that was the right thing. it would have been a big mistake. you lose that sense of intimacy, that sense of community. it becomes more of a spectacle than it does of a special moment. i'm very glad the family did it this way. we honored their wishes and i think it went over so well, so beautiful. >> it was wonderful to watch from here. what was it like inside? obviously, pretty intimate church, 1,500 people. how would you describe the atmosphere? >> when you have donny mcclerq, stevie wonder, alicia keys. i was in a row of elected officials and see how they were moved and moving to the rhythm of the moment was truly special. that is an experience i'll never forget the rest of my life. it was a fitting home going service to a woman that lived a life -- everybody has a song, but not everybody has the courage to sing the like whitney did. she elevated all of us through her music. >> sir, it's nice to talk to you. we had a chance to talk last week. one of the things that stuck with me what you said while at the podium preaching, you were talking to the family. you said you paid a tremendous price in life because you shared her with the world. tell me about the message you were trying to give when speaking directly to whitney's family. >> i think we needed to acknowledge the tremendous sacrifice everyone family pays who gives someone for public service. and to underscore that. i think much of the public looks at whitney in her career and her performance and that you often do that at the expense and sacrifice of family life. just simplicity of normalcy. >> it looked like from those of us who didn't get a chance to be inside the church it was a very brutal and appropriate service and message, really what did you think was one of the highlights for you, sir? >> i think the most striking thing, i always enjoy the music and such a cadre of great singers and preachers and speakers. i think what struck me the most was the intersection between the sacred. a person is a vast dimension. this he bring together people from diverse backgrounds and circumstances who would not normally be in the same room. i was just struck by what a wide diversity of people they gathered from every walk of life from clive davis to donny mccorcan to alicia keys to c.c. winans to political officials. people from every walk of life celebrating the same individual. >> how do you think whitney houston's legacy will be remembered? what i was pleased today and many people will be, particularly her family, they focused much more on whitney houston as a woman and musician. >> i thought the message today was the family took ownership of their family member. they took it away from public speculation and they said who she was. i think that gave some healing to the family and the community who knew so many more things about her life than what has been touted in recent days. they had the opportunity to bring to the forefront other dimensions of her life to which they define why they loved her like they did. for them, it was not just the music. >> we'll take a short break. on the other side of the break we'll ask the mayor to stick around with us. chris christie ordered the flags in the state to be flown at half-mast. he took flack which surprised me. we'll be back in a moment. stay with us. ♪ night and day ♪ in 1963 ♪ we were blessed ♪ so incredibly with a sound so incredibly ♪ ♪ with this voice ♪ voice from the choir of heaven ♪ ♪ he loved ♪ you touched our hearts ♪ and you did ♪ from the very start look, every day we're using more and more energy. the world needs more energy. where's it going to come from? 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[ male announcer ] the security of a jetta, one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. ♪ got you in a stranglehold, baby ♪ have more fiber than other leading brands. they're the better way to enjoy your fiber. ♪ hold on ♪ i know you can >> donny mcclurkin singing "stand." this is a beautiful song. ♪ sometimes the lord gets a little too heavy to bear ♪ ♪ god promised to give us strength in the midnight hour ♪ ♪ in the midnight hour ♪ we don't know why god does what god does ♪ ♪ but everything god does ♪ he does it well do i have a witness here? ♪ and you pray and cry cry cry ♪ hold your head up high >> that was donny mcclurkin singing "stand." >> that is one of my all-time favorite songs. he hit it hard and personalized it for her. >> wonderful, wonderful. before the commercial break, i was asking a little about some of the controversy over governor christie's decision to fly the flag at half staff, which to me seemed to be obvious. whitney houston, a native daughter of newark. there was backlash he had to deal with. >> it surprised me. something struck me as disingenuous. the governor had done that for clarence clemons who is a native to new jersey in terms how much we embraced him. he's had struggles in his life. nobody said a word. when he did this with whitney houston sparked off this controversy. anybody who made this kind of contribution from new jersey and arts, entertainment, culture, science, technology, education, it's the right thing for a governor to stand up. >> i thought it was ridiculous to criticize chris krchristie. one thing about bobby brown. we were talking during the break you did see what was going on to some degree. clearly the original story was bobby brown walked out and some altercation happened. if you go by his statement, i clearly seems to have been treated disrespectfully himself. >> i haven't been briefed by my police officers. i came here. i do know my police chief and police director jumped and hustled outside because there was some controversy going. in i heard a few things back from some police officers. i want to get the official report on our side that he was coming in with a large entourage and there was no room. there was controversy swirling around that. at the end of the day, the sanctity of the sanctuary was made whole. i'm hoping in his spirit, he's at peace because today was a very good day. i extend him as mayor of the city, i extend him love right now in the spirit of the moment. >> gordon chambers joins us, as well. a well-known songwriter. you worked a lot with whitney. tell us about your experience inside the church. from where we are, it seemed amazing. >> i produced three songs for whitney. every time we were in her presence we talked music. she loved newark. we talked about andy bay and the basses, her family, they were all from newark. the fact her ceremony took place here in newark would have meant the world to her. the music, the performances were so obviously spiritual and sent a message to the world that whitney believed in god. she never wavered in her faith. we parade together many times. when whitney spoke to you, you felt the spirit of an angel speaking to you. when i was producing her, she said gordon, you need to do your solo career. she was an angel. she was angelically celebrated today. >> one thing i felt was sad was aretha franklin was too sick to perform. she was called the godmother by many members of the fap family. that would have been nice to add to the extraordinary mix. >> i thought they would do the virtual thing. >> dee d she sent a message her leg was bothering her. >> she is dealing with health consequences. >> we are looking at pictures as people are streaming their way out of the church, new hope baptist church which did a wonderful job hosting. literally today we are on this relatively saulish church here. >> not a small city. >> no. big city. >> i thought marvin winans, what do you call that, a eulogy, a sermon? >> black folks call that having church. >> it was free spirited and uplifting. anyone watching would have felt so engaged. >> i like the way he said, god says, i got you. it's prioritizing, the message of today. so relevant, obviously. >> there is a story i heard many times about the set of "the preacher's wife." whitney sang a song and they were like, cut, cut. miss penny, with all due respect you can't cut the spirit. she is singing. >> that might work for people, but doesn't work for god. >> kevin costner got up there and he connected with a majority of african-american audiences, to show he has a deep spirit, deep faith and they had a real love and connection. >> as a baptist, i didn't know half that stuff about kevin costner's early years. >> he spoke with authenticate and honesty that connected with everyone. >> thank you for having me and thank you for being in newark giving honor to whitney houston. >> we'll be back with more reaction to whitney houston's funeral. ♪ i look to you ♪ and when melodies are gone ♪ and you are here ♪ i look to you >> we love you whitney. rest in peace. 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[ man ] saw 'em in '83 in fresno. place was crawling with chicks. i got to go. ♪ any way you want it ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ any way you want it ♪ ♪ can you send an angel ♪ can you send an angel ♪ please send me an angel ♪ can you send me an angel ♪ cause i don't want to feel ♪ like a dove with no wings ♪ and i don't want to know >> that of course is from just a few minutes ago really as they were bringing the casket, holding the body of whitney houston out of new hope baptist church here in newark, new jersey. the voice, of course, of alicia keys singing her beautiful song as she remembered whitney houston in the middle of the service. we are going to get to don lemon stand buying with some of the folks inside the church. >> reporter: the folks inside, i just want to show you this is as close as you're going to get. they let us up a little bit to show us the memorial in front of the church. you see the officers here, mounted police officers making sure everything is okay and guarding over the guests. the final guests are leaving. the police let us get close. we were up earlier in front of the memorial service in front of the church reading some of the cards and some of the memories that people were sharing about whitney houston. they put posters up. you can see the balloons with hearts. people were sharing their experience and saying it was one of the most heart-felt services they had ever seen and what a fitting tribute it was to whitney houston, one of the greatest singers in their estimation ever. they are going to a repast here in new jersey which is the after event where everyone gets together and eat and they are going to share their memories more than what they shared here in the church. soledad, piers? >> michael eric dyson joins us now. pastor carter said this is not a performance. this is not a concert. this is not -- this is church. >> it is. you can see it in the spirit of the sanctuary itself. that was lit with the spirit of god, the emotion was pure. the fire was amazing. people's focus was on celebrating whitney houston's life. not getting involved in gossip or mean spirit about her life. she is rooted squarely in the black baptist tradition. she gave to the world. she was booed at the "soul train" music awards years ago. people thought is she sufficiently black? it don't get blacker than this. she was able to translate that into a global aesthetic. >> it allowed those of us not baptists to watch and learn how a baptist service goes. >> we don't get that in the catholic church. i've never been to a funeral service like that. >> that was a drive-by baptist experience. being a baptist minister, i appreciate those from when i was knee high to a tadpole. let's repudiate the negativity. let's elevate human beings and understand how great she was and how much she was loved. >> is it insane to ask what was your favorite part of that service? >> it was an extraordinary smorgasbord of spiritual genius. stevie wonder doing his thing, talking about love. the testimony of the bodyguard. when he stood up. when this man said this was a woman who was regal and full of grace and she was a real person, and she did all of this for you. my god, how moving. >> he did call out you, we need to love people back. >> these are suffering servants. these are people giving their last bit to make sure your days go better. what you can do in return is to love them and celebrate them. >> i thought that was beautiful. >> very poignant. i thought it was the tale of two bodyguards. >> costner was moving. >> i thought the paradigm pitched what they said perfectly for the moment. very moving. >> coming up as he did, people didn't know he was born in compton. being in part of that baptist tradition, speaking honestly about his own fears about whitney's own fears. >> and about race, frankly. to pick a black woman as his co-star in "the bodyguard" and people weren't necessarily happy with it. he was blunt about that. >> i didn't know that story in the detail he told it. >> not only a black woman, but a chocolate black woman. during the time she was emerging, whitney houston is a brown-skinned girls. they weren't necessarily being celebrated. >> and it would have been her first acting gig. >> a pop star of the first order, yet taking that chance meant they were taking a chance on themselves. i think it's beautiful. >> it was a great story. >> we should give real credit to cissy houston who organized all this and has been the rock of the family so long. she must have been going through hell this week. she held herself together. >> she did she is pulling on her faith. she was a backup singer for aretha franklin, the godmother of whitney houston. she is singing "sweet inspirations." her daughter wants to be aretha singing that. cissy houston is a bedrock of fidelity and faithfulness. >> we'll take a short break and have more reaction to the extraordinary funeral service today. ♪ jesus said here i stand ♪ won't you please take my hand ♪ ♪ and you said i will tomorrow ♪ sees said i am here ♪ who supplies all your needs ♪ and you said i know ♪ but tomorrow ♪ jesus said here i stand ♪ he's my older brother and he thinks he's my dad ♪ ♪ and i say i will ♪ tomorrow ♪ jesus said i am he who supplies all your needs ♪ ♪ and you said i will tomorrow ♪ [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? 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[ horn honks ] [ dog barks ] [ dog whimpers ] [ wind whistling ] [ dog whimpers ] ♪ she was born in newark ♪ she was heaven sent ♪ like newark she's been busy ever since ♪ ♪ it's been a long time coming ♪ but a change had to come >> that is kim burrell singing a version of sam cook's song "a change is going to come." she was born in newark. >> it shows the improvisational character of black music. stevie did the same thing. >> it's beautiful. we have susan candiotti standing by. many people from inside the church headed to a new location. >> reporter: hi, soledad. yes, we've been standing here since long before the funeral ended and we've seen a number of notables come in. i talked with the niece of whitney houston before this started. she told me some of the people who were there including oprah winfrey and her friend gayle king. we saw kevin costner and reverend jesse jackson. one of the memorable lines from kevin costner, when whitney houston didn't think she was pretty enough or good enough. he said when you sing before him, referring to god, don't you worry, you'll be good enough. there is a small crowd, as well, across the street from here, onlookers, the public who have come to see and pay their respects and see naturally if they recognized any of the family and friends who are here. we are at quite a bit distance. we think we saw cissy houston, as well enter here a long time ago. a private affair for close family and friends. soledad? >> no surprise there, susan, really keeping in the theme which has been a family affair, a private affair. fans being able to take part, but from a distance. being able to watch the service on television. >> it restores the dignity of whitney houston deprived in the last few years and aftermath of her death. i think it was beautiful. >> most uplifting day i had, against all expectation, i had in a very long time. >> it was beautiful. we'll take a short break and be right back. ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah ♪ hallelujah across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us. ♪ ( whirring and crackling sounds ) man: assembly lines that fix themselves. the most innovative companies are doing things they never could before, by building on the cisco intelligent network. a little bird told me about a band... ♪ an old man shared some fish stories... ♪ oooh, my turn. ♪ she was in paris, but we talked for hours... everyone else buzzed about the band. there's a wireless mind inside all of us. so, where to next? ♪ it's this... the etrade pro platform. fast. beautiful. totally customizable. finds top performing stocks -- in three clicks. quickly scans the market for new trading ideas. it can even match options strategies to your goals and lets you see the potential risk and reward. and, it also comes with a dedicated elite service team. got it? get it. good. introducing new etrade pro elite. ♪ it's been an extraordinary day here in new jersey, the funeral of whitney houston. quite remarkable, uplifting, a four-hour ceremony which had remarkable performances by some of the greatest singers of the modern age. great testimonies from the likes of kevin costner, a really, really extraordinary day. we are having an hour-long special on ""piers morfwan. for those who missed the funeral, we leave you with this look. >>. ♪ she was born in newark ♪ she was heaven sent >> we are here to mourn our loss, but to celebrate her life. one of our angels, whitney houston. ♪ it's been a long time coming ♪ but a change had to come >> what i know about her is she loved the lord. if there was a grace that carried her all the way through, it was the same grace that carried her home. ♪ but i know she wasn't afraid to die ♪ >> say whatever you want, god was for her and she is resting singing with the angels. god bless you, family. god bless you, whitney, we love you so much. ♪ cause whitney understood somebody is waiting beyond the sky ♪ >> she told god she was going to be like aretha, like her famous cousin dione, like her beautiful mother cissy. there can be little doubt in this room that she has joined their ranks, and as the debate heats this up century, and it surely will about the greatest singer of the last century, as the lists are drawn, it will have little meaning to me if her name is not on there. ♪ cause whitney's an angel ♪ she is an angel >> without knowing her love of music, her passion and absolutely natural genius in interpreting songs, you certainly don't know all of whitney houston. personally, all i can say is that i loved her very much. ♪ we'll never forget what you've done for us ♪ >> everyone in heaven, including god, is waiting and i just know you're going to raise the roof like no one else has done before. ♪ and no more whitney ♪ no more do you have to cry ♪ you'll always be our ribbon in the sky ♪ >> today we as a family celebrate the life of our sister, our daughter, our mother and our friend. ♪ america and the world >> don't grieve for me for now i'm free. i'm following the path god laid for me.