There’s a theme that runs through a lot of the songs on this album: the power of the few over the many. Here’s just a sample:
Free-market lotto, it might happen to you
One person wins while millions have to lose.
And while the masters sit on high
The people fight to stay alive
But kings and queens cannot be blamed
It’s only numbers that decide
The great man he walks upon the stage
The little men are all dancing in his cage
That last one is from “Read My Mind.” This song has many threads, but it opens with a focus on wealth inequality; the song is really directed at the people who are suffering as a result of that inequality. The “wise men” have it all figured out, of course. They are the ones who put up barriers- telling us what is and isn’t possible, but when we are our authentic selves, those barriers disappear.
There is a disconnect between what we want as a people and what we are told is important by corporate messaging. Every day there’s a notification, when what we really want is a moment of peace. Everyday there is an update, when what we really want is for the software not to demand so much of our attention. The mismatch between what we want and what is being presented to us, should make us wonder where the breakdown in communication lies. Does it lie with the people who work their lives to get by, or does it lie with the people who have millions of dollars to spend on messaging and research? How can this world be consumer-driven when what the consumer actually wants is so often overlooked?
And don’t get me started on technology. If it weren’t for the Internet, we’d probably have flying cars. How can we have AI when we don’t even have I? The refrain in the song can feel like the human arguing with the computer: Why can’t you read my mind? Isn’t that what’s advertised? Doesn’t Silicon Valley have this vision of a techno-utopia? Where all our problems are resolved by the software they generate? I supposed information technology is more about selling us on this vision then actually delivering on it. Every iteration seems to push us further from our goal of human happiness. Maybe if we simply called it that- human happiness- we’d better understand this reality ourselves.
While the song might lack lyrical directness, it simply asks that you take a moment to reflect in order to understand. Let the images cascade over and through you, and you will hear, I promise.
On the recording front, there are a lot of contributions to this song. This song was a staple of the Fellow Travelers for many years. Tonya sings on this, Danny sings and plays guitar, and Steve plays congas. Tim played upright bass on this years ago. Alex Wright and Rita Mathis contribute backing vocals. Steve Cooley plays mandolin.
Early on in the process, I think I was going for a more straight-bluegrass feel, but as the song came together, it veered into something more modern, which fits the impressionistic lyrics. There are a lot of sounds that come and go: castanets, harmonica and over-driven guitar. It’s a sound I’m always going for: something archaic and timeless that feels like something new.