By: Jo MacKenzie
Folk and Americana music has a long tradition of using songs as a form of protest, from Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” to Neil Young’s “Ohio.” With the 4th of July being this past weekend, we’d like to take a minute to spotlight some of our artists’ current and past musical contributions to the conversations about the state of our nation.
Off of Aaron Lee Tasjan’s most recent record Stellar Evolution, Tasjan delivers the protest song “I Love America Better Than You.” In an interview with NPR, he describes this song as his examination of his “country’s complexities, contradictions, and hard truths in a way that’s conversational” (Timmons). The matter-of-fact, accessible lyricism strikes a careful balance between the benign and malignant, mentioning America’s hotdogs and soda pop but also its dirty water, wealth disparity, and insurrectionists. Listen here.
In the title track of Mary Gauthier’s 2005 release Mercy Now, Gauthier writes about the importance of forgiveness in all aspects of life: forgiving oneself, one’s church, and one’s country. In the album’s title track, she sings “My church and my country could use a little mercy now / as they sink into a poisoned pit, it’s going to take forever to climb out.” Although the lyrics cast a tone of despair, they come from a place of love and hope. Gauthier adds later in the song that, “Only the hand of grace can end the race towards another mushroom cloud…I love life and life itself could use some mercy now.” In times of hardship, love, community, and forgiveness can make all the difference. Listen here.
Inspired by the folk legends of the past, Josh Radnor took up his pen to write “Don’t Get Sick This Is America”—the first song off of his most recent record Eulogy, Vol II. In a video on Radnor’s YouTube channel that breaks down the song, he calls it “an old-fashioned Woody Guthrie-esque protest song on the guitar” (Radnor). Radnor takes a satirical approach to this song as a way to highlight the issues he sees: “Quit your whining this is America / You can get by on the minimum wage / Just make sure it’s essential / Do you really need three meals a day?” Listen here.
Music has the incredible power to take complex topics and examine them in infinite ways. Folk and Americana music can shed light on issues as complicated as our country’s history and current state, and we are so proud of our artists for continuing the conversations. We hope you had a safe and fun 4th of July with your family and friends!