Another American Down – New Song Available for Free Download

ANOTHER AMERICAN DOWN

Like many in this country, I smell fear. Fearful of the economy collapsing again, fearful of terrorism, and fearful of going to a shopping mall unarmed because today might be the day some Nut Job opens fire simply because he can. Suddenly, betting your bottom dollar that the sun will come out tomorrow is a roll of the dice.

In his brilliant book, BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes of what it truly means to be of color in this country. Anyone who wishes to speak intelligently about the racial divide in the Land Of The Free should read it immediately. Through the hardened eyes of a black man in today’s America, Mr. Coates reflects on what it means to live a lesser existence, what it feels like to walk around in constant fear, and what his own son should expect to endure as an American citizen.

For much of the nation, our shared national crisis became official when the Dallas police officers were gunned down for the crime of protecting the public during an organized protest. For others, sadly, it was already game on. The murder of those innocent officers killed by a vengeful man with an assault rifle was no more justified than Philando Castile getting shot sitting in a passenger seat or Alton Spelling being gunned down outside a Baton Rouge convenience store or those attending a prayer service in Charleston or Freddie Gray or Sandra Bland or Walter Scott or Eric Garner or Michael Brown or Trayvon Martin.

Americans killing Americans.

Over the past six months, Brian Vander Ark and I have been writing songs for an upcoming album. When the latest Breaking News Alert bannered its way across the bottom of my television screen, I called Brian with an idea. Maybe it won’t change a thing, but with ANOTHER AMERICAN DOWN, we add our own voices to those – white and black – who are crying out for some kind of national sanity.

Jeff Daniels
July 19, 2016

DOWNLOAD THE SONG FOR FREE HERE