I woke up with this song in my head the other morning, and was wracking my brain trying to figure out which classic pop tune had wedged itself into my inner ear with the refrain “let’s not die for it . . . the battle ain’t worth the blood” and that sweet, sweet sax and flute line. Well, it turns out it was this brand-new ditty by our friend Chris Poage, written (as was every track on this compilation) in the immediate aftermath of Election 2020. Musically – from a composition, arrangement, and production standpoint – this song is pretty much untouchable, in my opinion. I am in awe of Chris’s ability to combine melodies, voices, and instruments into such an immediately enjoyable and memorable whole.
The lyrics, too, while simple, are straightforward and memorable – earnest without being cloying. I interpret the overall thrust as something along the lines of we have more in common than we do differences, let’s not let our disagreements destroy us. This is, of course, an important and laudable sentiment, which in the current fraught historical moment runs the risk of being interpreted as diminishing the important battles and struggles that do need to be fought. Of course, not all differences are created equal; some battles are, in fact, worth the blood. Not to speak for Chris – the thing about songs, is once they’re out of the songwriter’s brain, they’re all ours for the interpreting – but my read is more along the lines of “hey, maybe don’t beat someone up for asking you to wear a mask, or threaten to kill officials in your own party for attesting to the validity of an election, or burn every bridge at the first sign of disagreement” as opposed to any comment on the important protests for social justice and civil rights we saw this year. Coming as it does after Eric’s opening track, “Collecting Stars” feels like a much-needed antidote the absolute freaking insanity that has been this year.