File download is hosted on Megaupload
Art can be a powerful ally in times of strife. After the violent demonstration by white supremacists and neo-nazis in Charlottesville this past weekend, many concerned citizens have been protesting, donating, and looking for other ways to combat bigotry. Well, here’s another one to add to your slate. Wilco has just released a new benefit single, “All Lives, You Say?”, and all proceeds will benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The song can be downloaded from Wilco’s Bandcamp page with a charitable contribution. Frontman Jeff Tweedy dedicated the song to the memory of his late father, Robert L. Tweedy. “My dad was named after a Civil War general, and he voted for Barack Obama twice,” he said. “He used to say ‘If you know better, you can do better.’ America — we know better. We can do better.”
It’s a straightforward acoustic number, with gentle strums underscoring electric flourishes and Tweedy’s melancholy murmur. A response to those who counter movements like Black Lives Matter by crying “All Lives Matter”, the song finds Tweedy observing the bigoted hordes. “I can see you are afraid,” he sings. “Your skin, so thin, your heart has escaped / All lives, all lives, you say?”
Stream the song below and pop over to Bandcamp to buy the single.