I thought about the song for this month for quite awhile. I decided to make it Momma, I Don't Wanna Die For Oil. It was the first real protest song I wrote and I don't play it much anymore. I still like it quite a bit and I think it still has quite a bit of relevancy.
I wrote this song as the Bush regime was ramping up to go to war in Iraq. I was working at a really magical alternative education place near the coast of Maine, having recently returned to Maine after being away for a couple of years. I can't believe I just used the word magical to describe something, I feel like Drew Barrymore. Anyway, I was working with a group of people who, for the most part, let me know that I was okay as me. They reinforced to me the idea that not all who wander are lost. I was a little lost, but in the good way, like when you stumble upon a really cool waterfall or a really groovy dive bar. I was not happy about some things, though, and the Iraq war propaganda was a big frustration for me. I knew a lot of people in the military who weren't being treated well, people who had served their time and earned a retirement but were being denied. I just didn't believe, as I do now, that going to war in Iraq would solve anything. Turns out we were right. That's right, we. I wasn't alone. I had started attending protests on the bridge between Damariscotta and Newcastle, Maine. A large group of people would gather there, and on many other bridges around Maine, and peacefully express our feelings about the Iraq war build-up propaganda. I was asked by a television crew why I was there and I remember I said that I was there to support our troops, to respect them by not sending them to a needless war. I later wrote this song from the perspective of a soldier. Our soldiers and sailors and other military, including the civilians that provide support, give up so much for us and yet our politicians completely disrespect them by sending them to die in places we don't need to be. Then the politicians disrespect them even more by not providing for them when they return. We, as a country, have never really dealt effectively with the after-effects of war, amputees, and especially the mental health of our servicemen and women.
At one of these Bridges for Peace protests, I actually witnessed a good 'ol 'merican hit a protester with his truck, intentionally, and say something about us protestors being un-patriotic because we didn't want to go kill Saddam (this guy pronounced it like he was from Texas or something but he was a well known local). I had to testify at the grand jury. The driver was convicted, of a pretty heinous attempted something-or-other crime, and off to jail he went and the protests went on. Crazy and unnecessary.
Well, I don't want to turn this into a rant so I'll get back to the song. I thought of songs like Universal Soldier and I Ain't Marching Anymore. I've recently felt like I've inadvertently channeled Phil Ochs with some songs I've written and it feels pretty good. I think Momma, I Don't Wanna Die for Oil put down the groundwork for some of these newer songs. I've always thought the song isn't angry but poignant, and I hoped to give a voice to our brave servicemen and women, not a voice of cowardice but a voice that pleads for an understanding of their sacrifice that we should already have. Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy it. I hope you get the message and enjoy it anyway you see fit.
I wrote this song as the Bush regime was ramping up to go to war in Iraq. I was working at a really magical alternative education place near the coast of Maine, having recently returned to Maine after being away for a couple of years. I can't believe I just used the word magical to describe something, I feel like Drew Barrymore. Anyway, I was working with a group of people who, for the most part, let me know that I was okay as me. They reinforced to me the idea that not all who wander are lost. I was a little lost, but in the good way, like when you stumble upon a really cool waterfall or a really groovy dive bar. I was not happy about some things, though, and the Iraq war propaganda was a big frustration for me. I knew a lot of people in the military who weren't being treated well, people who had served their time and earned a retirement but were being denied. I just didn't believe, as I do now, that going to war in Iraq would solve anything. Turns out we were right. That's right, we. I wasn't alone. I had started attending protests on the bridge between Damariscotta and Newcastle, Maine. A large group of people would gather there, and on many other bridges around Maine, and peacefully express our feelings about the Iraq war build-up propaganda. I was asked by a television crew why I was there and I remember I said that I was there to support our troops, to respect them by not sending them to a needless war. I later wrote this song from the perspective of a soldier. Our soldiers and sailors and other military, including the civilians that provide support, give up so much for us and yet our politicians completely disrespect them by sending them to die in places we don't need to be. Then the politicians disrespect them even more by not providing for them when they return. We, as a country, have never really dealt effectively with the after-effects of war, amputees, and especially the mental health of our servicemen and women.
At one of these Bridges for Peace protests, I actually witnessed a good 'ol 'merican hit a protester with his truck, intentionally, and say something about us protestors being un-patriotic because we didn't want to go kill Saddam (this guy pronounced it like he was from Texas or something but he was a well known local). I had to testify at the grand jury. The driver was convicted, of a pretty heinous attempted something-or-other crime, and off to jail he went and the protests went on. Crazy and unnecessary.
Well, I don't want to turn this into a rant so I'll get back to the song. I thought of songs like Universal Soldier and I Ain't Marching Anymore. I've recently felt like I've inadvertently channeled Phil Ochs with some songs I've written and it feels pretty good. I think Momma, I Don't Wanna Die for Oil put down the groundwork for some of these newer songs. I've always thought the song isn't angry but poignant, and I hoped to give a voice to our brave servicemen and women, not a voice of cowardice but a voice that pleads for an understanding of their sacrifice that we should already have. Give it a listen and I hope you enjoy it. I hope you get the message and enjoy it anyway you see fit.