“I wrote this song one early morning at my mom’s place in Pinawa, with my then-1-year-old sitting on my lap. At its core are observations of complacency and divisiveness. When I listen to it today I also hear the challenge to contemplate who and what is most important in our lives, and following that path requires tough choices that sometimes have to be taken alone. Perhaps quarantine makes these decisions of the heart a little simpler.
When I wrote this, The Donald was a relatively recent but concerning entry into North America’s political sphere, even from the relative safety of the deep Canadian hinterland. I pictured The Orange One as a dinner host and had a terrible time imagining a way we could have a rewarding conversation. I pictured him as the new Commander-In-Chief, the General’s General, and no, I did not want to go where he was going.
The world has been turned on its head in the last few weeks by this virus. And it had kinda been turned on its head in the past 4 years as well. It’s been a weird time of tumult that has exposed a decidedly ugly underbelly within our culture. Extremes rule the day and it’s been hard for gentleness and empathy and compassion to find their way into the public sphere. My optimistic side says that this is their quiet power though, and a more respectful cultural dialogue is possible. I already see it in our collective response to this pandemic.”
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