This is clearly not a folk song. It’s a pop song played on an acoustic guitar. The Navigators could totally tear this up. It was songs like this that made me think: maybe I should take my time and record the album with the band. And yet… I believe that if a song works, it can be played solo acoustic.
At any rate, I’ve had this guitar riff in my head for a long time, and when I’m having success churning out songs, I often pick up old odds and ends that never found a home and see if I can finally give them a home. Step one was to figure out which chords to play underneath this guitar riff. That was pretty easy. Then I had to write a song over the chords. I found inspiration in our political dysfunction. It sure seemed like nobody was following any rules of any kind. It was just might makes right. I knew a lot of folks who were feeling dispirited as a result of this, but that’s not a solution. Besides, no one’s going to mourn the loss of a broken system.
Fascism relies on chaos. When people don’t know what to count on, they turn to strong leaders- or leaders who like to pose as strong. Fascist leaders intentionally confuse the public. One thing is true one day, but the opposite becomes true the next. People are constantly reacting to these radical changes, and they are unable to mount a resistance. But I’ve studied fascism, and I’ve taught my students about fascism, and as scary as fascism is, it always fails. This resurgence of fascism might just be the most ridiculous endeavor in human history. At least, Mussolini was trying to be original and create something new. And who knows? If he knew how things would turn out, would he have gone down that same road?
The bridge sums up the responses to fascism. You can give up, or you can “swim up through the waterfall.” Which might sound a bit absurd, but I always loved Albert Camus’ idea of the absurd hero. He’s outnumbered and overwhelmed, but he presses on- not in the realistic belief of success, but despite the likelihood of failure. Or maybe he’s just detached from the ends. It doesn’t matter if all hope is lost. Push on anyway. That’s kind of what the heroes in Minneapolis were doing. And it worked! They paid a price, but the fascists paid a higher price.
The song ends with a line drawn in the sand: none of us are being replaced. Let’s turn the free-for-all to our advantage. Some people have been decrying the loss of norms and want a return to normalcy, but that’s just not possible. And the people who have the most to lose- the very people who have their boots on the necks of the American people are making a huge mistake. Our current system serves them. Why are they tearing it all down? Yes, it might have been nice to reform the whole thing, but maybe this is a second chance to rebuild a system that serves the people.