The story

On November 5th, 2024, America took a hard right turn. It elected a sociopath as President of the United States. While many voters heralded the election as a victory for common sense, a repudiation of “wokeness,” and a vindication of their fantasy that the 2020 election was stolen, many more Americans felt a wave of despair, anxiety and anger. 

Those of us who tried to stop the sociopath from returning to power knew that starting January 20th, 2025, he and his administration would continue his mission to weaken democracy and further establish the United States as an authoritarian oligarchy.  This election wasn’t just another shift from one party to the other, it was a major pivot in world history.

I had many conversations after the election. 

Some people told me, “well, it will be a tough four years but the guardrails will hold,” or “don’t worry so much; America will be fine.”

But many of us knew the situation was much worse. America will not be fine. The guardrails were already in partial collapse. We felt despondent. Anxious. Pissed off. 

I had to find a way to cope, so as not to feel those emotions all day every day. Like many songwriters, my creative process is about putting ideas and feelings out there into the world, as well as dealing with my inner world. Songwriting helps me work through the thoughts and emotions born of the vicissitudes of life. 

Most of my songs are about the joy and pain of love. I’ve been influenced by many great country, rock and Americana songwriters, and am part of a thriving community of musicians and songwriters here in Durham, North Carolina. We nurture each other’s talent and ideas. 

But my deepest songwriting roots go back to Woody Guthrie. And it's that part of my soul that inspires me to write protest songs.

Not long after the election, I listened to “America the Beautiful,” seeking inspiration and hope. As always, the first verse moved me. But I felt the song needed to be updated to reflect America here and now. And to inspire others to channel their feelings into action. And to help bring us together during hard times. 

Woody once said: "I can't invent the news every day. Nobody can. But I can do my little job, which is to fix the day's news up to where you can sing it."

Several friends and mentors helped me with this song, especially Jon Shain. I performed it in front of several audiences and got valuable feedback. Many listeners told me the song resonated with their feelings about the changing direction of our country.

So I decided to record it, make a music video, and share it in the hopes that even amidst the sadness, angst and rage brought about by these political and social events, we can join together in a growing pro-democracy movement. Instead of merely watching history, or giving up, or “obeying in advance,” let’s do something. Let’s sing, protest, share our feelings, and look for hope. Let’s fight for the ideals that were embodied in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."