S.Lo on July 4th, 2018

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L.A.-by-way-of-Austin folk rocker Parker Ainsworth released his latest single today, July 4. It’s titled “American Miracle,” a biting commentary on our consumerist, just-add-water culture demanding instant doorstep delivery fixes to our problems without looking at the larger issues at play. And no one is left unscathed by his observations, not “California girls,” “cursing New York cabbies,” “Texan Mexicans,” nor “people livin’ in the Heartland.” Everyone wants a miracle in America, and they want it “today.”

“I’d been wanting to write something for a while that could help bring people back together regardless of who we voted for in the last election. In reflecting on this, it seemed like it would take a miracle… so I wrote about that,” said Ainsworth. In the song, he proceeds to poke at our education system, gun violence, the environment, health care, trade, empty nationalism and even himself (or the character in the song) as he sings, “Almost had to get a GED, my best friends and me were smokin’ pot in a trailer… Drinkin’ the water’s gettin’ dangerous and all your covered turtles burnin’ where we used to go fishin’/ The cracked screens of a teenage dream with a gunshot quiz for all the kids who ain’t listenin’… Trying to own all that can’t be sold buyin’ remote controls to paint the bombed out buildings / Makin’ white Russians on the Fourth of July, wavin’ American flags, they were all made in China / Havin’ a hot dog and a cigarette because you can’t afford the doctor and they’re both ‘On Sale,’ man.” 

It’s a lot to chew on, but like that vegan Impossible Burger fresh from the grill, it’s important to make the effort and take a look at what’s wrong with our world and our country today. It might take many conscious acts of miracles to improve the quality of life here for everyone. And it might not all get fixed anytime soon, but we can start working together on it today. 

||| Stream: “American Miracle”

||| Also: Stream the song here