There has always been a certain amount of lying accepted in our political system. However, during one particular administration, this has been carried to extreme and dangerous levels with the term “Alternative Facts, an oxymoron, that was coined. If we cannot agree on obvious facts, if we cannot agree on what is prove-ably true, how can we engage in discourse with each other? How do we move forward? We must hold the truth sacred.

No one is born racist. It’s something we learn from our environment. When we are children, we can easily feel love for those around us. But, our views start to be shaped by external forces, our family and friends, the culture around us. This song says that we need to return to that feeling of love we experienced as children, before our views might have been turned into suspicion and, for some, even hatred.

Our personal feelings about ourselves can be shaped positively or negatively by how others view us. In this age of comparison, social media especially amplifies this act of constantly trying to keep up. It can also divide us by riling up hatred for those who don’t share our viewpoints. If you are someone who creates art, there are also, quite often, feelings of doubt about whether or not it is good and worthy of sharing. This song is about telling the haters and telling yourself that you have something unique inside and that you are worthwhile.

During the pandemic, we were isolated from friends and family. There were many different reactions to staying at home. Some may have found it a time to rejuvenate, to try new things (baking sourdough bread seemed to be popular). Others found it extremely isolating and felt despair. Let It Wash Over You offers solace and hope that this will pass and that we’ll return to life the way we knew it before. The song also offers a message of hope for anyone struggling. Let it wash over you and realize that these feelings will pass.

Similar to wash over you, Better Days says that despite your struggles today , better days are ahead. It also speaks more broadly to what many have felt in the United States during a particularly hateful president’s term and the aftermath of his election loss. Despite it sometimes feeling like hatred and greed and lying are winning, the song assures that there are days that offer light and hope that change can happen.

This song is specifically about the January 6th insurrection, though it doesn’t specially mention the players in it. The story is told more metaphorically. It is an anthem that says we know Justice will prevail, there is a reckoning ahead (a peaceful one).

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech. Originally, he was advised to stick to a speech that was more about the “debt,”owed to African Americans for the wrongs they experienced. During a pause in his speech, gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who had previously heard MLK give versions of the “Dream” speech, yelled out “Tell ‘em about the Dream Martin!” And he switched gears, launching into the now iconic speech. The song “The Dream” tells this story and also implores us to keep the Dream alive.