The Nields
November
November is the Nields 20th album. With each song inspired by the headlines, the cover of the CD is, fittingly, a newspaper design. Though the songs tackle critical issues––the climate crisis (“The Kids Always Get It”), injustice at the border (“Goodbye, Mexico,” “Jesus Was a Refugee”), the fragility of our democracy (“America the Beautiful”)––the message of hope pulses through each track, a strong and steady heartbeat. In “Follow that Girl,” an eleven-year-old rides her bike to school in all kinds of weather, inspiring her mother to give up her minivan. “We’re Gonna Build a Boat” assures all who struggle with the results of the 2016 election that together we can “make it safe to come back home.” Set to a driving disco beat, “November” imagines an election day when we will celebrate together. “Butterfly” focuses on the struggle and triumph of a young person’s metamorphosis as they come out as who they really are. “Tyrants Always Fall” was written the day before the 2017 inauguration, and it has come to be known as the “Resistance Anthem” in many circles. For the two familiar songs –“This Land Is Your Land” and “America the Beautiful”—the Nields are joined by a bevy of others, including Dar Williams, Chris Smither, Peter Mulvey, Vance Gilbert, Ben Demerath, Kalliope Jones, and their own children, plus members of a local youth chorus. The lyrics of “America the Beautiful” have been tinkered with (“And crown thy good in neighborhoods…”) to reflect what today’s poets might hope for our country.
TRACK LIST
America the Beautiful (with Chris Smither, Dar Williams, Vance Gilbert, Peter Mulvey, Kalliope Jones, and Ben Demerath)
Tyrants Always Fall
We’re Gonna Build a Boat
Follow That Girl
The Kids Always Get It
Butterfly
Goodbye, Mexico
November
Jesus Was a Refugee (with Sol y Canto)
This Land is Your Land (with members of Focus Chorus, some of whom are our kids)
